My good ol Winchester hunting boots do the job fine.

I have a pair of combat boots I bought at WalMart for $35. Initially they blistered my toes, but after a few days or riding the motorcycle on a week-long trip they are now some comfortable shoes.

I have Vibram FiveFingers - I run in mine. I can run on concrete, asphalt, and trails with ease. I hate heavily rocked trails but I can run stream beds that mix mud and gravel. Its the jagged rock outcroppings which sucks with them.

I also have a set of leather greaves that I made for long-distance motorcycle travel - they go over my jeans and protect me from debris and wet weather on my shins, and they come off and drape over a chair to dry out at night. Nice mid-range solution to being on foot and needing snakebite or heavy thorn protection.

I found the pattern by googling "leather greaves" and following directions. I also do leather, so I was able customize with with a little neatsfoot oil, some dye and conchos, and other stuff. I'll have to post images later.

There is a real difference between work boots and walking boots.

Work boot feature thicker soles that are somewhat pliable; they mould themselves to ladders, steps, etc. They also supply drop protection and abrasion.

Walking boots are for walking for hundreds of miles on trails, or where there are no trails at all. A very rigid sole means they will last longer, and are less liable to let your ankle be twisted by a round rock (a "baby head") rolling out from under you and landing you on your butt in jagged rocks. Lace-ups let you adjust them out as your shins swell, or tighten them up when running or traveling over ankle-twisters.

Whites are the best. Used by forest rangers and firefighters in rural areas.

You don't break them in. They break your feet in.

But once you own a pair, you have a personal relationship with the company. Some models ( the "Farmer-Rancher") are hand-made. All of them have soles held on by screws. WHEN OR IF the sole wears out, you mail them to the factory and they will bolt another sole to your boot.

They really are your last pair of boots.

Here in the uk we have steel toe capped wellington like boots called rigger boots,lots of guy on sites and truck drivers etc use them,i use them nearly all year around on the motorbike in all weather and provided they arent cracked or have split seams they are fully waterproofand cost around £25,failing that a good set of motorcycle harness boots (bit like old engineer's boots) are excellant but require dubbin(think thats the right stuff) to keep them waterproof

Well, regardless of your personal choice for foot-wear, the underlying question is, what sort of environment will your feet be exposed to? How about these:

1. A world of dirty socks. With the electricity out, No one has a washing machine, and doing your socks by hand is just such a chore. Especially since the water went out and you haul your water from the closest of a) the nearest creek or well b) the nearest relief truck sent by the "transition government" c) the barrel under a rain spout outside, but only in daylight hours....

2. A world of collapsing buildings. You'll be pawing through abandoned buildings that have been looted, burnt, or attacked by earthquakes, hurricanes or wildfires. There will be sheet-rock in the aisles, roofing nails, jagged roofing beams, and lots and lots of broken glass.

3. 600 miles of abandoned roadway, for those living in urban settings as they do the refugee shuffle, you'll be following rumors of a sanctuary set up by a new "strong leader" where there is food, running water, and medical care. It's in the west.... no, they've set up on the coast....no, the UN has installed a caretaker government in the old capitol....

4. Acres and acres of wet fields, as you break soil with a hoe, every day for six weeks in the springtime, in exchange for a day and a half's food from the settlement kitchen for each one you work on the farm. Until the nights are warm in the summer, you sleep in the same shoes you work in, due to the cold. and you don't own a second pair. maybe you can trade your foot credits for that, once you've earned enough of them.

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Originally posted by ScottishBiker420
Here in the uk we have steel toe capped wellington like boots called rigger boots,lots of guy on sites and truck drivers etc use them,i use them nearly all year around on the motorbike in all weather and provided they arent cracked or have split seams they are fully waterproofand cost around £25,failing that a good set of motorcycle harness boots (bit like old engineer's boots) are excellant but require dubbin(think thats the right stuff) to keep them waterproof

I have a pair of rigger boots. Good boots but a bit cumbersome.