There’s
been no time to fish lately, too many lovely distractions like family, friends,
festivals, barbecues and cricket. So purely
for the sake of writing something here’s a little review of a good piece of
kit.
I bought
a pair of Muck boots last autumn. For
anyone who hasn’t seen them they are a combination of rubber & neoprene,
with a thin lining of some sort. They
come in various styles, shapes and colours and range from £60 upwards. Mine are called ‘Avon’ and are moss green
with realtree camo on the outside and the inner lining is bright orange. This is so the neoprene leg part of the boot
can be folded over revealing the orange to prevent hunters from shooting each
other…apparently.
I wore
the boots all last winter and due to the monsoon we’ve had this spring/summer I’ve
wore them a lot since. My feet have been
kept warm, dry and comfortable throughout and I haven’t slipped on the slope
whilst launching the boat. I’ve had all
types of waterproof footwear over the years from traditional wellies, Skeetex,
Derry boots you name it. The Muck boots
are much better in than any of these and then some. I couldn’t believe they could possibly be as
warm as the fleece lined boots like Skeetex but they are and furthermore they
are much more comfortable and miles better for walking in.
Last
weekend I gave them the ultimate test at the Latitude festival (more elsewhere),
where I wore them from morning till early the next morning for three straight
days. I walked miles up and down slopes
(we don’t have hills in Suffolk), stood for hours, waded through mud and
believe it or not I even danced. That is
if my random staggering, wiggling & swaying can be called dancing. They were as comfortable on the third day as
they had been on the first. More so in
fact because the sun came out and I folded the legs over which kept my legs
cool, the orange liner also made it easy for the good lady to spot me in the
crowd.
I also
have a second pair of Muck boots which are actually more like rubber
slippers. I wear them in the boat when
the weather is milder and also at times through the summer. They are good to slip on your feet & in
the sleeping bag for night fishing, for example. I wear them round the garden and sometimes
further afield. They may not be the
height of fashion but they are waterproof and comfortable.
Another
piece of kit that got a good testing at Latitude was my lightweight, packaway
jacket made by Regatta for about £25. It
will fit in a deep pocket or easily stow away in a fishing bag without adding
too much weight, handy for summer days when showers are forecast. It’s waterproof and breathable so no sweating
and comes in black or dark green, assuming anglers don’t want to wear pink or
pale blue that is.
Neither
the boots or jacket were needed at the Oval on Saturday where my friends and I,
decked in brightly coloured perm wigs, watched South Africa batter
England. As impressive as the South
African’s were it wasn’t a great day for the spectator but the beer was good,
the atmosphere fantastic and the company unbeatable. I even experienced biltong for the first time
thanks to some friendly Saffers.
