Verdict
When buying Barbour branded boots you expect the best from this famous and long established firm. These boots certainly deliver on the style front, but in real world tests, they struggled in some conditions.
Pros
Smart and stylish looking
Grippy when walking on wet Tarmac
Cons
Grip when in mud was poor
When payload in your van or boot space in your tow car is at a premium on longer caravan holidays, keeping gear to a minimum is very important.
One way round this is to travel light when on tour, as many experienced caravanners know, so when investing in footwear, it can be a good idea to buy something dual purpose – which is where dress boots come in. But what are they? Well, they are leather boots for men that are built like dress shoes, but whose uppers cover your ankle. These dress boots are hardy enough for a ramble straight from a campsite into the countryside, but – after a bit of spit and polish, of course – they are also smart enough to not look completely out of place when worn with a pair of chinos in the evening.
Practical and polished, do it all boots, these are surely great for the caravanner that wants to travel light? So let’s find out as Practical Caravan reviews a pair of brown brogue boots by Barbour.
On test here are Belsay Brogue Boots made by British company Barbour. This particular pair of boots is a traditional men’s, lace up, Derby brogue in soft, burnished leather with waxed fabric at the heel. Inside is a soft, dark green leather lining and a padded footbed in Barbour’s tartan.
These smart Barbour boots have a dark tan leather outer and a rubber sole, and are adorned with a metal antiqued Barbour branded badge. You can buy them in regular and longer lengths. This pair of boots retails for £125.
Our tester was worried by the lack of a meaty tread, so found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that when worn in mud, they’re slippy. However, on wet Tarmac and rocks these Barbour boots proved to be grippy. “They are stylish,” he added, “and, with a pair of decent jeans, I actually felt quite trendy for the first time since my teens!”
So if you want to get out there during the day on your caravan holidays and also look sophisticated by night, but you don’t want to fill your tourer with clobber, these Barbour boots might be the ones for you. In Practical Caravan’s dress boot group test, however, these boots from Australian manufacturer Redback were declared the winners.
Dress boots are great for the caravanner that wants to travel light
