Fitwell "Chammy" Canyoning Boot
Fitwell "Chammy" Canyoning Boot
ALL GONE. FUTURE OF THIS PRODUCT IS UNKNOWN
My buddy Jonathan Zambella made a connection with a UK company a couple years ago, and has been using their Italian-made boots in his Rental Program since. It’s complicated, so stay with me here. The goal is to bring a USA version “Chameleon” of the European boot “Aquator” to the USA starting Spring 2021 - starting about May 1st, 2021.
These are the 2019/2020 version of the Fitwell boot: no gaiter, eyelets for laces. I wore these boots for 2 years and they are still going… VERY different than the Canyoneers of olde that I was used to, and it took me a while to get used to them. But I think they are darn good canyon boots.
The stick in the works is that I only have large sizes available, so we are selling them off at a very reasonable price.
The European version (Aquator) has a very, very nice stretch nylon gaitor over the laces. These go for 190 euros at Canyonzone (NL): https://www.canyonzone.com/a-60779007/canyoning-shoes/fitwell-aquator/#description We have a few of these available for sale, almost entirely in large sizes, for people who canyon in places other than Utah sandstone canyons. (It seems unlikely that the zipper on the gaiter would function after one sandy canyon). The Gaitor CAN be cut off.
For a full writeup and description, please read The Latest Rave article.
RETURNS to get the right size are just part of mail order boots. YOU are responsible for the shipping back here, and our shipping fee includes shipping to you a second time. Third time you are expected to pay for the shipping. (Boots are not shipped in a shoebox because those boxes are HUGE!)
Description
The “Chammy” shoe I think of as a prototype for the upcoming 2021 Chameleon.
They are a lightweight boot. The bottom is very solid and not very flexible. This can be annoying if the boot does not fit you, but they fit my wide feet very well. I have an issue with Morton’s Neuroma so I wear special footbeds to help with that, and the combo works well. The uppers are cloth/foam/cloth and flexible, in a good way. They cover the ankle bones and offer some support, but do not get in the way of using your ankles. They are about as thick as two layers of Converse AllStars upper. They lace up, and mine stayed laced. On my protos the laces got munched going through the eyelets but did not fail… just looked kinda tattered. (Eventually replaced on one side). On my pair, reinforcements at the side just above the sole got munched where sewn on. They do get sand in them to a moderate degree.
The rubber is not sticky 5.10 stealth, but it is not bad. There are a few pure friction moves I used to do that I no longer can, but I have done some hard stemming in them, and they work just fine. The sole shows almost no wear in a year and a half.
The fit is really good. I know feet vary in shape, and perhaps these just fit my feet perfectly. Could be. The sizing is spot on… meaning, when I measure my feet with the Brannock device, I get a “10”. When I try on a “10” with one pair of Darn Tough Heavy Hikers, they fit like a glove… which is too tight for canyoneering. So I moved up to a 10-1/2, and they Fit-Well for canyons. (I might snag a pair of 11s for winter use).