I reviewed the little sister of these boots earlier in the year and was mightily impressed with them. Hi-Tec also very kindly sent me the boot version to test at the same time. The shoes got their airing first because my preference is for shoes; I don't know why but I always feel a bit constricted by boots and they seem like more faff to put on, so its taken me a little time to prise the shoes off my feet and give these boots their 15 minutes of fame.

As per the shoes I was immediately struck by how comfortable they were straight out of the box, and as Hi-Tec seem to be great for my wide-fitting feet, getting them on and off is not the struggle I've experienced with other boots.

Looks wise there is a strong family resemblance and to my eye there is nothing to differentiate the boots from their smaller sibling, they feature the same brown nubuck leather/webbing combination and the overall effect is contemporary and light-looking.

Weight wise they are also not poles apart from the shoes. I am really impressed at just how light they are for a pair of boots - they make other boots I've tested seem like real contenders for fat club! On longer walks I've really noticed this weight difference so it is something to bear in mind when choosing your boots.

The soles feature Vibram technology and do the trick soaking up all the lumps and bumps on my walks, design wise they are not mountain boots but are more than a match for the local hill trails around GWA HQ. Due to the recent downpours we've had here I really did get to discover how grippy and waterproof they are. Some of the nearby fields turned to bogs and I had real concerns that I was either going to end up on my butt or with a serious case of trench foot - I'm delighted to say neither of these things happened.

The boot element did initial feel a bit weird - as I mentioned earlier I don't like to feel constricted and feeling something around my ankle feels a bit well weird! The design of the cuff area doesn't feature any really obvious additional padding for the ankle which I've seen on other boots, I initially thought this would be a negative, however my time spent out in the muddy fields made me realise that this in no way hinders the support that these boots offer. On a few really slippy-slidy bits of track I was immediately aware that the boots were doing a good job of stopping me turning my ankle - I know the shoes would have not performed as well in this situation.

They've washed-up well after those muddy walks and despite several hours testing still seem to be retaining that lovely smell of leather. The soles do cling onto the mud, so unless you want to be wedded to your hoover it is best to take them off at the door!