Wetland women’s field boots from The Original Muck Boot Company - tried and tested by Emily Damment

credit: Archant

I might be a little slow on the ‘new-generation-super-wellie’ uptake, because I was genuinely surprised by the various merits of this pair. Never before would I have thought to describe any wellie-wearing experience as ‘pleasant’, yet that is exactly the word that springs to mind when reflecting on my lengthy dog walk in the Wetland women’s boots, kindly sent for testing by The Original Muck Boot Company.

My heart sank as I set off… the boots are true to size with extra room for thick socks, but I had chosen to wear thin ones to better asses the rub risk, and could feel a slight slip at the heel; ‘two bloody ankles to deal with when I get home,’ I thought sourly. Those wellies proved me very wrong, and I apologise to them. The squishy, foamy lining cushioned my feet perfectly and, upon emergence from the boots, my ankles were in much the same state of comfort as they’ve always been. My very high instep often means that the balls of my feet become agonising if insufficiently padded, yet I positively danced the last 15 minutes of my two-hour walk; they really did give a cushiony feel, helped by the fact that they are shaped specially to fit a woman’s feet. The soles have fantastic grip – my walk takes me over several wooden styles and my (embarrassingly ill-trained) mongrel pulls like a steam train, yet I didn’t slip once or feel unsteady on my feet. Finally, they were lovely and warm, and I can imagine that on a chilly winter shoot, if teamed with thermal socks, they would keep your toes toasty for the duration. My younger days were spent exclusively on horse yards, where the wellies of old became a sort of symbol of the devil, designed to keep you dry and nothing more – and only then if they hadn’t developed the dreaded ‘secret split’. A pair of these beauties would have made those years an awful lot warmer, and less painful. (Plus, when you look at the wellie market, they are rather reasonably priced!)

RRP: £90

www.muckbootcompany.co.uk