Pretty much every morning and evening, I put the earbuds in, queue up a few podcasts and head off for a walk with our democratically named dog Pepperoni Gustav von Doggington.
‘Exercise by default’ is one of the many joys of dog ownership and my trusty trail shoes have clocked up plenty of kilometres around the streets, trails and hills of Wānaka. But all that trekking was taking its toll. The foam at the back was starting to fall off and things were getting a bit slippy on the pine needles of Sticky Forest, the wet grass of the reserve and the gravel of Mount Iron.
Fortunately, Timberland had decided to advertise its new Motion Access range in the last issue of New Zealand Geographic and offered a pair to try out. A box arrived on the doorstep a few days later.
“Rugged,” it said on the packaging. “Combines comfort and performance,” it said. It featured a “TIMBERCUSH comfort system” and “TimberGrip technology for traction” and promised to be “responsive to every active movement”. It was quite a billing for the sceptical sportsman to swallow.
“Got some new kicks?” said my walking colleague on the boots’ first outing up Little Mount Iron, the less trafficked of the Iron siblings. “Pretty flash.” I detected a note of jealousy.
It had rained heavily the night before, so there were a few muddy patches to negotiate, but the waterproof boots offered plenty of grip and I remained upright.
The next day I headed into Sticky Forest for a couple more walks. It’s often easier to run down some of the steeper mountain bike trails than walk (and it’s always fun to take the berms at pace) and while the boots were heavier than my trail shoes, they’re reasonably light and fitted tight around the ankles, so they handled it well.
So far, so good. But in my experience, a new pair of hiking boots inevitably comes with a blister or two after the first few wears. These were fairly slim fitting, but whatever material TIMBERCUSH is made out of, it worked as advertised and my well-protected feet made it through a weekend of Wānaka walking unscathed.
Before I took them into the mud, they looked pretty sharp, though they were a bit bulky to wear into the office, especially with that big heel at the back. For those who want to combine a few trails with some everyday urban exploration, the Motion Access Low model could be a better option.
This summer comes the real test. I’ll be trying to convince family members to join me on Mt Isthmus, Rocky Mountain, Roy’s Peak and Rob Roy Glacier, while Fern Burn Hut on the Motatapu Track and Brewster Hut in Mount Aspiring National Park are on the overnight stay list. I’m hoping my new shoes will make up for my old knees.
