Guelph: The perfect boots for puddle jumping

Photograph by Heather Loney
Photograph by Heather Loney

With the temperature on the rise it’s easy to forget the weather that we’ve just endured. Just days ago, my sartorial daydreams were completely focused on all things waterproof–the search for the perfect rubber boots.

I thought I had found them last spring, when I bought a pair of tartan Sperry Top-Siders. The first rainfall after my purchase, I was like a cocky seven-year-old. I wore my Top-Siders while gardening in the dew and wore them out to the pub for no reason at all.

Laughing as folks skipped over and around puddles, I annoyingly stomped square in the middle of them.  And it was then of course, because I completely deserved it, I got a monumental soaker.  It also seems my trip to the pub resulted in a one-inch gash in the toe of my boots.  So now, with poetic justice fully restored, the only time I can wear my beloved Sperry’s is when it’s bone dry outside.

This spring I vowed to be more responsible, less arrogant, and the quest for the perfect (and affordable…lesson learned) rain boots began.  My advice from some particularly stylish equestrian types was to go to the straight to the source. Living in southern Ontario means you are never too far from a handful of tack shops.  I tried out Bahr Saddlery (13329 Steeles Avenue West, Hornby, 905-878-8885, bahrsaddlery.com), just off highway 401 near Trafalgar Road, and picked up a pair of Cadett knee-high rubber riding boots for $45.  Being riding boots, their fit is sleeker than most galoshes and even though they would hold up to it, I have yet to stomp in a single puddle.

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