SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 81: Check Your Boots’ Tread Before Winter

As autumn turns to winter, familiar walking routes can become much harder underfoot. Wet leaves hide slippery surfaces, muddy paths become churned up and frost can make exposed ground treacherous. Your walking boots are an important part of your preparation, but even good boots lose grip as their soles wear down.

This challenge is about checking the condition of your footwear before winter arrives. You’ll inspect the tread, look for damage and decide whether your boots are still suitable for the conditions you expect to encounter.

Your Challenge

Inspect a pair of walking boots or hiking shoes and assess whether their soles and tread are in good condition for winter walking.

You must identify any signs of wear or damage, compare both boots and decide whether they are suitable for your usual outdoor activities. If they need attention or replacement, work out what you should do before relying on them in poor conditions.

What You’ll Need

• A pair of walking boots or hiking shoes.
• Good lighting.
• A cloth or soft brush to remove mud and debris.
• A ruler, if you want to compare tread depth at different points.
• A notebook or phone to record your findings.

Make sure the boots are dry enough to inspect properly. You don’t need specialist measuring equipment, and you shouldn’t attempt to cut into the sole or damage the tread to test it.

Take the Challenge

1. Clean the soles

Start by removing mud, small stones and other debris from both soles. Use a soft brush or cloth, taking care not to damage the rubber or any bonded sections.

Mud can hide worn areas, while stones lodged between the lugs can make the tread look different from how it really is. Once the soles are clean, place the boots on a firm surface where you can examine them properly.

Check that nothing is stuck in the tread and that the soles are ready for a closer inspection.

2. Examine the tread pattern

Look closely at the raised sections of rubber on the bottom of each boot. These are commonly called lugs, and their shape and depth help the sole engage with the ground.

Compare the tread at the heel, the ball of the foot and the toe. These areas can wear at different rates depending on your walking style, the terrain you cover and how often you use the boots.

Look for rounded edges, flattened lugs, shallow grooves and areas where the original pattern has almost disappeared. If the tread is badly worn in one area, the boot may have less grip there even if the rest of the sole looks reasonable.

There isn’t one universal tread-depth measurement that makes every walking boot safe or unsafe. Sole design, rubber compound, construction and the terrain you use all affect performance.

3. Compare the left and right boots

Place the boots side by side and compare their soles.

Do the lugs appear similarly worn? Is one heel more rounded than the other? Has one boot lost more tread around the outside edge or forefoot?

Uneven wear isn’t automatically a reason to discard footwear, but significant differences are worth investigating. They may indicate that one boot is reaching the end of its useful life or that the pair no longer provides the support and grip you expect.

Write down the most noticeable differences. This gives you a record to compare against future inspections.

4. Check the soles for damage

Tread wear is only one part of the inspection. Examine the rest of each sole for cracks, splits, deep cuts, missing pieces of rubber or areas where the sole is separating from the upper.

Pay particular attention to the heel and the edges of the sole, where damage can be easier to miss. Check whether the sole feels loose or moves away from the boot when you gently inspect it.

Look at the midsole and upper as well. Cracked material, damaged stitching, leaking seams or a loose heel can affect how securely the boot fits and performs.

If the sole is separating, the rubber is crumbling or the boot has other structural damage, don’t rely on it for a demanding winter walk. Ask a reputable repairer whether it can be repaired safely or whether replacement is the better option.

5. Consider the type of ground you walk on

Think about the conditions in which you normally use your boots. A pair that performs adequately on maintained paths in mild weather may not be suitable for steep muddy slopes, rocky terrain or winter hills.

For ordinary wet paths, a sound tread pattern and suitable sole compound can help maintain traction. However, no conventional walking boot guarantees grip on ice. Even a deep, aggressive tread can slide on frozen surfaces.

If you walk on icy paths, learn how to choose appropriate traction equipment for the conditions and how to use it correctly. On winter hills or in mountainous terrain, the footwear and equipment required may be very different from those needed for a local woodland walk.

Don’t test your boots by deliberately walking on ice or descending a steep muddy slope. A visual inspection and an understanding of the footwear’s intended use are safer ways to assess readiness.

6. Inspect the rest of the boot

Winter readiness involves more than the tread. Check the laces for fraying, the eyelets and hooks for damage, and the uppers for splits or worn areas.

If your boots are designed to be waterproof, inspect the seams and materials for obvious damage. Clean and maintain them according to the manufacturer’s instructions, using products suitable for the specific boot materials.

Try the boots on with the socks you normally wear outdoors. Check that your heel feels secure, your toes have enough room and the footwear doesn’t cause pressure points. A poor fit can make a long, wet walk uncomfortable and affect your confidence on uneven ground.

If the boots have been stored unused for a long time, inspect the soles particularly carefully. Some sole materials can deteriorate with age, even when the tread doesn’t appear heavily worn.

7. Make a decision before winter

Use your findings to decide what needs doing.

If the tread is in good condition and the boots have no significant damage, clean and maintain them and keep checking them during the season.

If the soles are worn but the boots are otherwise sound, ask the manufacturer or a suitable footwear repairer whether resoling is possible. Not all boots can be repaired economically or safely.

If the tread has largely disappeared, the sole is separating or the boot’s structure is compromised, replace the footwear before relying on it for challenging walks.

Be honest about the conditions you’ll face. It is better to discover that your boots need attention while you’re at home than halfway along a muddy route in cold, wet weather.

Check Your Results

Review your inspection notes and answer these questions:

1. Did you find any areas where the tread was noticeably flatter or more rounded?
2. Were the left and right soles wearing evenly?
3. Did you spot any cracks, splits, loose sections or other damage?
4. Are the boots suitable for the type of walking you intend to do this winter?
5. Have you identified any repairs, maintenance or replacement that may be needed?
6. Do you understand why ordinary walking-boot tread cannot guarantee grip on ice?

If you found damage that could affect safety, don’t ignore it just because the boots are comfortable or familiar. If you’re uncertain about their condition, seek advice from the manufacturer or a footwear repairer.

Complete the Challenge

To complete this challenge, inspect both boots, record your findings and make a clear decision about their suitability for winter walking.

Your assessment must cover tread wear, uneven wear, visible damage and whether the footwear is appropriate for the conditions in which you’ll use it. If you identify a problem, record what you intend to do about it.

You don’t need to buy new boots to complete the challenge. The important skill is recognising when your current footwear is suitable, when it needs maintenance and when it should no longer be relied upon.

How to Submit Your Challenge

Submit your evidence

Take a clear photograph of the soles of both boots, ideally alongside your inspection notes. Make sure the tread and any areas of concern can be seen.

Then:

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open Social Activity.
3. Upload your photograph of the boots and inspection notes to the activity wall.
4. Add the hashtag #SGUKChallenge81.
5. Share it for verification.

If you find damage, you can photograph it without wearing the boots or testing them on hazardous ground.

Challenge 81 Checklist

Want to Push Yourself?

Inspect another pair of walking boots used by someone in your household, with their permission. Compare the tread patterns and condition, and explain why two pairs of boots can wear differently even when they look similar.

You could also check the manufacturer’s care guidance for your own footwear and make a simple maintenance plan for the winter months. Include when you’ll clean the boots, how you’ll dry them correctly and what signs of wear you’ll look for after muddy or particularly demanding walks.

What’s Next?

Before winter walking, build your awareness of other outdoor hazards with SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 80: Identify Poisonous Autumn Berries. Learn to recognise poisonous berries and make safer decisions around unfamiliar wild plants.

You can complete SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenges in any order, so feel free to explore other challenges that interest you.

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 81 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.