How to choose your mountain boots?

Chaussures de randonnées tout cuir fait en France I Le Soulor 1925

Since 1925, our small workshop in Béarn has been putting shoes on shepherds, foresters and hikers who walk the mountains on both sides of the Pyrénees. The rule is simple to choose your mountain boots… you just have to determine what use you will make of your boots in 80% of the cases.

01

Work shoes (Hardness 3 Vignemale), resealable and durable:

Our “Vignemale” have been produced in the workshop for… ever! We call them “cauçuras d’aulhers”, i.e. shepherds’ shoes, in our region of Béarn.

Rigid leather of about 3.5 mm from Fortier Beaulieu, Alpex 2000 sole, gusset leather and upper leather from Remy Carriat. These are “hard” shoes, intended for work, or at least for daily use.
They are suitable for shepherds (and shepherdesses), farmers, craftsmen. You won’t go out with them on the first day for an 8-hour day. Sensitive feet, please don’t choose this one !

02

Hiking and working shoes (Hardness 2 Ossau), resoleable and durable:

Our “Ossau” shoes have been developed at the Atelier over the last few years at the request of a new clientele looking for quality mountain shoes, still handmade, but with a softer leather and sole option! We have named them after the Bearnaise valley which bows to “Jean Pierre, lo Moussu” (the Bearnais will understand!)

Soft fat leather of about 3 mm from Degermann and Vibram Montana soles to choose from depending on the use: -Versatile soles (available in black, red and green) for all-terrain hiking.

-Soft rubber soles, made of recycled materials and wood chips for long walks (pilgrimages, trekking) and the search for grip on wet rocks.

-Arctic” soles, with a special grip for ice, for urban use “more Helsinki than Pau”… or for those who live and work in the mountains in winter.

They are suitable for hikers, farmers, craftsmen and walkers looking for waterproofing, quality and walking comfort. It is possible to reseal them and fit ice crampons (not automatic crampons as the overhang is too narrow).

03

Leisure shoes (Hardness 1 Ossau, soft and Ayous), resealable and durable:

Do you just want to go and look for mushrooms in the undergrowth near your home? Are you planning to visit the refuges in the Bearn region… but only between May and September? Do you just want Mathilde, the waitress at the “Boulevard des Pyrénées” to notice you when you nonchalantly walk past her terrace three times a day? These “Ossau souples” have been designed for you!

By using softer and thinner leathers (fat leathers, nubucks, city leathers, you have the choice), or by reducing the thickness of the fat leathers to 2.8 mm and fitting your shoes with softer counter materials, always with our choice of Vibram soles. They are suitable for less demanding hikers, for people looking for quality and optimal walking comfort in rural or urban versions.

Find all our different shoes on our online shop !