Bestard Boot Explorer BG3

Complete Review From Week ONE to Present

Bestard Boots Review …

Week one over and their first week of use in the wood of these boots,

decided to be nice and give them a little clean.

To be fair I had very low expectations of these boots specially when I was told they were developed in Spain (Not the coldest environments in the world)

Here’s how it goes in my boot history:-

Jack Pyke:- Never even lasted a week my feet were frozen and got them replaced four times before I decided there was no point.

Meindl Dovres – lasted me 4 weeks.

Harkilla :- pulled the sole of them after 7 weeks

Le Chameu, Arran GTX :- lasted the best so far as bought on the 2nd November 2015 and have now just been sent back to Le Chameau to be repaired as the loops are breaking off.

So needless to say I am harsh on boots and it is not just because I dont try look after them it is because I wear them daily and they go through grief every single day not just on work days/nights.

The big test for these is my work, I spend nights and days dragging deer and stalking on Forestry clear fells in the Highlands. These are some of the most treacherous and dangerous places you can possibly be, specially, after dark. Accidents do happen and it is essential that to work in these conditions you have to have an extremely rugged and strong as well as light pair of boots and they MUST keep your feet dry as the temperatures can drop to -10, which they have done recently.

My boot of choice so far, mainly due to having long thin girly size 11 feet, are the Le Chameau GTX ARRANS which for me so far have done me great and kept my feet dry even after all this time, they also provide the best support possible from the boot as well as being so comfortable, although truly difficult to break in.

So this review will be comparing to the Le Chameau and not the other boots I have worn in the past as if they can stand up to those then they are in my honest opinion a truly good boot indeed….

True to their word Ballistech sent me their Bestard boots with all the cleaning and boot care products I would need (well impressed at that). I wasn’t at home when they arrived but my wife Dawn had taken delivery of them and phoned me, I asked her to open them up and tell me what she thought of them, (when it comes to stuff like that she would tell me straight off if they look tatt or not), her reply was surprising and I quote from her words “Honey!, if I saw these on a shelf beside your Le Chameaus I would have bought these instead” I replied with “really why?” and she proceeded to tell me that they looked aesthetically better than the Le Chameau so needless to say I was eager to get home and check them out.

After getting my hands on them for the first time I started to look for visual differences and already I had design likes and dislikes within the first 5 minutes.

Likes ,
the lace hooks and loops looked stronger with really cool locking lace hoops half way up the boot ( the Chammies have a problem here as their hooks break at that point) and the stitching looked far tighter than the Le Chameau.

The boots are genuinely good-looking.

Dislikes
The boots rubber sole looked like it was just glued on the bottom and in my head it looked like it would come off very easy (I was later proved wrong)

The first day of wearing the Bestard Boots…

I was advised by Joshua to give the boots a clean with the cream and spray provided before wearing for the first time, so I did just so they would start off with the best chance.

I was invited to go along for a Woodcock day by Jamie Sawyer and Liam Perks for a bit of craic and just to have a chilled walk with the dog but I thought what a great chance to see how these hold up as it was claimed to me by Ballistech that there was definitely NO “break in” needed at all.

The day proved to be a great day for a quick start test, must have only covered around 2 to 3 miles but it was over a mixture of wet and muddy field grounds and light (ish) forestry clear fell.
In the morning we covered some fields and a bit of marsh ground and my feet felt lovely, they were warm and most of all definitely not sore or strained at all, it looked like Ballistech were again true to their word on the “No Break In” quote.

During lunch (thank you again Jamie it was tasty) the boots became a source of amusement as when I took them off at the door to go in for lunch my feet were that warm the boots were steaming in the cold air.

In the afternoon we hit the clear fells and again even through the toughest parts the boots held up nicely and were still comfortable and if there was any moisture in the boots it was due my sweaty feet in my thermal socks.

After the first day I was well impressed and unlike the Le Chameau’s on the first outing I was free from ankle pain and shin splints. One thing I did learn though was to wear thinner socks as these were definitely proving to be a warmer boot than the Le Chameau Arrans.

….

It wasn’t long before the real testing began on the Bestards, The following day, without cleaning I may add, these boots were on my feet ready for work. 12 hours travelling between our woods and the dreaded Forestry block clear fells, working all day and night and at no point did I notice them on my feet. I went from being impressed to being amazed but it was early days.

After the first week I done my first Update and to be honest I was not just impressed I was amazed!!

A whole week went buy with no cleaning and used daily for work and Farm pest control coupled in and at not one point did I even have to put a news paper in them to take out the moisture, After my initial mistake of putting on thick socks I started to trust the boots and put much thinner socks on and I felt the benefit.

After the first week I gave them a clean with the products provided, mainly to see how good the products were as I was told that these are sold with the boots, . The cream was easy to apply and covered the boot nicely and the spray, well ???? lets just say you have to be in a well ventilated room to use it as it does make your eyes water a little, however, when the products were applied the boots looked brand new again even after a full weeks hard work and graft. I was genuinely starting to think that Bestard is the way to go and Ballistech were backing a very good product indeed.

let me take a second to talk about the cleaning products provided, this in itself shocked me as with every boot I have purchased including the Le Chameau’ I have never been giving cleaning or after care advice on how to look after them properly and what products are best let alone been given the products to use. Also I am surprised at how good the products were so I tried them on another pair of boots and it conditioned the leather on them beautifully.

Back to the Bestards themselves,

after their first cleaning I have not cleaned them since except for a quick hose down with cold water and that was three weeks ago and time and time again they are being put through their paces and still not letting up. every night and now in fact with the weather being bad I am wearing them every time I leave the house, they have become at the moment my go to shoes for day to day chores as well as proving themselves on the clear fells at work.

4 weeks on and these boots have not failed and really surprised to the point where I do not even notice they are on my feet, I have come to the stage where I am knit picking away at little things like finding the odd lump on the side wall or looking for cold spots when walking through snow but genuinely there is nothing I can find that is stopping me from wanting to wear them time and time again.

Ballistech have been brilliant every week I have spoken to Joshua with weekly updates and every week I am telling him I am surprised.

I am surprised that a product from Spain works so well in our harsh climate.

I am surprised they can withstand the chemicals, the peat and the harsh spikes from clear felled trees and branches within the forestry blocks.

I am surprised that they are still keeping water out even when fully submerged in peat hags full of water and over flowing burns and rivers as well as deep marsh where the suction on your feet can literally pull the boots clean off your feet,

I am surprised most of all that these are not on the market everywhere and the price being £50 cheaper than their competitors.

I have to admit after 4 weeks of putting them through the mill they still look good and the keep producing results , even today I was walking through a flood and my feet were dry. Totally amazed.

After 4 weeks if you were to ask me if I would buy these I would definitely say yes. Lets see what the next 4 weeks brings as I will still be keeping the reviews up and keeping you up to date on how these boots are doing.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

We are now nearly 8 months down the line

The Bestard Boots are working still perfectly with no leaks and very little wear,

I can assure you these boots have been tested to the extreme ,

Submerged in deep water, Submerged in deep peat and mud,

Walked through continuous wet grass on water-logged terrain,

Been through all of this years winter storms and all the way through the summer now into their second season hiking through the clear fells of the Scottish Highlands as well.

Truly an amazing boot.

Well worth the buy.