GEAR | Decathlon Quechua Arpenaz 100 Boots – Long Term Test

March 11, 2016 Suse Hammond-Pears

Like it? Help us by sharing it!

I think it may be a mark of how just much I love these boots, that even a full year after I meant to write this review, I’m still writing the same thing I would have written then.

Full disclosure first, this isn’t a sponsored review and I have no connection with Decathlon other than as a customer. No one has asked me or commissioned me to write this review (not even Shell) and I’m receiving nothing for writing this.

What I tested

Quechua Arpenaz 100 Warm Women’s Snow Boots in Burgundy
Ideal for occasional low-land hiking
Decathlon
2 year guarantee
View the current Decathlon Snowboots range

These are my Quechua Arpenaz 100 Warm Women’s Snow Boots in burgundy, from Decathlon.
There are many like them, but these – these are mine.

The laces are missing the aglets but aren’t fraying. The high tops fit well around my ankles and the soles have endured countless trudges around the shops, multiple trips to the tip, unending miles of dog walking and day long urban sorties in search of photograph material.

They have survived the ravages of a six month old puppy and two years of hard wear and they’re still smart enough to wear into most pubs and restaurants in the evening.

I have worn these boots for full days of urban roaming while hunting photographs, including one very wet day in Brighton when I was glad I’d waterproofed them. Waterproof isn’t one of their advertised virtues however a good spray with Nikwax tends to add that quality to most of my possessions that require it. Note that you might lose a bit of breathability if you take this route, but I simply can’t stand having wet feet. With a warmth rating by the retailer of 2 out of 5, I wear these with walking socks with a high wool content and at that point I’m comfy and warm on all but the coldest of days.

As you’d expect at this price point, they are not high performance boots. The inner doesn’t support my foot as well as some higher end boots do and although they have lasted the full two years of their guarantee, I can feel that they are starting to wear out now. The inside foot bed feels worn down and the lower lacing rivets have started to pop out of the fabric of the boot upper. The retailer recommends lowland hiking of half days and I’m not sure that I’d ever have planned a heavy hike in them.

They are, however, durable boots at the lower end of the price range. According to the Decathlon website on the day I wrote this review, these boots normally retail at in the region of £22 but they seem to be on sale at the time of writing this (late February 2016).

Do I recommend these boots?

Heck, yes. Especially if they’re your first outdoor boots and you’re not ready to splash too much cash on a higher end pair. It really makes a difference to try something more tailored to walking than sports trainers or fashion shoes.

At less than £25 recommended retail price I’ve gotten 2 years of constant wear out of them. I’m not only happy with that but also reasonably likely to go back and buy a new pair.

These boots are no longer available, but you can see the current Decathlon Snowboots range here.

About
Latest Posts

Suse Hammond-Pears

Suse is thirty-something. She juggles an enormously packed life, holding down full time jobs as a business analyst, parent and wife. She is a published scifi author, is about to start a small business upcycling clothing, is working towards a degree, and still crams an amazing amount of activity into the rest of her time including camping (which is how she met Shell). She lives in Nottingham, UK, with her husband, small daughter and a retired racing greyhound.

Suse will contribute to the site by writing articles about how to prepare for camping on an already packed schedule, and how to cope with going camping with a small child in the group.

Latest posts by Suse Hammond-Pears (see all)