John Hill, Editor of Good Ski Guide and Mountain Magic dropped us a few lines about his trusty Hillmaster's.

"I've just turned in my brasher's which have seen service in some 20 countries. I used the boots to travel to ski resorts worldwide and as a snow boot round resort, and in the spring and summer used them for many treks in the Alps and in the Cairngorms. 
They saw great service in the recent Great Freeze when I was stuck in Aviemore for a week in metre-deep snow. I used them to walk to the shops in Aviemore for supplies and they initially gave up - well all that went wrong was that the join in the leather started to separate - not surprising after all those many thousands of miles.
The soles were hardly worn, and the boots were the comfiest, warmest and best water-repelling boot I have ever had and I have tested many boots over the years but always went back to my brasher's.

I now have a new pair of Hillmaster GTX which will be involved in many new adventures.

p.s The original boots were gifted to me by Mike Browne for our company's help in assisting him to set up his Snow and Rock chain." 

Peter Eagan recently completed the Everest Marathon wearing his brasher Helium's. He wore these during his extensive training as well as for the event itself.

He sent us the following comments:

" I have now completed the Everest Marathon, having trained almost exclusively in my brasher Helium shoes, I was confident they would perform well, which they did.

I found them to be extremely comfortable with no rubbing on the heels like I have felt in other fell/trail shoes - and no blisters at all.

I found the cushoining to be perfect for the type of terrain we were running on, rugged and rocky tracks requiring good traction on steep descents."

Well done Peter for all your hard work and thanks for letting us know how you got on!

brasher have even more reasons to celebrate this December as our new lightweight trekking boot Lithium GTX has just won Gear Of The Year Award voted by Wanderlust magazine.

As quoted by Wanderlust:

"These structured boots support the ankles, hold up well on rocky paths, are waterproof, instantly comfortable and as you'd expect, very light. They're a great compromise for travellers who like trek, or trekkers who love to travel"

To check out the tech spec on these boots click here.

We supplied a pair of Helium XCR's to Peter Eagan for use in the Everest Marathon. He has been wearing them throughout his training for the event and has sent us through his comments.

"I have now almost completed my training for the Everest Marathon and have trained almost exclusively in my brasher Helium shoes.

I have found them to be extremely comfortable with no rubbing on the heels like I have felt in other fell/trail shoes. I found the cushioning to be perfect for the type of terrain we will be running on, rugged and rocky tracks; requiring good traction on steep descents. 

The shoes are showing no signs of wear to the uppers and only a small amount on the soles so far.

The only problem that I have found is that the traction on steep wet surfaces is not as good as other shoes, I feel that perhaps they are not designed for that type of surface anyway. 

A number of friends have commented on the appearance and performance of the shoes saying that they are stylish as well as practical."

The marathon takes place this month and we will give you an update when we have any news from Peter Eagan, Bruce Walker and Adrian Davies who will all be wearing Helium's.

Words from The Scotsman....

"At a modest 3,169ft, Ben More on the Isle of Mull isn't the biggest Munro, but it's one of the boggiest. I took a pair of brasher's Lithium GTX® walking boots up it at the start of October - after a week of almost solid rain - to test out the claims of water-resistance and breathability. And although I spent most of the time up to my ankles in black mud, my feet were still bone dry and toasty back at the car. I couldn't even get the Lithium's to leak by dunking them in a burn. Very impressive."

The Scotsman 17 Octobrt 2009