Boot survey part 2

After the recent snow and cold weather I have repeated the boot survey.
From a total of 470 people, (male 228, female 242),  30.56% of men were wearing boots and 78.51% of women wore boots. These are both increases over last month.

	Shoes	Ankle boot	Above the ankle	Calf length	Knee Length
Male	60.44%	23.96%	3.13%	2.08%	1.39%
Female	21.49%	21.90%	32.64%	14.05%	9.92%

Men:

Women:

More Sheepskin Boots

These are more boots to add to my list of pairs I'd really love to own. I think they look great, and since I love knee length boots, these would be fantastic. They cost £114 in my size, which is a bit pricey but not too bad.

They are available from here: http://www.kiwi-sheepskins.com/detail.asp?product_id=FW039

Details from their website:

Top fully folded down:(can be partially folded down for some extra height) 13.5 and 16in. (34 and 40.5cm)
Top unfolded at full height: 16.5 to 19.5in. (42 to 49.5cm)
By contrast, the sheepskin boots from Celtic Sheepskin (which cost £145) are 43cm tall. I assume these are heights from the ground. When I measured my leg, while wearing my skate shoes, it was approximately 47cm from ground to the back of my knee.

This is another view of the Celtic Sheepskin boots, taken from their website. They just look so warm and comfortable. I would really love a pair of each of these boots.

Warm ankles, cold toes

I've been wearing my gola boxing boots so far this week. Whenever I wear my Adidas boots I only lace them half-way up but I always wear the gola boots laced all the way up. They are nice and snug around my ankles, keeping them lovely and warm in my cold office.

Boot Wearing Survey

I decided to do a week-long survey of boot-wearing. This survey was conducted in and around where I work, which is in a mostly pedestrianised area. I made a note of how many people I saw while I was walking around, mainly walking between the car park and my office, and whether they were wearing shoes/trainers, ankle boots, above the ankle, calf length or knee length boots.

In total I observed 1048 people, 536 male and 512 female. 

Only 19.03% of males were wearing  boots, while 58.01% of females were wearing boots.

	Shoes	Ankle boot	Above the ankle	Calf length	Knee Length
Male	80.97%	16.23%	1.87%	0.75%	0.19%
Female	41.99%	19.14%	23.24%	11.52%	4.10%

I wasn't surprised to record that women wore more boots than men. There was only 1 recorded man wearing knee length boots and that was a builder wearing wellies. I included myself in the tally, so my 20-eye doc martens and my boxing boots helped to boost the above-the-ankle and calf length count. In fact all but one of the male calf length boots were me - the other was a motorcyclist.

In the charts below, non=shoes/trainers, low=ankle boot, mid=above the ankle, high=calf length boot and top=knee length boot.

Women:

Men:

I might conduct the survey again in the summer and see how the results change.

Levi's Hi-tops

My Levi's extra-tall converse style boots are definitely getting closer to being thrown out. I wore them for work today because it was dry and sunny when I left the house. It rained during the day so the pavements were wet when I left. The sole has started to crack so water got in while I was walking. Since I enjoy wearing them I am going to keep them for as long as possible, but I'll only wear them when it's definitely going to be dry.

Boots and shops

Today has been another 'trousers tucked inside boots' day, with a slight emphasis on shopping with boots on display. I started off wearing my adidas boxing boots laced up with trousers tucked inside. I drove to the supermarket, got some petrol, then walked round the shop.

Later on I did a bit of gardening, wearing my Le Chameau wellies. When I got inside I changed into my riding boots.

This afternoon I walked to one of the local shops, about a mile each way, still wearing my riding boots. This is the furthest I've walked wearing them, and the first time I've risked wearing them in public in my street. I decided I didn't care what the neighbours thought - I was going to wear the boots and have them on show.

The left boot rubbed slightly just below knee, where the top of the boot is a bit tight, but otherwise they were ok. It got quite warm while I was out and the boots have softened up really nicely. I think I got at admiring glance from a young lady who looked at the boots and smiled as she walked past, otherwise nobody seemed to notice or care that I was wearing them.

Doc Martens weather

The weather is a bit grim today so I put my doc martens on this morning. I haven't worn them for ages (according to this blog, sometime in June). They were a bit dusty so I had to give them a brief clean before I laced them up.
It's a pleasant feeling, sitting at my desk in work, with the tall boots gently pressing on the back of my leg.

Another fun boot day

This morning I went for a walk in the countryside. I decided to put my wellies on, which was a good idea because it had rained a lot in the week and the ground was quite muddy.
When I got home I changed into my riding boots. I haven't worn these for a few months and had been looking forward to wearing them again. I was still wearing my jeans and the boots were a very snug fit, quite difficult to pull on. I really should remember to wear thinner trousers with these boots. I first noticed this back in May when I bought them.

Riding Boots again

I've been wearing my riding boots again today. I've been thinking about them a lot and have missed the feeling of wearing a snug boot around my knee.
I put the boots on earlier this evening and I'd forgotten quite how snug they are. It's a very warm day again so I don't think I will be wearing them overnight again.

At the start of June, I mentioned that I was going to measure my boot-inch-hours for the month. I was too busy and only managed to record the details for the first half of the month. The days between the 9th and the 17th were exceptional because they included me wearing my riding boots a lot, including one day where I wore them non-stop for 24 hours. This gives a daily score of 372 boot-inch-hours. I wore my DMs or lonsdale boxing boots in work so every day was well over 100 boot-inch-hours.

The following week was probably more representative. I mostly wore my converse hi-tops, so the days scored 20-30. I wore my adidas boxing boots in work one day, which scored 50.

The scores are (inches above the ankle x hours worn) - (time not wearing boots x 2). The '2' comes from the ankle to sole of foot distance, so this sets a minimum wearing time to avoid getting a negative score.

Waking up in boots

I slept in my riding boots again last night. I was wearing them in the evening but was enjoying them so much I thought I would sleep in them one more time.

When I bought the boots, I had no idea how much better than wellies they would be. Each of my knee length rubber boots has different advantages and disadvantages so I think I still need to keep all 3 pairs. I was originally going to throw away my old pair of blue wellies because they aren't as comfortable as my others but I have decided to keep them.

My green wellies are the best all-round pair. They are the most comfortable for walking in and are my main general purpose pair. My blue wellies are slightly too big so they aren't very good for walking. Their best feature is actually their loose fit. I can simply step into them, making them the quickest pair to put on and take off. Although I prefer a boot which fits snugly around the leg, it is actually good to have a pair which can be changed into quickly and easily.

My riding boots are the best for sitting around the house. They aren't great for walking - the foot is a bit too long and they rub when I walk, but that doesn't matter if I'm wearing them watching tv. What I really love about them is the snug fit around the leg and the height. When my leg is straight, the boots seem to stop about an inch below my knee but when I bend my knee the boot gently presses into the back of the knee, which is a really pleasant feeling - it is a wonderful constant reminder that I am wearing knee length boots.

8 days a week of boots

For the past week, including today the past 8 days, I've only been wearing tall boots. Most of my time has been spent wearing knee length boots - either my riding boots, wellies or Doc Martens. The shortest boots I've been wearing have been my Lonsdale boxing boots.

I have been sleeping in my boots quite a lot recently. Last saturday I decided to wear my new riding boots for the whole day. I put them on friday evening and slept in them overnight, then wore them for all of saturday. I took them off at midnight.

I have been wearing my Doc Martens in work if it's been raining, otherwise I've been wearing my boxing boots. Every evening I changed into my riding boots when I got home. I like wearing riding boots - I think the close fitting shaft of the boot looks great as it reaches up towards the knee. When I'm watching TV or reading a book, I find myself looking at the boots and enjoying the way they fit.

On thursday night I slept in my riding boots again. When I woke up on friday morning I changed into my boxing boots to go to work. I wore my wellies for a while before changing into my riding boots for the evening. When I went to bed I changed into my boxing boots and slept in those.

It is now the 2nd saturday of this 8 day week of tall boots. I plan to wear my boxing boots for most of the day - the weather looks like it might be warm so boxing boots and shorts might be good to wear. I intend to change into my riding boots this evening and sleep in them for one last time before I return to my more normal boot wearing routine.

Shopping in my wellies 2

It was raining when I got home so I decided to put my wellies on to go out to the shops. As usual, I was the only person in wellies, despite the heavy rain.
When I got back home I changed into my riding boots. Either I've got one leg fatter than the other, or one boot is smaller around the calf, because one boot is tighter than the other.

Weighing my Boots

A few weeks ago I had a play on the Wii Fit while wearing my Lonsdale boxing boots. I thought the boots felt very light compared to my skate shoes, so today I decided to weight most of my boots and shoes.

Weights are in grams and are for a pair.

Vans Sk8 hi	1126
B&W Converse	945
Black Converse	880
Maroon Converse	905
Tall Converse	792
Adidas boxing boots	742
Gola boxing boots	732
Lonsdale boxing boots	820
Doc Martens	1742
Blue Wellies	2088
Le Chameau wellies	1958
Riding Boots	2278
Black and Red skate shoes	961
Grey Vans skate shoes	1080

Unsurprisingly the knee length boots were the heaviest. The one thing which surprised me was how heavy the Converse hi-tops were. I expected them to be much lighter than my skate shoes and didn't expect them to be heavier than my boxing boots.

Going for a walk in my riding boots

I drove out into the countryside this morning, wearing my riding boots, and went for a short walk. This was the first time I had worn the boots outside (apart from in my garden). It was also the first time I had driven my car while wearing the boots. I've been wearing the boots for over 12 hours so they had softened up wonderfully so they weren't too stiff to drive in.

The tops of the boots had started to feel a bit tight around the knee/upper calf but not uncomfortably so. The sole had gone quite soft and I could feel the difference between the heel and the rest of the sole. It felt a bit strange, pressing into the bottom of my foot.

24 hours of riding boots

In an attempt to break in my riding boots, I have decided to wear them for a full 24 hours. I put them on last night and slept in them. I haven't been wearing them continuously - I took them off when I got changed. I wore them when I walked to the shops but had them inside my trousers so the neighbours wouldn't realise I was wearing riding boots. When I got back into the house, I tucked my trousers back into the boots again.

With hindsight, I probably shouldn't have chosen today to wear the boots all day. It has been very warm, not the best day to be wearing knee length boots all day. Especially because the boots are well lined and padded and such a snug fit, so my legs don't get chance to breathe.

Warm in Boots

It's been a very warm day today. I decided to wear shorts so it was the turn of my Black & White Converse hi-tops. I have been keeping my Gola boxing boots in my office and occasionally change into them when I get to work. I kept my converse on all day but changed into the boxing boots before I left to go home. I rarely wear shorts and boxing boots outside the house, so this was quite an event for me.

When I got home I changed into my taller Lonsdale boxing boots (still wearing my shorts). I kept them on until it got a bit cooler in the evening, then I changed into long trousers and my new riding boots. These boots are a very snug fit and they seemed to form a seal around my calf muscles when I pulled them on, making it a bit of a struggle to pull them fully on.

The weather forecast for the weekend includes rain so I should get plenty of chance to wear my riding boots or wellies. Since I'm measuring 'inch-hours' this month, this should boost my score quite a lot.

Another month of Boot Hours

Back in November, I did a boot-inch-hours tally where I measured my boot wearing by multiplying boot height above the ankle by the number of hours I wore them. I said that I would try again in the summer so I have decided to do it again for June. Both are 30 day months so the results should be comparable.

Since I love wearing taller boots, I thought I'd start the month with my tall converse-style boots. I noticed it had started raining so I changed into my Vans Sk8-hi, which will lower todays score.

One thing is different: I have a pair of riding boots now. These are a couple of inches taller than my Le Chameau wellies, so any time I wear these, the boot wearing score will increase quite rapidly. I will be spending a few days on my own so I think I'll wear them as much as possible while I get the chance.

I don't know whether I will get much chance to wear my wellies this month. I managed to wear them a couple of times over the bank holiday weekend, for a couple of hours each time. I was out in the countryside and it seemed the right thing to do.

New Boots

I have been wanting to buy a pair of riding boots for a while. The pair I was originally going to buy weren't in stock at the time and have since been discontinued. Instead of driving all the way to Derby House, I found a local saddlery and bought them there instead.

The boots are pull-on instead of having a zip but they were fairly cheap and they weren't too difficult to put on and take off.

The boots are lovely and comfortable. They are about an inch taller than my Le Chameau wellies and reach all the way to the back of my knee. They are a lovely snug fit too. I can't fit my hand between the boot and my leg. They might be a little too snug because the boot presses against the front of my shin when I walk. Since I'm wearing them with my jeans at the moment, they might be better with thinner trousers.

I am just wearing them around the house today and they are quite stiff and difficult to walk in but I'm sure they will soften up eventually.

Tall boots week

I've been wearing my tall hi-tops in work this week. On monday and again today, I wore my Gola boxing boots. I wore my Adidas boxing boots and my tall 'fake converse' boots on the other days.

Adidas Boxing Boots

I'm wearing my Adidas Tygun boxing boots today. It's been quite a while since I've worn them. They had got a bit squashed and the ankles weren't standing up straight on their own so I decided to wear them for work, laced up all the way to try to hold the boot ankles straight.

Out in the Country

I went to a country show today. The weather has been a bit wet recently so of course I had to wear my wellies. I put them on as soon as we got there and kept them on all day.
There were lots of different pairs of wellies being worn today. It was a good day out.

Plenty of Wellies

I've been wearing my wellies a lot this weekend. Yesterday it was raining so I put my wellies on when I went out to the shops. I kept them on when I got home and waited for the rain to stop so I could go into the garden to start getting the pots ready for planting vegetables. At the moment I only get chance to do work in the garden at weekends, so I really need to take advantage of any opportunity to go out.

Yesterday afternoon I changed into my 'long shorts' and my Lonsdale boxing boots. The shorts come to just below my knees, where they meet the tops of the boots. I thought the combination looked really good. I forgot to take a photo though. I'll have to remember to do that next time I wear them.

The weather was better today so I put my wellies back on to go into the garden to finish off the work I started yesterday.

Boxing Boots in work

I've been wearing my Doc Martens boots a lot in work. Today I'm wearing my old gola boxing boots for a change. I haven't worn these in ages. They are well padded and feel nice around my ankles.

I want some new boots

I have got to the stage where I want a new pair of boots again. Every now and again I get the need for new boots, even though I probably have enough pairs. The last few times this has happened, it's been fairly easy for me to get a new pair.

Last year, when I found out about the Lonsdale Jab boxing boots, it was a few days before I developed an urge to buy them. I just felt that I really needed those boots. I'm glad I bought them because they are amazing to wear.

The year before, I felt the need to buy a new pair of wellies. Although I love my le Chameau boots, I really wanted a pair of black wellies too. I couldn't find black so I ended up with the dark blue wellies instead. I like them, but I would prefer a taller pair.

A few years before, back when I was at university, I wanted a tall pair of boxing boots. I looked around on-line before I bought the Adidas Box Champ. I wore them nearly all the time, until they fell apart.

Now I feel the need for a tall, knee length, snug fitting pair of boots. Riding boots would be great, but they need to have a zip. I don't want anything which takes ages to put on and take off.

The boots I want come from Derby House They are leather, knee length, and have a zip. All I need now is a chance to go and buy them without my girlfriend finding out.

Wellies in the snow

The best thing about snowy weather is wearing wellies in public.

I put my wellies on and went for a walk into town.

There were very few other blokes wearing wellies. I saw a few workmen and a few old men but that was it. There were quite a lot of people in town, just not many wellies being worn.

Summary of 2009

Ok, so 2009 is over. I was successful in wearing boots for some part of every day. There were a few days when I nearly went boot-free but I always managed to slip on a pair of boots for at least a few minutes of each day.

The most popular boots were my Vans Sk8-hi (worn for 110 days) and my Doc Martens (worn for 81 days). This is the same way round as after 6 months.

Next in popularity were my Adidas boxing boots (62 days), closely followed by Le Chameau wellies and Gola boxing boots (joint 57 days). At the 6 month point, the order was Gola,Wellies, with Adidas tying with my Levi's tall converse.

Running order after 6 months:

1. Vans Sk8-hi
2. Doc Martens
3. Gola boxing boots
4. Le Chameau wellies
5. (joint) Adidas boxing boots & Levi's boots
6. B&W Converse
7. Blue Wellies
8. Other Converse

After 12 months:

1. Vans Sk8-hi
2. Doc Martens
3. Adidas Boxing boots
4. (joint) Le Chameau Wellies & Gola boxing boots
5. (joint) B&W Converse, Levi's & Lonsdale boxing boots (new entry)
6. Blue Wellies
7. Other Converse

I only bought the Lonsdale boxing boots in October but I wore them at least once every week so they did quite well after only a few weeks.

I wore my different types of boots roughly equally. Low boots includes Vans and Converse. Boxing boots includes my Levi's 'tall converse style' boots. Knee length includes Doc Martens and Wellies.

As expected, I wore low boots mostly in the spring and summer. Knee length boots were mostly worn in autumn and winter, being worn less during summer. I wasn't expecting boxing boots to be mostly an autumn thing.

The numbers vary because I would have worn more than one pair of boots for some days, so each would count towards the total.

After 6 months, my Blue Wellies were my newest pair. They cost £20 and I had worn them fewer than 20 times, which worked out as over £1 per wearing. By the end of 2009, I had worn them 31 times. I actually bought the boots in the autumn of 2008, so I had already worn them a few times before I started keeping count. They are probably down to 50p per wearing by now. They are starting to look a bit battered since I was wearing them when I was painting the house, so I might get around to replacing them sometime this year.

Welly Happy New Year (a day late)

I was hoping to wear my wellies at new year but unfortunately it didn't snow so I didn't get the chance to wear them. Instead, I was wearing my Adidas boxing boots. 2009 ended like it began - wearing boots. I was wearing my Vans Sk8-hi at the stroke of midnight 2008/9 so at least the year started and ended with me wearing boots.

In the next few days I will post a summary of my years boot wearing. I successfully wore boots for every day of 2009.

I might not have been wearing my wellies at the new year but at least I've had a chance to wear them today. I put my Le Chameau boots on when I walked to the shops to buy a newspaper. I'll take them off in a couple of minutes when I go through to the living room to read the paper but since I love wearing wellies, I'll keep them on for a while longer.

I won't be keeping exact record of my boot wearing for 2010 but I'll keep wearing boots as much as possible.

Week 52 (extended week)

Since it will seem a bit strange to have more than 52 weeks in a year, this final week will be a few days longer, to take us up to January 1st. Week 1 was a bit short so this will even out in the end.

I wore my doc martens for the last couple of days in work.

I didn't get any boots for Christmas but I spent Christmas Day wearing my boxing boots so it wasn't too bad.

I wore my green Le Chameau wellies a lot - mainly in the garden. Most of the rest of the time I wore my Vans sk8-hi.

I was wearing my Adidas boxing boots when 2009 ended.