When the going gets tough

The boots I have been testing are the Ranger Mid Model, which have a 22cm high Nubuck leather ‘shaft’ and a cellular rubber bottom with a mid weight “Certech ® 3.0 Construction” and a Vibram traction sole.

The boots do not feature masses of soft padding – except for the padded cuff – but have a full leather lining.  Lundhags say a good pair (or 2) of socks is all the padding you need in a well-fitting pair of boots, as built-in padding makes a pair of boots slow to dry out after a soaking … or even from sweaty feet!

The leather uppers of the boot are factory proofed and feature a full-height bellows tongue over which there is a corrosion resistant lacing system of 3 sets of eyelets and 4 sets of hooks.  The lowest set of hooks is of a ‘locking’ type and are set back, on leather ‘tongues’, to pull your foot into the heel of the boot for support and stability.  There is a good sized pull-on loop at the back of the boot and a removable shaped and contoured removable footbed that incorporates a wool mix felt top surface for warmth comfort and support.  The rubber foot of the boot has a reinforced toe and heel with highly textured rubber bumpers while there is a shock absorbing EVA wedge under the heel for extra comfort. The Vibram sole gives excellent grip on most surfaces and is slow to clog with muck.

The boots are made with a fairly wide ‘lasting’ – ideal for most British feet - and have a ‘rocker’ built in to give a natural ‘rolling’ pace to a quite stiff sole construction which helps provide comfort and secure foot placement in soft underfoot conditions.

I found the Lundhag Ranger Mid Boot surprisingly comfortable, supportive, extraordinarily robust and yet light (1.4kg for size 43) – ideal for use in mud, snow and rough wet conditions.  I found they took more wearing-in than some boots, but it is more than worth the effort!

Available in sizes 39-48 in colours Graphite or Black, the Lundhags Ranger Mid Boots cost around £225.00.  Ladies’ models are also available.