Footwear falls in one of those elusive ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ categories. They can be stunning but give you blisters or ugly as a sin and yet be comfortable. We’ll be traveling to Europe soon and having done some research on the weather, it could be rainy and frigid, brrr…. The highs there are our current lows! I know I’m not going to Alaska or Antarctica. It gets cold up where we live, with current (mid-Nov) lows in the low 40s (we rode in 40F just this past Tuesday), but Europe seems to be whole another ball game much like the East Coast. So you see I didn’t have any footwear that would stand up to that kinda weather. Cold feet and fingers ruin a trip and this gal wasn’t going to let the weather get the best of her. Hence started my witch-hunt for the oh-so-perfect boots less than 3 weeks before our trip. I was pretty excited when I found the Taylor Waterproof Women’s Hiking Boots made by the Caterpillar (aka the company that makes heavy construction equipment among other things).
| Category | Women’s Footwear |
| Rating | |
| Retail Price | $43.59 |
| Likes | + Very fashionable with herringbone details + Ankle-length + Rugged soles + Very warm + Waterproof |
| Dislikes | – Raised heels – Feet hurt after a couple days of walking |
| Where to Buy (US) | I bought mine on Sierra Trading Post |
FIT & FUNCTION
Update as promised after wearing these for 10 days on our Europe trip.
The boots are really warm in the frigid temperatures in Europe. I wore it in the rain and wet roads and they held up well (although I didn’t wear them in pouring rain).
These boots have ~3″ heels that I didn’t seem to notice when I first wore them when I took them out of the box. I never wear heels so it was really strange to be walking in these ‘lifts’ the entire time. Another thing is the soles really hurt. Like I mentioned before, I had a thin pair of insoles before I left on our trip but they didn’t help. 3rd day of wear, I was in a lot of pain – the bunions on my pinkies were inflamed, the top of my right foot hurt, and the bottom of my feet were killing me. We were in Brussels at that time trying to find dinner and I could barely walk. We actually went in search of a new pair of boots for me and settled for thick insoles instead which we found at Decathlon which was close by. The new insoles were a life saver! I could walk again. So the insoles alleviated 1 of the 3 problems I mentioned above.
Now, I’m back home, and as I’m writing this, the inflammation on my bunions are reduced but the top of my right foot still hurts.
THE VERDICT
Gorgeous looking boots that work in cold temperatures and rainy weather. However, if you have skinny feet like mine, I’d think twice before buying them. Bumping down my rating from 7 to 5 because of the lack of walk-ability.
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