advice on buying my sons boots

[roman331]

hi, in December this year my 14 yr old son and i will be hiking the Milford Track together. he's growing like a weed at the moment so i am going to wait until about 3 months out from the hike before buying him his boots.
seeing as he's still growing i dont really want to buy him an expensive pair just yet, but i dont want to buy inadequate boots either.
can anyone suggest some brands to look at for youth? this hike in November could well be the only decent hike he will get to do in these boots due to the fact he will probably outgrow them quickly. hence the reason i dont want to spend too much money on them.
Of course, they must be suitable for wet weather.
so, any suggestions? thanks in advance

[wayno]

any shop where theres a sale on..... at 14 he's getting into adult sizes, so whatever fits him comfortably with room to spare, boots are different for everyone, different people fit different brands better.. lace up rubber gumboots are an inexpensive option...
you can walk the milford track in shoes provided your ankles arent too weak, gets a bit rocky on parts of the pass but otherwise the track is a level footpath. mud is pretty minimal. its a maniacured track. you could walk the track in running shoes....
otherwise mountain designs and kathmandu have a reasonable range of footwear to choose from, tell us what town you are in and people here can recommend any local outdoor specialist shops in your area...

[pulseevents]

If your worried about him outgrowing them too quickly maybe try a size too big and grab some insoles and some thick merino socks. that way as his foot grows you can remove the insoles and go to some lighter weight socks. Mountain Design often have some good deals in the clearence section of their online store.
Brands are deffinately a personal pref. what works for some won't work for others, just make sure he has had long enough to break them in before you go.

[wayno]

good time to buy now, the pre easter sales are on, kathmandu, mountain designs have sales

[roman331]

thanks guys. i didnt even think of the sales! i'll check them out, cheers

[Hallu]

As a teenager with all the activity you usually have pretty strong and flexible ankles. If you get him boots, get him some light ones though, I'm not sure he'd fine for his first time in heavy boots and carrying a backpack (or you could train for some day hikes, since you've got until November). You've got some reviews here : http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Hiking-Boots-Reviews but it's around 100 $ minimum. Keen and Moab usually have pretty good shoes/boots under 100 $ (at least in the US, you would have to find them on sale here). Their main problem is usually durability, but since you're saying he's still growing, it shouldn't be a problem.

I wouldn't start cold turkey with some Zamberlan/Scarpa heavy boots, that's the perfect recipe for an injury. Although heavy boots support the ankle, lifting them can be exhausting for your legs or Achille's tendons (I got that after a 7h day hike : needed a week to recover). Besides, it's usually during your teenage years that you realize if you need orthotics or not. I found out when I was around 12/13, one leg is longer than the other, which made my right foot hurt like crazy. Finding out on a long trek with heavy boots could be very unpleasant. Another reason for getting him used to walking long periods of time before tackling this.

[Onestepmore]

Hubby just gets hiking shoes and boots from Rivers clearance store in Bowral for himself - there are many locations. Replaces them happily when they wear out becuse they are inexpensive. Could be fine for an easy well manintained track like Milford Sound. May be an option if he's going to grow fast - he'll outgrow them before he outwears them.
I've bought Kathmandu brand hiking shoes for my kids (12 and 15) who come with us a lot plus do scouting stuff - have had no problems with them. Once again, they outgrow them before they outwear them, but we have cousins etc in Tassie to pass them on to