Footwear

[Andrea Weir]

Did anyone manage this year in Walking boots for the whole festival please ? I have to wear an orthotic  ( leg brace ) and I am unable to wear wellies . Thank you . 

[Tartan_Glasto]

As long as they are fully waterproofed then you'd have been fine this year. The mud was crazy but it was a thick, sticky, clay kind of mud so walking boots faired a little better then all the abandoned ill fitting wellies!

[Brave Sir Robin]

I only swapped my walking boots for wellies on the Sunday as I thought they were leaking, and regretted it - wellies are less comfortable and more knackering (although I was half-dead anyway at that point, tbh). You could definitely have stayed in them the whole time.

[dentalplan]

Yeah I wore boots throughout and my feet were fine. Would do it again for the same conditions, but with gaiters because removing clay from leg was torment.

[5co77ie]

wore boots (and at time gaitors) all weekend this year.

[LCR]

Yep I wore my walking boots Thursday - Monday and they were fine, much more comfortable then the wellies I wore for previous years

[crocodiles]

I wore Wellington boots all week not sure how people managed with walking boots I had hoped to wear them but mud was like glue . I can't say I saw anyone in boots . But hopefully not as muddy next year 

[glasto-worker]

13 hours ago, crocodiles said:

I wore Wellington boots all week not sure how people managed with walking boots I had hoped to wear them but mud was like glue .  I can't say I saw anyone in boots . But hopefully not as muddy next year 

I wore walking boots for the seven days but I was working so I was not tramping all over the shop - each time I brought Wellington boots in the past I stopped wearing them as they were more trouble than its worth due to ground conditions.

There is no easy solution - apart from driving about in a 4WD buggy but even that has its drop backs as its restricted to certain times in certain areas.

Glastonbury has always been a challenge due to the ground conditions - I keep asking the WBC to rent a Hovercraft but so far they wont let me have one.

I knew this year was going to be bad as I was in touch with the set up crew but there is bugger all that can be done with the weather - when I saw the flood that blocked the production road I was not even certain our crew coach would make it but they had unblocked the river the day before and we made it in fine.

Edited September 28, 2016 by glasto-worker

[geoffboycott]

Yep, it was ok, I wore walking boots throughout the festival, didn't even bother with gaiters and haven't brought wellies with me for several years now.

[Tartan_Glasto]

If I'm lucky enough to get tickets for next year I think I'll try the walking boot method. Wellies take up too much valuable space in my rucksack.

[shuttlep]

the old walking boot v Welly debate,

 

I use willies, as I have a pair that all winter I walk dogs in. they are broken in fit perfectly don't leak  or Rub. I think the problem comes when people get willies and don't wear them till they get to the festival and then they rub. Boots cost a lot more but they are designed better .  I will always wear willies, but after having the same pair for 4 years now and wearing them all winter walking dogs I know I will be fine, ..... unless I melt them as I did several years ago sat around the camp fire

[dentalplan]

Just now, shuttlep said:

the old walking boot v Welly debate,

 

I use willies, as I have a pair that all winter I walk dogs in. they are broken in fit perfectly don't leak  or Rub. I think the problem comes when people get willies and don't wear them till they get to the festival and then they rub. Boots cost a lot more but they are designed better .  I will always wear willies, but after having the same pair for 4 years now and wearing them all winter walking dogs I know I will be fine, ..... unless I melt them as I did several years ago sat around the camp fire

I think you've cocked up there.

[shuttlep]

Just now, dentalplan said:

I think you've cocked up there.

I have been known to wear Willies also

 

 

just mainly at weekends

[crocodiles]

I learned my lesson not wearing welly socks still got the marks on back of my legs to prove it.  Would much prefer walking boots but honestly don't know how people got round withoutwellies this year the mud was ridiculous in places 

[miffmiffy]

I took both wellies and walkers and I swapped to my walking boots at the earliest opportunity. Soooo much comfier.

There were a few patches around the markets that required a bit of thought and manoeuvring but I wasn't wearing Gaiter's so it was a low threshold. 

I'm converted. Historically I've always taken wellies but I find my hips and feet ache so much compared to my boots.

[pie_and_a_pint]

I only wore my wellies for my litterpicking shifts - I wanted to be sure I could get to everywhere I needed to, and in places around John Peel there was just standing water, so wellies were needed.

For the rest of the time I was fine in boots. 

[donthaveacoolname]

I used walking boots all weekend, for about 15 min on Wednesday I put on the gaiters too then I coped on, zipped off the legs of my trousers turned them into shorts and that was me for the weekend. I walked all over the site and never once came to a place I couldn't travel through. I would never even consider wellies

[musky]

On 28/09/2016 at 7:37 PM, crocodiles said:

I learned my lesson not wearing welly socks still got the marks on back of my legs to prove it.  Would much prefer walking boots but honestly don't know how people got round withoutwellies this year the mud was ridiculous in places 

Boots cope with mud much better than wellies. Besides being far more comfortable, they don't stick in the mud leaving you balanced on one leg trying to get your foot back in.

It's when there's large amounts of standing water that wellies come into their own, but I've always made do with high leg walking boots.

Edited September 29, 2016 by musky

[Penrhos]

This year is the only time I've had to resort to wellies, although I always take a pair with me.

I've always got away with hiking boots and gaiters, but an unfortunate placing of foot on Saturday night resulted in boots full of muddy water so Sunday was wellies and my god did my feet suffer so if the ticket gods smile tomorrow I'll be taking two pairs of boots next year....

The water never gets deep enough for long enough to need wellies, but the mud gets sticky really quickly and for that you need boots.

[bekimo]

_{My friend bought new wellies last year.  She invested in Hunters in the hope that they would be more hard wearing and comfortable.  I wore walking boots all week.  No blisters, dry feet, comfy, didn't lose my footwear in the mud.  Awesome.  She is now buying the same boots I had as she had blisters everywhere, she kept losing her wellies in the sticky mud and her feet and ankles were killing her all week!}

[sheffieldlady]

This year was the first year I took walking boots - I wore them the entire time. Much more comfortable, breathable and don't cause problems like wellies do.

I work for a company who makes orthotics (braces, AFOs, insoles and custom footwear) so can fully understand why wellies really are a no-go! Walking boots will serve you well and will be much comfier than wellies. I'm guessing you have a foot plate that needs to sit within the shoe for stability / improving how you're foot is when lifting off when walking? Best idea is to try on lots of boots with your orthotic in a store, and spend a while breaking the boots in.

Never buy them a week before the festival and expect them to be as comfy as everyone is saying - they do take a while to be broken in and will likely need to be worn a good bit before the festival

Some of the deeper mud was scary at times this year, so next year I'll have a look at getting some gaiters to keep my nerves about the mud going over my boot at bay!

[Becks12]

On ‎08‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 8:12 PM, bekimo said:

_{My friend bought new wellies last year.  She invested in Hunters in the hope that they would be more hard wearing and comfortable.  I wore walking boots all week.  No blisters, dry feet, comfy, didn't lose my footwear in the mud.  Awesome.  She is now buying the same boots I had as she had blisters everywhere, she kept losing her wellies in the sticky mud and her feet and ankles were killing her all week!}

Hi! Can I ask what boots you had? I'm going to get some as wellies destroyed my feet this year. It took about a month to get feeling back in all my toes!

[louise2014]

Another vote for walking boots and gaitors. Much much comfort and support for feet and ankles/knees.

[funkyuk]

Boots and gaiters all weekend in 2016 for me.  dry and no blisters.  only worn wellies once, never agian will i endure calf chafing or blisters

[Trout Mask Replica]

Muck boots for the entire festival. Best of both worlds between a walking boot and welly. Not a chafe or blister in sight. And they don't slip off in the worst sticky mud.

Also 1000 mile socks. I took 3 pairs this year and will take more in 2017.

 

Edited October 12, 2016 by Trout Mask Replica