First pair of Winter walking boots

[Coutts94]

Excellent bargain price for top-notch kit! I love a bargain, me. I once got a pair of Berghous winter climbing boots for about £80 when they were originally about £250, they were the last pair in the shop and the staff were being driven mad by punters trying them on and then asking if they had them in a different size. They are still a prized treasure. Look after them and they'll look after you for many years to come. Remember to wash the grit and mud off them, including taking out the laces and washing them too, dry them properly and store them well. You'll have to do lots of hiking to justify spending that cash , it's a win-win situation! Now all the highlands lie in wait... You will need an ice axe, crampons and helmet. I prefer the long axe, some prefer the short axe but of they are of course wrong...

Loch Gary#2.jpg

Long Axe.jpg

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Glamaig in winter.jpg

I think i must have got the last pair too, cant complain Yeah I have no excuses now.. got the ice axe so next purchase will have to be crampons... then wait for the white stuff to arrive, looking at the weather I dont think I will have to wait long

[Lexico]

Great purchase. I use the La Sportiva Trang’s tower also. Scarpa manta just don’t fit me. I think you will be very happy with them.

[Caberfeidh]

... then wait for the white stuff to arrive

White stuff is not necessarily good. You need ice; snow just confuses the issue by looking impressive but it hides the lack of ice, or presence of it! And sometimes when there is no snow there is ice but you can't see it from down in the glens. If deep snow lies, you must let it lie until it has consolidated, melting down a little through the day, freezing again at night, until the air is squeezed out and what is left is solid and will bear crampons. And not avalanche on you. Every year someone goes prematurely, and then goes, prematurely. The ski area at Aonach Mhor (now called Nevis Ranges Ski Resort https://www.nevisrange.co.uk/ ) is good; a mere tenner gets you up the hill in the gondola, without all that puffing and sweating, then you are out on the icy slopes. And you can escape into the cafe if the weather turns bad. Get yourself a helmet too; one slip on ice and rocks and you may not live to regret it...

Cheap winter sports helmets, Decathlon.

Aonach Mhor ski area - good for winter mountaineering too.

[prog99]

By the way, Caberfaidh keeps posting these helmet photos. Don't fall for it, they are ski helmets and you will sweat like a pig in it due to the insulation.

[Alteknacker]

Lots of threads on this in the recent past. It'd be worth following these up.

In the end, after a lot of research, I went for Altbergs. Had them a few years now, and no signs of distress. Not sure how much they cost these days. I think I paid about £160.

I should have said: these for winter walking. For full-on winter conditions I have a pair of Scapa GTXs, which I have also been very pleased with. But they are very stiff, so no good in softish snow conditions, but great in hard ice, and very warm, even in the coldest conditions.

[Caberfeidh]

By the way, Caberfaidh keeps posting these helmet photos. Don't fall for it, they are ski helmets and you will sweat like a pig in it due to the insulation.

If you wear cloth between the helmet and your bonce you save yourself a Niagara-style sweat waterfall, or you can drill holes in it to ventilate your sweaty bonce. They are better than nothing. A lot of people have died or been badly injured simply by slipping and striking their unprotected head on the ground. My first climbing helmet was a Vietnam War-era steel helmet. Thankfully I have advanced with modern helmet technology...

Burgeonet - stops ice and snow blowing down the back of the neck.

[Marty_JG]

A lot of people have died or been badly injured simply by slipping and striking their unprotected head on the ground.

This also happens in the other three seasons. People slip, there are rocks all over the place, they hit their head and die. I've know this to happen personally (okay, 1 degree of separation) to hugely experienced lifelong hillwalkers, sensible well-equipped people in a large party.

Why not year-round helmets by law?

[prog99]

This also happens in the other three seasons. People slip, there are rocks all over the place, they hit their head and die. I've know this to happen personally (okay, 1 degree of separation) to hugely experienced lifelong hillwalkers, sensible well-equipped people in a large party.

Why not year-round helmets by law?

Exactly, the idea is to prevent the slips to begin with.