Das Boot

Sorry if you were expecting a post about a WW2 German U-boat but read on anyway,  only don’t expect much in the way of depth charging and torpedoing.

5 years ago I bought a pair of Meindl walking shoes ahead of an epic trip to Vietnam and Laos.  I’d never heard of Meindl before but they fitted well and were comfortable and weren’t too pricey at about £90.  In 5 years my Meindls have been all over SE Asia, from the hell hole that’s Phuket to jungle trekking in the very wet and muddy Cameron Highlands.  As an aside, let me tell you that jungle trekking tends to be hot, sweaty, muddy, humidy and insecty.  You hear the birds but never see them or any other wildlife.  All you can be guaranteed seeing is the back of the person in front of you.  Jungle treks – just say no!

Every winter the Meindls have had daily treks over the Edinburgh cobbles to and from work.  They’ve seen a lot of action.  In December last year I was wandering around Hanoi when a Vietnamese guy tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to my Meindls and said ‘I fix’.  I was about to just say no when I realised he had a point.  Despite having a comfortable, world traveller look about them the soles and heels were pretty worn down. My new friend gave me a pair of incredibly small flip flops to wear and set about my shoes.  He carried everything he needed in a plastic basket.  He pulled out a sheet of some thick, rubbery material, looked at the heel and then cut out a perfectly shaped patch.  Once the heels were done he then set about the worn out inner lining with a big needle and thread and just sowed them back up.  So, within the space of 5 minutes and at a cost of $4 my Meindls weren’t as good as new but they were good for a few more miles of trekking around.  Just another example of how profligate us bad Western folk are – throw it away rather than repair it.  Sermon over.

Back to my normal workaday life in Edinburgh I kinda forgot about the Meindls, just used the as required.  BUT then, as I was wandering around Blacks during the sale, I saw a pair of Meindl boots with a big SALE sticker on them.  Reduced from £99 to and unbelievably there were in my dinky size 7 too.  Briefly I considered the eco apect of using my old Meindls for ever and just repairing then until there was nothing left to repair.  Like I said, briefly……………

These were brand new boots at a knock down price!  Do you know how often I ever see sale stuff that actually fits me?  Never!  Sod the constant repairing – this was brand new, comfortable, CHEAP kit.  And 5 minutes later, the Meindl Magic Boots were mine.

Tagged as: boots, das boot, Hanoi shoe repair, jungle trekking, Meindl, walking shoes