Battleangel | Personal

I talked about boots a while back. Still haven’t arrived at a decision. But I did get the opportunity to see the new Meindl Island MFS Active. They seemed nice, even though I of course had no way to evaluate the claim that this updated third version of the Island boot had better ventilation. But when it comes to the department of ventilation, I’m all in favour of grasping for straws. Especially since I’ve read quite a few opinions that claim the first version of the Island was noticeably better ventilated or at least didn’t feel as sweaty during continuous use. Also, the colour scheme is better now, if you didn’t really care for the old and boring brown Island.

It would be great to come to some sort of conclusion here. I’m looking into importing the Meindl Island Active. I’ve seen the boot as low as €189 (+ €15 s&h) compared to over €300 in Sweden.

Sandals are another matter entirely. The ones I bought last year (at a sale) turned out to be complete rubbish despite an impressive Vibram sole. They hurt my back and my feet to no end. I’ve been looking at the Keen Newport H2 and Teva Terra Fi 3. The latter was recommended by several "experts" because of better foot support and besides I didn’t really care for the strap system on the Keen. In fact the entire design seemed stupid. But there seems to be serious quality concerns. The forming consensus seems to be that Teva used to be a hell of a lot more durable. In just about every way. It’s like that funny review over at Amazon where someone talks about their husband or whatever having gone through THREE Terra Fi 2 as if they’re so great you’d buy them three times in a row. Yeah that would be great if the Terra Fi 2 was introduced in 1950 but as it stands this seems like a testament to the complete crap quality of Teva (at least nowadays).

As for importing sandals, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a bargain to be made here. Plus the Terra Fi 3 I tried was completely untrue to size which combined with the purported quality issues makes me a bit skittish about importing them.

Addendum: I’ve now had the opportunity to try the Meindl Island Active and they seem to fit about as well as their predecessor. A little narrower perhaps but no matter. I should be fine with a size 10 (UK). On a separate note I’m considering moving permanently to a double sock an inner liner. The reason for this being not only comfort but also to combat wear and tear on the heel of boots and shoes. In other words increase friction between socks instead of wearing a hole in the socks and shortly after that the boots themselves. Must have really bony feet or something. Of course, these boots have a much more snug fit across the heel and might not even allow the foot to move much up and down in the first place.

Addendum 2: Ended up buying the Terra Fi 3 locally. I’m gonna try them on for awhile and see how it goes. I was getting desperate, but this is as good a guess as any and far better than any sandal I’ve previously had. Can’t go completely wrong. A word of warning though, these are the first sandals I’ve ever had that require a break-in period. And straps / loops are as flimsy as ever. Quite easy to step into though, only one strap that you’ll have to undo.

I also placed an order with the company linked above for a pair of Meindl Island Active. Despite some negative reviews, all regarding returns, refunds and lengthy shipping times, I figured they at least were legit and that €200 was better than anything else I could come up with later. Better now when I don’t need the boots right away and have time to get used to them. Fingers crossed.