High House, Seathwaite, owned by K Shoes was the meeting place of Chris Brasher and Ken Ledward of KLETS back in the 1980's, for their many product testing meetings.

Situated just off the popular valley of Borrowdale in the English Lake District, it was the perfect place for testing boots out on the fell.

In 1986, Chris Brasher and KLETS team of testers took their first footsteps in a brasher fabric boot.
Chris Brasher said to the team of testers that day "If you get a blister in my boots, I will give you a bottle of champagne".

As always, the boots delivered out-of-the-box comfort and the team of testers were grieved they never got that bottle of champagne!

High House was where the "Lightweight Revolution" started all those years ago and a perfect place for the brasher team to return to for the lightweight Lithium XCR launch day.

On the 12th January 2009, it was a typical winter's day in the Lake District and the brasher team met at High House for a product test day.
Everyone was presented with a belated Christmas present, a brand new pair of Lithium XCR's, a new extremely lightweight, fabric walking boot.

The team followed the same steps that Chris Brasher took back in 1986, and the Lithium XCR was put to the test.
As Ken Ledward led the walk with stories of Chris Brasher the team were enjoying the 5 mile walk and so were their feet.

We finished the walk back at High House with tea and cake, and as before no champagne was in sight as no blisters were seen, just like all those years ago.

If you would like to enjoy out-of-the-box-comfort from the new lightweight Lithium XCR, the boot will be available in-stores from next week.
For your nearest stockist please give us a call on 0191 5165780.

More pics from the day can be seen on Flickr.

Peter Davison recently contacted us after purchasing his second pair of brasher footwear.

Peter claims he is "not a walker as such" but having never had his brasher boots off his feet for the last 18 months it's fair to say that they've probably covered a fair few miles.
Peter wears his boots for every occasion, the only exception being if he has to attend a funeral, and that is only because they aren't black.

He tells us "These fantastic boots are still as comfortable as the day I purchased them, probably more so, but like all things which are used constantly, they have now unfortunately worn out.
Of course, I have now purchased a replacement pair , which right from the onset, have seemed as comfy as the old pair."

This month sees the launch of brasher's new AW08 collection.

The AT:20 range is a versatile combination of styles which are great for travel and casual wear with a smart appearance. They can be worn around town, in the office or for everyday use.

Tindale XCR is a comfortable casual shoe great for everyday wear priced at £95.

Many of the styles have a GTX waterproof lining and feature Memory foam in the collar and tongue for extra comfort.

The women's Bolivar XCR is a uniquely designed waterproof calf boot which looks great with trousers or a skirt retailing at £120.

The full range can be viewed on the webiste. For local retailers check out the stockists search on our website or by calling Customer Services on 0191 5165780.

Graham Thompson, technical editor for Trail magazine has recently been out and about in his trusted brasher Supalite GTX boots.

He has put together a short film about hillwalking which might inspire a few of us to get out into the hills!

The full footage can be seen in Graham Thompson's Guide to Hillwalking on the website Live for the Outdoors by following the link below.

www.livefortheoutdoors.com/Videos/Search-Results/Walking/What-hill-walkings-all-about/

In June we ran a competition with outdoorsmagic.com to find the brasher spacehopper hidden on our website. Ten lucky winners each won a pair of Calusa XCR and part of their prize was to write a review for the brasher blog including a photo of themselves wearing their Calusa footwear in their 'outdoor playground'.

Geoff Dagger from Blackburn is our first happy winner to write in!

"Firstly I would like to say how pleased I am with my lovely brasher Calusa XCR's. As a long time supporter of old fashioned leather boots I was expecting to be slightly underwhelmed by them.

The first thing you notice when you put them on is the comfortably shaped footbed. For someone who has extremely flat feet I found that these not only felt comfortable but immediately improved my posture, which has led to a reduction in backache. They also provide very firm support around the ankles.

I was also surprised to find how easily they are to clean, they have lots of fiddly bits on the uppers which look like they will trap dirt, but so far they have come up clean very easily. The soles don't seem to clog up with dirt so that's another plus and are quite thick which act as good shock absorbers and grip well in the wet.

I would have to say on longer treks or extremely boggy conditions it would be back to my leather boots, but for less demanding jaunts they are ideal. My only slight critisism is I find them rather narrow around the toe area and would have preferred a little more room, though maybe I'll get used to this.

Also another unexpected bonus was they look so good that they can be used as day wear instead of trainers, and with previously mentioned comfort and posture benefits, are ideal for wearing at concerts and other times when you are stood around for long periods.

All in all I'm a convert and look forward to many happy times using my brasher Calusa XCR's."