These are a great option which offer a roomy toe box. These aren’t the best boots but a good all round option. They have drain holes on the instep and the outer shank for quicker drainage and the traction is good. Here are a few popular models from some of the jungle expeditions I’ve run: Lubricate your feet with vaseline and/or wear a sock liner. If the boots fit well at the beginning but after putting them through their paces they cause you some discomfort, check and see if you can remedy the problem by wearing other types of socks or playing around with the boot laces.

Get a feel for any rubbing, hot spots or any discomfort. If possible try to emulate the wet condition of the jungle, cross a stream, hike through a waterlogged field, climb up and down slopes. Once you’re happy with the fit, you should make a point of taking them out for a morning hike. Take them back to the store and get another size or another brand/model, until you’re happy with the way they fit and feel on first impression. If the boots don’t fit well the first time you try them on, return them right away. Some brands run small, and also your feet get swollen with the exercise, so try to account for that by going one size bigger. One good rule of thumb is to buy boots one size bigger than your normal size. The best jungle boot can turn into an evil form of torture if you don’t break them in properly. Please do this at least one month before the start of the course.

The next important step after purchasing your jungle boots is trying them on, making sure they fit correctly, and breaking them in. But for now start getting accustomed to the idea of having your boots wet every day. There are ways to maintain foot hygiene at camp and during the night, which we will discuss at length at the start of the course. When venturing into a tropical jungle, you should get used to the idea that your feet are going to be wet during the daytime. Therefore in the jungle, Gore-Tex or a similar lining is to be avoided at all costs. Even if you’re not crossing rivers, your feet are going to sweat profusely. In fact, that waterproof lining effectively becomes a water vessel that retains water inside, so boots that have this lining breathe very poorly. Waterproof boots are designed to keep water out when it’s coming from the sides and the bottom, but they do nothing against water that’s coming from the top of the boot. In the high humidity of the rainforest once boots (all boots) get wet, they will stay wet, at least for the duration of the course. Your feet are going to be wet from crossing rivers all day. Some of the key features of jungle boots are their height, well above the ankle they have decent grip on wet, slippy surfaces such as river rocks they have drain holes to purge the excess water out and they lack a waterproof lining.

So who better to talk us through the basics of choosing footwear for your next jungle expedition? The following guide has been put together to help teammates choose the right footwear for the jungle guides course. He also leads the Secret Compass Darien Gap expedition and our Jungle Guides course in Panama’s Chagres National Park, bearing witness to more than his fair share of boot calamities in the humidity of the jungle. For over 12 years he’s worked as one of the leading guides in Central America with an affinity for the exploration of the regions people seldom venture, and in 2011, he became the first person to hike the TransPanama Trail – from the border of Costa Rica to the border of Colombia. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the years we’ve been running jungle expeditions, it’s that Rick Morales knows more than most about what makes a good jungle boot. The importance of getting the right boots for an expedition sits head and shoulders above almost all over kit decisions.

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