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Andrew, the tester:
I am a 46 year old male, 180 cm (5' 11") in height,
I weigh 104 kg (229 lbs). I have been bushwalking in Western Australia
for approximately five years. For the past four years I have been
regularly walking and leading on and off-track pack carries with the Perth
Bushwalkers Club. I have also got into geocaching. I consider myself as
moving towards being a lightweight tent-carrying bushwalker with my pack
base weight in the 8 to 12 kg (18 to 26 lb) range. I have completed my End
to End of the Bibbulmun Track (2003), the Cape to Cape Track (Nov
2001), the Coastal Plains Walk Track (numerous times), the Larapinta Trail
(July 2005) and Fitzgerald River National Park (April 2006).
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Andrew's testing
playground:
The bushwalking environment of the south-west of Western
Australia allows for bushwalks and backpacking from coastal plains to
forest. Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this
region, I walk in varying conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to
single-purpose walking trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to
completely off-track walking through open and dense country.
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The testing environment:
During the summer period, daytime temperatures average 30° C (86° F),
whereas from March through to December the daytime average temperatures
range from 15° C to 26° C (59° F to 79° F). During the autumn, winter, and
spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly wet with frequent heavy
rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow in Western Australia.
According to The Times Atlas of the World
(Concise Edition - Revised 1997) our weather is described as being
"Mediterranean - rainy climates with mild winters, coolest month above 0°
C (32° F), but below 18° C (64° F); warmest month above 10° C (50° F)."
The atlas depicts the coastal area north of Los Angeles, California,
United States, as having the same
climate.
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Product Details:
- Manufacturer:
Kamik
- Year of Manufacturer:
2006
- MSRP: Not given
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Specifications:
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Manufacturer's specified weight: Not given
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My weight: 870 g (31 oz) for Men's size US 11½, EUR 45½ and UK 10½.
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Item Receipt:
The Kamik Chase hikers
where received in good condition as expected given my viewing of the
Kamik website. After all they are hiking
shoes! I ordered a size based on my experience with New Balance 806s and
received a shoe which based on initial wear at home is the correct length
and is comfortable to wear, but possibly a touch narrow. Further testing
will determine if this is an issue or not.
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First Impressions:
Kamik list a number of features of the Chase on their website, only of which
two can I really comment on at this stage of the test. They are the outer
materials of the Chase and the elastic gore tongue. The other features such
as moisture wicking lining, antibacterial footbed and non-marking rubber
outsole will be discussed in the field and long-term reports in the context
of my use. The remaining features (thermoplastic heel counter and toe box,
Strobel lasted construction, and compression molded EVA midsole) are related
to internal construction and will be considered in the broader terms of
actual use of the runners on a day to day basis.
Let us take a walk around the runner.
The runner I received is black with a grey/black sole. The upper as
indicated by Kamik is made of a combination of leather and Nylon with some
reinforcing at the toe and heel ends. It has round laces. It will be
interesting to see if they have a tendency to come undone at annoying times.
As indicated on the Kamik website, the tongue gore is elasticised. I am not
quite sure why, but I will monitor this aspect and see if I notice any
advantage or disadvantage with this feature. The inner lining looks to my
untrained eye like standard material found in trail runners and it has a
standard looking cardboard style footbed. However Kamik indicate that the
footbed (or footbead (?)) is an antibacterial type. There is no technical
information on their website as to what this means, but they do claim that
it "maintains a hostile environment for odor-causing bacterial growth." I
will in the context for normal wearing monitor the performance of the
footbed.
Turning the shoe over, it has a
"HORIZON" non-marking rubber outsole. Interesting both runners have some
white specks in side of the sole on the inner side. Not quite sure why this
as it is not continued throughout the material. I will monitor this aspect to
see if has a detrimental affect. The sole is branded Kamik so I
assume it is a proprietary design. It is not what I would describe as
an aggressive lug pattern and as the runner has a lot of twist in it,
possibly a soft sole. I will monitor how it wears and the level of grip it
provides in varying bushwalking conditions and day to day walking
conditions.
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Testing Strategy:
My testing will be based around day to
day usage, usage on my regular exercise walks on dirt, limestone and
concrete paths, on geocaching and waymarking excursions and of course as my
backpacking footwear (hopefully at least four weekend backpacks). In
particular I will look at:
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Comfort of the Kamik Chase, particularly when carrying a weekend winter
load of gear, food and water (~ 16 kg / 35 lb) and without a load, i.e.,
day to day usage;
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The degree of support provided by the shoes when carrying a weekend winter
load of gear, food and water (~ 16 kg / 35 lb) and without a load, i.e.,
day to day usage;
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Level of support including grip provided in varying walking conditions;
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Effectiveness of the lining to wick moisture away from my feet;
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Effectiveness of the outsole to provide grip in varying conditions in a
winter environment;
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Functionality of the elastic gore tongue;
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The durability of the runners in varying conditions (tracks as well as
off-track walking through scrub etc) in a winter environment;
- Overall
comfort and effectiveness of the Kamik Chase shoes as a backpacking shoe.
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Read more reviews of Kamik gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Priest
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