As a general rule a standard wellington boot has a rubber sole and heel. For general wellington boot use this is fine as the wellies have a general mix of gardening, cleaning the car, dog walking and other general outdoor activities that wear the tread of the wellington on an even basis.
Regular dog walkers or walkers who use there wellington boots daily to walk the dog wear the wellington in a much more aggressive manner. When walking on hard surfaces the standard wellington boot will experience excessive wear on the heel of the wellington and as a general rule most wellingtons will not last more than 3 months if walking 3 miles or more per day on hard surfaces.
The wellington boots listed below have been selected primarily because of the sole and heel. These are made from a much harder wearing compound that will last much longer than a standard rubber tread. The treads vary from a standard booted tread based on rubber that has a much higher EVA content which is extremely hard wearing to the industry leading Vibram booted sole which is recognised as a world leader in walking boot technology.
The second item that we consider before placing a wellington boot in our walking wellington boot section is the comfort of the welly. We make sure that the wellington boot has a good fit and that it has proven durability built in to the wellington boot upper construction. This includes reinforcing under the footbed, padded insoles and other features that make walking in wellington boot a pleasure.
The range of dog walking wellington boots is quite limited as very few are suitable for heavy duty waking because of loose fit and the rubber soles experiencing heavy wear on harder surfaces. We must stress that most wellington boots are fine for occasional dog walking but will not cope with excessive wear that will soon result in failure of a standard wellington boot.
A dog walking wellington must be comfortable as well as strong and this is why so many of our dog walking wellingtons have a lining material or a neoprene lining. Neoprene linings offer great comfort however the wellington should fit quite tight to the heel. If you find that you do get a lot of heel slip then you should buy a suede heel lining from a major chemist chain that covers most of the UK and begins with B. The suede lining costs just unner£3 and is fitted to the inside of the wellington boot. This protects to neoprene from the rubbing that can occur with certain makes of socks and grips the sock so reducing the amount it slips by. The neoprene with the lining makes walking wellington boots very comfortable as they are warm in temperatures as low as minus twenty centigrade. Some have honeycomb linings that ventilate the foot and this makes them comfortable in temperatures as low as minus twenty centigrade and as high as plus twenty centigrade.
Both Aigle and Bogs are probably the best choice of dog walking wellington boot