In the quest to find the perfect multi-purpose shoe, David Whitley tests out the waterproofed Yomp Trail Shoes from Craghoppers.
Finding great all-purpose footwear can be something of a tricky art. It’s hard to make shoes that are good enough for walking in both city and countryside, whilst still being passable as casual evening wear. Throw in winter vs summer and it all gets mighty tough.
Usually, I end up buying a pair of Merrell Moab Ventilators. They’re ultra-comfy and in my experience, rather durable. The air holes make them great for walking around on hot days without the feet getting too sweaty, while as long as I’m not going anywhere too slick in the evening, they look fine with jeans and a T-shirt to go out in.
They’re not flawless, however. It can be miserable wearing them in rain and snow – waterproofing is not the strong suit. So I decided to try the Yomp Trail Shoes from Craghoppers as an alternative.
Initial reaction upon slipping my feet into them was that they don’t feel particularly comfortable. Your foot feels like it’s inside the shoe rather than the shoe has become a part of the foot – the Craghoppers Yomp Trail Shoes are more of a rigid shell than the Merrell Moab Ventilators.
They become more comfortable over time – as most shoes do – but feel is not the strong suit. The waterproofing, however, works a treat. If you’ve got to trudge around in the rain, then you can do so knowing that soggy socks are not going to be a problem. You’ve got reliable footwear that will last a long time, is suitable for most conditions – they’re not heavyweight so are OK in summer too – and can cope with rough terrain admirably.
Alas, they don’t look particularly good either. The Craghoppers Yomp Trail Shoes fall into the fatal trap of looking like geek walking shoes. And that’s fine if you’re only planning to use them for walking, but they just don’t have that multi-purpose look that makes them passable for meeting friends on a laid-back evening out. And, for all their merits, if I’m limited to taking one pair of shoes away with me, it won’t be them.
DISCLOSURE: I was given a free pair of Yomp Trail Shoes by Craghoppers for review purposes.
