brasher staff were given a belated Christmas present, a day out in the Lake District, snow and a pair of brand new boots! Not only were they brand new and fresh out of the box but also brand new for Spring Summer 2010, and they were lucky enough to be given them to test! What a perfect way to spend a Monday and a great way to start the week!

They all met up at the local pub, Swinside Inn, Newlands Valley where they were given a new pair of boots, a pair of crampons and an ice axe. The new boot they were putting to the test was Kanaga GTX, the new all year round mountain walking boot that is B1 crampon compatible and wearing it straight from the box was definitely a test for brasher's out-of-the-box comfort.

Ken Ledward was the guide for the day, Ken and his team has been testing the new Kanaga GTX for the past few months so he was looking forward to sharing his love for this boot with everyone.

The team was heading up Causey Pike which is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5km south west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres (2,090 ft) it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its distinguishing summit "nobble" which catches the eye.

Taking a gradual walk to the summit and testing the boots GORE-TEX® membrane en-route through the stream.

The path to the summit, although well defined, was very rocky and covered in snow, this allowed the team to test the grip, support and stability of the boots. Prior to reaching the summit, the team enjoyed a section of scrambling, where the boots really did perform well in terms of grip and ankle support.

 

The summit was a perfect photo opportunity.

 

Blessed with snow on the summit and the temperature of -5 everyone put on their crampons to continue with the ridge walk, which was a great opportunity to see how the boots performed with crampons.

On the route down crampons and walking axe were definitely needed for support as the snow was fairly deep.

On arrival back to the pub at Newlands everyone enjoyed well deserved sandwiches, cake and a cup of tea and talked about what a great day it had been. Without a blister in sight, it was a fair to say the new Kanaga GTX delivered performance and out-of-the-box comfort.

It was no ordinary Monday and definitely a memorable one!

The new Kanaga GTX will be available in-store from end of March, so not that long to wait!