by Gareth Rowson
18.10.2010
Product
Altitude IV WPi NT Enviro
Promise
A lightweight, waterproof walking boot that offers unbeatable performance, comfort and true value, along with greater consideration of every ingredient of the boot’s DNA and its environmental impact.
Performance
Hi-Tec and the National Trust have come together to create a pioneering hiking boot with a minimal carbon footprint. Using a range of recycled materials and environmentally-friendly production processes, it's the beginning of a greener future in technical outdoor gear.
The classic styled hiking boots avoid the conventional heavy chemical mixes required for tanning and also use water-based cements for the uppers. The inner mesh is regenerated from recycled materials, as is the EVA sock liner, steel shank and rubber outsole. Even the injection moulding leaves less waste during construction.
With waterproof construction featuring the revolutionary ion-mask hydro management technology, these environmentally considered boots remain cleaner, lighter (my size elevens weighing in at a mere 600 grams each) and more comfortable than your average hiking boot.
Designed for the more casual British walker, their lightweight construction doesn't suit high Alpine mountaineering but are perfect for the terrain you would expect from the National Trust’s magnificent landscapes throughout the British countryside.
Verdict
Comfortable from the moment you put them on, these rambler footwear essentials will have you covering every inch of the National Trust’s beautiful terrain guilt-free, content in the knowledge you are wearing the first of a new and improved Hi-Tec outlook based on preserving the future and the outdoors for generations to come. A great development in footwear that is both environmentally conscientious and very affordable.
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