If you are not hiking or doing anything crazy, you’ll likely be fine to travel with comfy trainers, but if you are into hiking and adventuring, then I’d definitely consider Salomon hiking boots. I’m onto my third pair of them now and I will keep going back to them. My boots are made with Gore-Tex, meaning that they are both waterproof and breathable. Their main benefit to me though, is how comfortable they are. Unlike many other boots, which need breaking in, I have been able to go for a long hike with new boots and find them comfy from day one! Another thing I love about all the Salomon boots that I have worn is how light they are! They feel crazy light for their size and how much comfort, support, and protection they provide. My legs get heavy enough when hiking up mountains without having heavy boots weighing them down further, so this is a great plus for me.

The only negative of Salmon are that their warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on (when it comes to footwear at least). I had some boots which I had trashed (to be fair, they had been around the world with across New Zealand and half of Asia) and they didn’t wear out on the soles but instead started degrading around some stitches. I contacted Salomon as they have a two-year warranty; the fact that I’d worn them every day for nearly two years was irrelevant, and they refused to replace them. Don’t get me wrong, I had my money’s worth out of them but why make a warranty if you don’t stick to it? Like I say though, I used those boots a lot and they were only designed for day use too, but it did annoy me as a matter of principle. That being said I still keep buying more of them, so what does that tell you!

At present, as I do a lot of hiking, scrambling and off-the-track adventures, I have settled on the Quest 4 as my go-to boot. They are robust enough to take a good beating and offer great ankle support and protection. I don’t recommend this as it’s not what they’re designed for, but I have worn these boots when motorbiking too and have fallen off while wearing them (on more occasions than I would like to admit) and they have done a great job of protecting my ankles. Like I say though, they’re a great hiking boot. Check out my blog and Destination Guides and you’ll see me wearing them in pretty much every adventurous photo I’m in! Be sure to pair them with Merino socks too; more on that below.