Timberland men’s 6 inch insulated boot (waterproof)

Pulling the Timberland boots out of the box, the first thing I noticed is that they are heavy duty. The leather is solid, the soles are thick and the lugs deep. I enjoy that they remind me of traditional hiking boots, and almost make me feel like John Muir might have worn a pair.

When you first put the boots on, they are stiff and pretty difficult to walk around in. However, within a couple weeks (depending on how frequently you where them) they start to become more comfortable. As tempting as it might be to break them in on a hike, I’d much rather recommend short walks around the neighborhood or a stroll around the yard initially as the first few times can be uncomfortable.

Having broken them in, the comfort level of the boots goes up dramatically. In the pacific northwest where I’m normally found, we have gone out on a few walks in the pouring rain, and the Timberland boots don’t let a drop of moisture through. In fact, when the boots are clean they shed a fair amount of water, looking like they’ve hardly been outside. My feet stayed comfortable even on fairly warm rainy days, which made me wonder about how effective the insulation was. To find out, we joined Mr. Adventure up in the Okanagan and spent a long weekend in the snow. Going sledding and snowshoeing, my feet were very comfortable despite wearing only slightly heavier socks than normal. Going up to my ankles in snow I didn’t feel the slightest chill. This was quite a surprise to me, especially while in the midst of a group wearing thick socks in boots clearly designed for the extremes of winter. Perhaps these boots wouldn’t do quite so comfortably in the extremes, but they’ve definitely covered the vast majority of outdoor conditions I’ve ever faced. Its still a bit early to get a long term feel of their waterproofness, but they look promising.

When we’ve been at home, I have worn these Timberland boots for the majority of my outdoor garden projects. One of my earliest projects was digging a drainage path under one of our downspouts in the middle of a downpour. I was completely soaked… except my feet. The heavy duty sole was very useful in maintaining foot comfort while digging out a space for our raised garden bed, building the garden box, and helping the family fill it up with soil. Perhaps the best way to describe these boots in the yard is that they are so stable and comfortable, that I think about my task more than I think about my feet. As a note these boots do not have any specialized toe protection, though timberland does have a line of boots with toe protection specifically in mind.

No boot is perfect though, and I have found one condition where I find the Timberland premium waterproof boots uncomfortable, and that is walking fast on a paved surface. They feel just fine when walking at an easy pace on pavement, but my feet felt a bit sore when I needed to pick up the pace over a 1/4 mile.

Timberland’s boots have a couple of foibles that are worth mentioning. They aren’t hard to manage, but its information that’s good to know. Because the sole is significantly wider than your foot, I have found it very difficult driving while wearing them. They are not very forgiving if you don’t place your foot quite right an on one occasion I found myself pressing both the brake and gas pedal at the same time. The second challenge is the laces. When taking the boots off, I find I need to loosen the laces quite a lot and have the laces come out of the top two eyes. In and of itself that’s not a problem, the laces still do not touch the ground and it’s easy to slip on the boots for around the camp or doing a quick job in the garden. However, over time the laces have been progressing out of alignment and I feel like I’m going to be redoing the laces  much sooner than I’ve ever done with my other shoes.

Depending on the color you get, Timberland’s boots offer one extra benefit not considered in your typical boots. If there is a call for slightly more formal attire (not a black tie dinner, but more than jeans and a t-shirt) or smart attire in snowy weather, then you have a pair of rugged boots that look good too.

For work or for walks, for rain or for snow, the Timberland waterproof boots are about a versatile as you can get, tackling a variety of outdoor conditions with hardiness, stability and comfort that will let you focus on the fun and not on your feet.

The strengths of these boots are such that when our family of 5 goes backpacking this summer, I’ll be reaching for my Timberland premium waterproof boots because their solid construction and high ankle is helpful for me as I carry the lion’s share of the gear making sure that the whole family has a pleasant experience outdoors.