The trek was hugely successful,  15 of us plus guides and a doctor over several days, hiking in some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. Absolutely wonderful experience and Iceland is a country I would go hiking again in at the drop of a hat (a furry hat, see pic!).

Enough said about the country, apart from that on the right of this page is a link to photos from the expedition which show the stunning environment, and give an indication of the challenge I put the new Trezetas through, which was a pretty good test.

And the overall verdict… brilliant!

Now let’s elaborate a little on this. The reason I was so impressed was that the boots gave great service for the week in fairly tough terrain, as well as being lived-in for the whole time, not just the actual hiking, and this after nowhere near as much breaking-in time as I have been recommending to me fellow trekkers.

They were comfortable, grippy in a wide variety of terrains, warm (though see my earlier post about my own hot feet), and gave good ‘feel’ all the way. They have started to feel like the old friends every hiker wants to have with him/her on an expedition.

On steep slopes, ice, rocky terrain and cliff edge paths alike I quickly had complete confidence in the Top Evos.  Interestingly, (and this is not something I’d considered before this trip) as I spent some time guiding blind and partially sighted hikers, it was not possible to always watch my own path and step to the degree I might normally do.  Being able to rely on the boots intuitively after a short time was invaluable.

My only small criticism is, as I mentioned in my last post, a little bit more give when wearing thicker socks would have been more to my liking. This is the price paid for the hefty rubber rands .. but then the structure of the boot is what gave me the confidence.

Overall verdict is that though these were kindly donated by the makers for the charity trekking I do, I would have been happy if I’d bought them. Online prices are about the £150 mark, a fair price for a good quality and evidently hard wearing product.

Final thought .. the missing half point is for the nostalgic view I have of the earlier Trezetas, I’m sure in a few years and a few hundred miles hiking these will have that factor added back in.

As I mentioned earlier on this blog, I was a little concerned that I might find the TOP EVO’s a bit too hot for my feet in warm weather. I do tend to suffer from restless hot feet anyway, I’m one of those people who stands in a bowl of cold water each night for a few minutes before I can get to sleep.

What? … I can’t be the ONLY one, surely?!

So I’ve been experimenting with different thicknesses of trekking socks. The interior of the TOP EVO is well made and comfortable. No seams causing any problems, no underlying lumps, bumps or stitches to rub. What I did find though was that replacing the original insole with a gel insole, together with using a good brand of thin socks, made things much more comfortable.

Let’s not take anything away from the Trezetas. The interior is good – this adjustment to a gel insole has been about my own feet heat problem. The gel insoles were about a tenner from GO OUTDOORS by the way, and easy to cut down to exactly the size required. Because I know I suffer from hot feet, it’s difficult to comment on Trezeta’s claim that these boots are ‘self ventilating’.

Like any hiking boot, the best is going to be felt by using good socks too.  Good socks, though often expensive, are well worth the investment – in fact the only time I can recall getting blisters on a trek or expedition was when I was forced through circumstances to use a poor quality pilled pair. It’s not always (not even very often) the fault of any boots if there are blisters, not if the fit is good.

And talking of fit, there is no stretching these babies. Gone are the days when a half size could be made up with a heftily tightened bootstretcher. The tough high rubber rands make sure of that, and also adds to the chunky, good, grippy feel I described earlier.

Anyway, the upshot of all this is that despite the short time I have had them, I am confident that the TOP EVO’s will be top notch on the upcoming Iceland trek. I’ll report back of course in detail after a week living in them - tackling some reasonably tough and diverse terrain and waters.

Only then will I look up how much they would have cost …. then I can comment on value for money too.

Overall Verdict: Great

My thoughts are that they are not quite as naturally comfortable as the previous pair, but I think that might be because I was so attached to those that maybe the emotional factor needs to be taken into account!

The boots feel solid. They have a deep sole that makes my feet feel chunky … and I mean that in a good way, because that gives me confidence that there is plenty of grip and the boots are taking the terrain in their stride.  I can feel the surface I’m walking on and am able to step out intuitively, which is great for such a new pair.

Wet rocks seemed to pose no problem at all. Whether climbing without thinking about it or deliberately testing the boots on wet slopes the grip is great. A period of intense rain left me like a drowned rat (guess who didn’t take good enough waterproofs) but with perfectly dry feet, and this having deliberately taken in as much mud and areas of standing water as I could find.

A little high? Maybe!

If I had any initial criticism, it would be that the top pair of lace hooks are a little high in the boot, meaning the laces, which I tend to tie quite tightly, cut in slightly. This was remedied by looping the laces downwards over the last pair, which shows how marginal this is anyway.

Watertight, grippy, comfortable, chunky!

This of course I am pleased to do. For one thing, the last boots were brilliant and I would have been amazed if I had not bought Trezeta again if I had not had these donated. Secondly, Trezeta have asked for honest feedback and though I’ve been very complimentary about the last pair, they’ve put me under no pressure to say anything other than what I really think.

I’ve been telling the other people on the Iceland trek next month that by now they should have a well broken in pair of boots that feel like old friends, and here I am cracking open a new boot box with just a few weekend hikes to get used to them. Shame on me. However, I will wear them everywhere in the week as well, which might just raise a few eyebrows in business meetings.

I look forward to the delivery of the package soon!

Disaster strikes, and I find that my trusty old friends, my boots of 10 or 11 years, finally give up the ghost. Thousands of miles across some of the toughest terrains and (I’ll be honest) a not-too-good care regime have finally taken their toll.

I decided to write to the manufacturers of the boots, Trezeta, and to tell them how good the boots had been. Since the day I put them on they were comfortable, supple, and never gave me the slightest trouble. It’s sad that they have finally given up – a small split on one side of the boot where the sole and upper meet – but I guess I’m just impressed at what they have delivered for over a decade.