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.