The Ultimate Year Round Dog Walking Boot?

When you walk around 70 miles a week with your dog in the English countryside you need hardwearing and waterproof boots. I've tried and worn out wellies from £7 to £150, hiking boots of leather, Goretex and other textiles, hiking type trainers and Dr Martens. These all have their pros and cons, and are useable in their own way, but I've always liked my rubber wellington boot, especially in the winter.

Then Le Chameau introduced the Chameau-Lite LCX lace up boot, and two years ago they sent me a pair to try. They were a game changer for me.

The Chameau-Lite has a tough leather upper available in two heights - 10 and 12 inch and a Michelin designed sole which proved to not only have excellent grip but amazing longevity too (over 1200 miles in one pair with plenty of life left in them.

The LCX lining is designed to be both waterproof and breathable - a claim I've heard many a time for different textiles, but is usually unsubstantiated. However, the LCX lining works. I've waded through icy streams in the winter, and completed 22 mile hikes on a hot summer's day and on no occasion did I get a damp sock, not through sweat or water ingress. I've never known a boot achieve that before, wellies don't let water in, but on a hot day they can get a wee bit sweaty! It's an impressive feat for a watertight leather boot to be able to let moisture out.

Not only are these boots waterproof beyond any expectations, they're extremely light, sturdy, supportive, and highly wearable. I used to wear trainers to drive and then change into my boots before setting out on a walk, but I live in these! Their lightweight characteristic means you really don't feel like you're wearing a boot and 12 hours of continuous wear is common for me.

Usually I tuck my jeans or hunting/walking trousers into them, and there's plenty of room in the ankle section to allow for this, but they also look great with your jeans over the top, it just depends how deep you're likely to be paddling! In the 12" high boots, you've got quite some depth to play with too, virtually as much as with a rubber wellington.

The Chameau-Lites didn't need any breaking in, they're comfortable from the word go. As a UK size 10 foot normally, I've found the 9.5 to be an excellent fit with ordinary socks and 10.5 perfect if you like wearing a thicker sock in addition to your usual ones. I've never had a blister and find the fit to be perfect for me.

Left is a picture of the tread pattern, I've found it doesn't clog and gives great grip on practically any surface and it gives you a sure footed confidence on even the most slippery terrain. And if your on-lead dog sees a squirrel you can dig your heels in and not get dragged through a hedge!

If you're serious about your walking and I think 2500-3000 miles walked a year classes as serious, then it's worth investing in some serious footwear that is not only stylish and confortable but which looks after your feet and lets you get the best out of your hobby. Walking with dogs is my hobby and the price of a proper pair of boots like these still makes it one of the cheapest leisure activities there is. When you're confident that you won't have wet socks or indeed be desparate to to take the boots off at the end of a long day's walking with your hound, they're worth every penny.

To ensure the best life out of them and also to maintain the suppleness of the leather uppers and the waterproofing, I treated them about every four weeks with Granger's G Wax, after cleaning them in warm water.

I still like a pair of wellies every now and then, but for me now, these are the ultimate walking boot, whether it's a walk in the woods, across fields or up Snowdon (see photo below) these boots will not let you down! For more information and to buy click here.