We spotted a very gratifying post recently on the blog of our friends at Country Innovation. Edited highlights above.

Poking about on Google recently, we found another great vote of confidence in brasher footwear when we came across Alex Roddie's excellent web site:

A FellWalker in East Anglia.

Alex wrote a post entitled: '10 items of gear I rely on.'

And we were delighted to see that first in Alex's list of 10 outdoor essentials was a pair of brasher Hillmaster boots.

Alex comments in his introduction:

"This article describes ten of my favourite items of gear, in no particular order. I trust these items implicitly and would recommend them to anyone without hesitation."

Here's what he had to say about the brasher hillmasters:

THE BRASHER BOOT COMPANY
Hillmaster Classic GTX
3-season hiking boots

"As boots go, the Brasher Hillmaster Classic is, well, a classic.

Still among the most (if not the most) popular boots in Britain, the Hillmasters have been made for many years, and the subsequent alterations to the basic design have only made them better.

I bought a pair in February 2005 in preparation for the May trek. Comfortable right out of the box, waterproof, and with a low-cut ankle that makes walking in them a delight, I was impressed with the Hillmasters from day one.

They don't feel quite like any other kind of boot.

Apparently Brasher modelled their original hiking boots on running shoes, aiming for the same level of comfort while still retaining a stiff and supportive upper necessary for hillwalking.

The Hillmasters have it spot-on. I've walked many hundreds of miles in these boots, and they've taken quite a beating, but they're the most comfortable footwear I've ever owned.

If you've been having problems with blisters due to ill-fitting boots, or maybe if your feet just aren't Scarpa (or whatever)-shaped, Brasher boots might be well worth a look."

Footnote. since writing the review Alex has moved to a new site: Freeman of the Hill.

Walking World, the popular online walking guide, has now notched up a massive 4000 walks on their database.

What a fantastic achievement.

What's more, every one of those walks has been submitted and verified by a Walking World member, and so is a fantastic testament to the power of user-generated content.

We take our our hats, (and brasher boots) off to all concerned.

Why not find your next walk over on the Walking World searchable database?

Here's a really nice post about our Hillmaster GTX, from the 'WalkWeb' blog of an Australian Brasher fan of many years standing.

We make no apologies for reprinting it in full here, and as a thank you, also adding it to the sites we like column over on the right.

"I bought this pair of Brasher “Hillmaster” GTX boots back in 1999, and they have since given 8 years of sterling service. I’ve used them in all conditions - from snow and pelting rain to hot dry days. They’ve covered many, many miles around a good part of England and Wales as well as Switzerland and Australia, along all kinds of terrain.

The boots are constructed of a leather upper with Gore-tex lining and a rubber sole. The waterproofing is generally very good, although it is wise to remember that no boot can ever be completely waterproof, given water can get in from the top and around the tongue. The soles on my pair have worn down quite a bit but still have plenty of life left, and they are still firmly attached to the uppers. I’ve had no problems with seams coming undone or indeed any other manufacturing issues. I should add that the boots have often been stored wet and have not been cleaned that often, I’ll also have to admit that I have sometimes opened up the boot bag in which they are stored to discover dust and dirt and a rather fragrant pair of socks stuffed in them from the previous walk, which makes their longevity all the more impressive. Comfort has been excellent right from the start - no blisters at all, and at around 1.3kg they are quite light for a solid pair of boots and this makes a big difference towards the end of a day of walking.

In summary, definitely the best pair of walking boots I’ve owned: comfortable and light with excellent performance and quality. I’m retiring this pair now because the leather on the top of the boot at the front has finally cracked after the flexing of thousands of steps (the leather in this area has also become a bit brittle), but my next pair will be Hillmasters."

From the brasher blog Editor: Dear Mr WalkWeb. Many thanks for that. We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes appeared in The Daily Telegraph last week.

In a fashion spread entitled: 'Sir Ranulph Fiennes the reluctant model'. (A headline presumably based on the fact that he doesn't look too happy in some of the shots.)

However, in one outfit he's wearing, we were delighted to see that he's shod in a pair of brasher Supalite GTX boots. Hope he liked them.

And although he may have looked uncomfortable in front of the camera, we hope he approved of the legendary out of the box comfort our boots are known for.

Of course, Sir Ranulph is far more at home on a hill-walk than the cat-walk, and this week sees him setting off on a new monumental challenge.

Wednesday, the 2nd of April saw him fly out to Kathmandu to prepare to climb Everest. He will take the South Col route from Nepal, which was first climbed in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

An expedition, he hopes to raise £3 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care's palliative programme, Delivering Choice.

Please follow the link to the site above and support the cause.

If you thought celebs only wore Jimmy Choo's and Manolo's, then think again.

Because Amanda Mealing of Holby City, travelled to the slums in Sierra Leone in February for Save the Children and we provided her with a pair of Supalite XCR's for the trip.

Much-travelled Amanda has guest-starred in popular dramas such as The Bill, Midsomer Murders and In Deep.

She also appeared as an ex-girlfriend of surgeon Alex Adams in Holby City before taking up her regular role as Connie Beauchamp; 'a super confident ballbreaker with a ferocious appetite for life'.

Good on you Amanda for helping bring attention to Save the Children's Kroo Bay Project.

Did Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon secretly wear brasher boots?

This is the sensational claim we can reveal today.

Ex-Brasher Marketing Manager from the 1970's Ms April Loof, made the assertion today on this her 90th birthday.

Ms Loof said that, yes her memory wasn't quite what it was, but she could clearly recall that a special prototype brasher 'Moonmaster' boot was worn on that historic day in July 1969.

However, sources close to NASA rubbish the idea, saying that as Armstrong's walk was in 1969 and the Brasher Boot Company didn't originate until the 1970's, there was something of a mis-match in the dates.

(Speaking of dates perhaps we might also draw your attention to the date of this blog post. April 01 2008.)

We're delighted to report that Bill Oddie, ornithologist and all-round Goodie, wears our boots.

Indeed we're told he's been an avid fan of brasher Supalite GTX boots for many years, loving the lightness, softness and comfort of the full leather boot.

You’ll see him sporting them in many of his television series including the latest Autumnwatch and the new series of Springwatch due to be televised in May of this year.

Bill works closely with Country Innovation, who specialise in clothing and footwear for the bird/wildlife market and who are a brasher Premier Stockist and Key Online Specialist.

Commenting on our boots Bill says; My only complaint is that my Grandson’s feet have grown and he keeps pinching them, saying ‘Wow Grandad, these are cool!’.

This is the first, (and possibly the last time) this blog will quote the ‘Journal of Theoretical Biology’.

But according to the Thaindian News web site, a new study maintains that: ” While traversing steep hillsides, trekking on a straight line might seem like the shortest route, but its the zigzag course that provides the most efficient and fastest way for humans to go up or down hilly terrain.”

Of course, old hands in the hills have known this for years. But it is nice to get official confirmation.

See the full article here.

We've heard on the grapevine, that there’s a ‘bouncy’ new competition in the pipeline, in which you could win a pair of the recently launched, newer than new, Calusa XCR high-performance, multi-activity shoe.

Full details will be on the Outdoorsmagic web site w/c March 3rd, but all we can tell you now is that the comp is built around our ‘What’s Your Playground’ theme, and there’ll be 10 lucky winners.

So don’t forget to check out Outdoorsmagic. And who knows? You could be stepping out this Spring in a pair of the newest, most sought after activity shoes available.

The Wainwright Window in Buttermere Church, which overlooks Haystacks, has been battered by recent heavy storms over Cumbria, sparking fears the window could shatter.

With reports of more bad weather in the coming weeks, the Rev Margaret Jenkinson, vicar of Buttermere Church, took the decision to board up the window while its frame is strengthened.

Full story here on LiveForThe OutDoors with more information here at the Online Fellwalking Club, including news about the restoration appeal.

Next time you're preparing breakfast after an overnight camp, don't bother to take the stove along, cook breakfast with your torch instead.

But not just any old torch, you'll need one like this,

Described as the world's most powerful flashlight, it pumps out a massive 4100 lumens. (Whatever they are.)

And will doubtless become the torch/cooker of choice obyoutdoor chefs everywhere.

To see it in action, you can go to the YouTube link here.

(Seen on the ever illuminating, LightHikersWorld blog.)

This is a great find from Telegraph TV's travel section.

A short, useful film about being out and about in winter.

(We particularly liked the orange bin-liner demo.)

Can't find a McDonald's at the top of the climb?

Then how about a hi-tech hamburger?

Swiss-based company Katadyn think they can satisfy the hungriest hiker with their fast-food in the wilderness product: Cheeseburger in a can.

The company are known as specialists who develop ready-meals for the outdoor, expedition and extreme athlete markets, and you prep the hamburger by simply bunging the can into a pan of boiling water on the camp stove.

Fancy something to wash it down?

No problem, because under the same; Trekking-Mahlzeiten brand you can also get a 9.27% red wine to go with it. In powdered form, of course, just add water.

Mmmmm, sounds scrummy.

(Thanks to Gizmag for the original story.)

For some people, achieving 2 out of 10 isn't anything to crow about.

But getting not one, but two brasher boots as finalists in The Independent's review of the ten best walking boots isn't half bad in our book, (or our blog and their newspaper come to that.)

At number 8:The brasher Supalite XCR.

And at number 1: The brasher Hillmaster GTX.

So a big thank you to The Independent, and a great big thank you to the walkers of Britain who make our legendary Hillmaster the best-selling walking boot in the country.

Footnote:
Breaking news. As of mid-Feb 08 an upgraded version of the Hillmaster GTX will be available throughout the country. Features to look out for are; additional comfort points, (yep, amazingly we've made them even more comfortable), a re-introduction of leather linings, (yep, we do take notice of customer feedback), same amazing fit, same light weight to strength ratio.

We came across a great blog the other day from a chap called Mark Reid.

Mark, (described by The Sunday Times as 'Wainwright with Booze'), is the author of "The Inn Way" series of guidebooks based on long distance circular walks via traditional pubs in the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, North York Moors, Northumberland and Peak District.

We think it's a terrific idea; walking and pubs, a marriage made in heaven.

What's more, for every book sold Mark donates a percentage of the profits to conservation projects with the relevant National Park. Money raised helps fund activities such as habitat creation, tree planting, walls and barns restoration.

So Mark, cheers for the Inn Way series and please keep us posted as new editions come out.

Footnote: When we asked Mark his permission to write about him on our blog, he actually wears brasher Trailmasters. And has done for the last 8 years, getting through a pair every 18 months or so. A reflection we hope, on the number of miles/pubs Mark covers, rather than the typical life-span of our boots!

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service have a flickr photoset up here.

Their caption to the above shot:

"Mature cornice, Aonach Mor. Note: SAIS does not recommend standing on cornices. Do not try this at home."

At brasher, we think walking often goes hand-in-hand with photography.

('Walking'/'Hand-in-hand'? oh dear.)

Anyhow, it's one of the reason we big fans of the online photo-sharing site flickr.

You can see our growing collection of shots on this fantastic web resource here:

However, for those readers new to flickr, we thought we might bring to your attention this lovely short film, from Seattle-based commoncraft, explaining just how flickr works and why it's such a great idea.

Although we're not an out-and-out climbing brand, climbers in and out of the company might be interested in this amazing climbing wall in Japan.

Consisting of; "...English stately home-style accessories such as picture frames and deer heads instead of the usual rock-shaped holds", we think it rocks. And quite a few of us at brasher HQ would love to get to grips with it. Not least our resident in-house climbing addict Philippe.