Frankly, I’ve not heard of this brand until I saw this pair of boots at the Sports Direct outlet at KSL, Johor Bahru. It looks pretty sturdy and well-designed. The same goes for their whole range of footwear. But I have tried their sandals and I’m sorry to say that they aren’t durable even though I found them very comfortable. The strap broke after a couple of months.
Guess how much these boots cost? I bought this for my son 1 year ago. They’re also my size, but I couldn’t wear them because of my bunions. I’ve forgotten how much I paid for it in ringgit, but the price listed online is $52.50. It looks like an absolute steal and quite a sleek-looking one at that. Obviously not cast from the same mould as the lousy sandals, I shall give Gelert another chance.
With my bunions fixed almost 6 months ago, I’ve already worn it for training and so far, it has been pretty comfortable. The ultimate test (for boots and bunions) will be performed on Gunung Lawu on National Day 2019. I’ll be bring a spare pair of boots just in case. It’s heavy, but necessary.
Note that I did not receive this pair of boots for free in return for good comments. Rest assured that my comments will be fair. At any rate, I don’t expect these to last for more than 3 climbs.
Update post Gunung Lawu:
This pair of boots performed very well on the mountain. The sole could have been stiffer for tackling the near-vertical slopes, but I guess it’s not meant for technical climbs.
Anyway, the Gelert boots have excellent grip and good stability even on the worst kind of ground on Lawu – loose sand over hard rock. The only problem I have with this pair of Gelert boots (and it’s not s small problem, is that it’s not breathable! It may be good for cold weather, but your feet can get really sweaty trekking under tropical conditions.