Footwear

For serious terrain, I personally prefer serious footwear.  I've had my Lowa Tibet GTX boots for about 2 years now and they've impressed me.  Weighing in at 1.1kg (2Ib7oz) per boot...they ain't light that's for sure.  I got mine one size bigger than my normal shoe size to allow for foot expansion.

I like the fact that you can lock off the tightness in the lower laces, as I prefer a loose fit on my foot with a firm tightness on the upper laces around my ankle.  There is also a wrap-a-round for the laces on the upper tongue to keep it in place.

Inside I traded out the stock insole for some Superfeet Greens.

Sock wise I took two pairs of Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew socks, swapping over when one pair got damp.  Underneath these I wore silk liner socks to prevent blisters.  With hind-sight I should have taken two pairs of liners too.  When my socks got damp I had to just wear no liners until they dried out.

The rock stars of the Pennine Way though, were undeniably the gaiters.  These were the difference between damp feet and soaking wet feet.  Sometimes your foot will sink into water higher than the top of your boot...it will catch you out...it's the Pennine Way!  A lot of the times this happened I was so quick in retrieving my foot, there was no water ingress at all.  On occasion though, I wasn't so lucky.  Thanks to the gaiters though...my feet never got soaking wet. 

I opted for some Rab Latok Alpine Gaiters and they are a breeze to get on and off, using Velcro rather than zippers.  I find them really comfortable too even in warm conditions.     

For icy conditions I took my Hillsound Trail Crampons which came in very handy...coming down Pen y Ghent in particular.

Rubbing my feet with Badger Balm every evening...I never got any blisters or hotspots....never have with these boots to be honest.  I got damn lucky with them and they more than held up to the challenge of the Pennine Way.