A Year In the Life Of Bestard BG3 Explorer Boots

A year ago today was the first time I put my feet into a pair of Bestard Bg3 Explorer boots.

For some of you that have been following my ongoing reviews on these boots you will know the story of the beginning and the middle, but now, I am going to give you the full story from start to end.

The first outing:

A year ago today I was invited to Dounie by Jamie Sawyer and Liam Perks  for a bit of walked up woodcock shooting, this was not just the first outing for the boots it was also the first outing of my dog Lana-Lou.

I had just recieved the boots from the boys at Ballistech in Ireland (www.ballistech.ie) after intensive conversation on the phone about how good these boots really were, I was dubious to say the least as I had already ruined two pairs of Le Chameau, 1 pair of Meindls and a pair of Harkilla GK Pro’s all in the same year demanding refunds for them all, so when Ballistech offered me to try these for free I thought to myself what could I lose.

No Break In ?

I was promised these boots had no break in so I thought stuff it a few miles walk will soon test out this theory, it wasn’t just a few miles thought was it?

Our day consisted of a proper lads walked up day, through trees, marsh and clear fells and the day was awesome. We must have walked around five miles over some good testing terrain ( not much different from what I drag deer in possibly a little easier easier than what I am used to but a good test run for the boots) and my feet were brilliant, during lunch we removed our boots to go into Jamie’ dads house to eat and my feet so warm that steam was coming from the inside of the boot and my feet were lovely and comfortable (a trait that still happens today a year down the line), the steam was to the point that the lads commented on it to much hilarity.

This was the start of a very good friendship with me and my “Bestard” boots and I was ready to trust them for work.

The Story

For those of you that don’t know I do a mixture of jobs that all involve shooting and outdoors, but I spend my winter shooting and dragging deer in private forestry and the terrain I work in is not for the fainthearted. I work side by side with my boss at Game Management Scotland Ltd in all weathers (the worst the better), for example, One afternoon we were dragging deer off a hill face at 2000ft above sea level in hurricane force winds, to the point the rain was being blown upwards instead of down wards and when you opened your mouth you couldn’t breathe as the wind was rushing into your mouth so fast that it made you breathless. But WOW what a rush!!. So wherever I go the boots go too.

Weeks went by and the storms carried on but the workload didn’t diminish, in fact, it got heavier. Night after night of dragging to make our quota for the season and in amongst the deer work I was still fulfilling my obligation to the pest control for the 1000 acres of farm and hill land that I cover. The boots were there through them all.

Winter culls finished and pest control was in full swing so my feet went from being in and out of forestry peat bogs and tough felled branches and marshes to manure filled fields and heavy mud but again the boots held up keeping my feet warm and dry.

The start of the Roe buck season started very wet last year and the growing season was in full throw giving long wet grass from morning to night so my feet were constantly moist on the outside, trousers were constantly wet but the inside of the boot was always dry and always comfortable, where all other boots I have tried have failed.

My Spring turned to Summer and the work load was flat out, by May I was Ghillieing on the river during the day and coupling in with evening and early morning stalks, then stag season started and every second day I was on the river and every other day was stalking, each different terrain and the same pair of boots did it all in and out of burns and river as well as working on some tough rocky terrain and no complaints.

The seasons were good but it was not long before I was back in the wood and dragging off the clear fells again and the cycle starts again. This year however, we had the pheasant shoots also offering yet another additional challenge.

Over the first 6 months of wearing the boots I did regular reviews on the adventures and mis-adventures of the boots  and at no point did they let me down and this carried on throughout the year. Day to day these boots are used without fail and we had the final pheasant shoot day yesterday and I was wearing the exact same boots and with the original laces and still no damage, no cracks but I had to admit some scratching wear which is expected .

Conclusion

A year down the line and I have to say I am in the best place to tell you these are genuinely the best boots I have ever worn.

I don’t even argue with the critics, those that say “Reviewers have bias opinions and don’t test them to extreme” I can comfortably say that not many people work the extremes we do in the UK and there has many have said they just wouldn’t.

So even a year down the line these boots are still going and great to wear, well worth the money.