I had a look in a couple of the bigger shops in Keswick but they didn't have much choice and were generally names I had never heard of or where cheap stuff. So I decided to go to George Fishers, the biggest outdoors store in Keswick.
I asked for some help and said what I wanted and said what size I thought I was, size 9. I often wear size 10 though. She asked if I'd seen anything I liked and I had just looked at a pair of Salomon XA Pro 3D but wanted some advice. She measured my foot and my right foot was about an 8 and my left about 8 1/2. I tried a pair on but they were too tight as I have wide feet. She said that Montrail shoes were good for wide feet and she went to get me some. I didn't mention that it was Montrail shoes I had originally been looking for. She came back with some Montrail Continental Divide. I tried them on and they were much better, I had a wander around the store and over the bridge, they have a bridge that lets you test walking over rocks and up and down steepish slopes. The lady asked almost straight away had I seen anyone about my severe over-pronation, I hadn't, but knew what she meant as I have been wanting to see about it for months. She gave me details of someone who had made her some inserts. I decided to get the Montrails.
I continued looking around the store and eventually looked at the bags, again a man asked if I needed any help but said I was just looking but he did say take them off the shelf and try them on. I tried a Deuter and a Berghaus, the Berghaus was better but could remember reading about how it sometimes felt like it was pulling off your back, but it was quite comfortable. I had noticed the Osprey Atmos 25 straight away but had tried to avoid it because I knew it was expensive but I decided to try it anyway. It felt comfortable but the man said that I needed a longer back version as it was sitting too high, he went off to get the longer version. While I was comparing some of the bags. You could see the attention to the detail in the Osprey (damn). The bloke came back and filled it with some weight so I could try it on, he filled it up and let me feel the weight. I put it on my back and you wouldn't realise how much was in it because it felt very comfortable, you would think it only had half the weight in it. I decided I wanted one. It was £20 over my limit of £60. Certainly hadn't planned on spending £80 on a day sack but this thing will last for years its so well put together and comes with a lifetime guarantee. I had read a review of the bag a couple of days earlier.
The other thing I wanted was a hydration system for the bag and I got a camelbak system, there were cheaper ones but what the hell. The one I got could also be put into a bag not designed for a hydration system althought I think this could make it slightly heavier. In total I spent £173 on the 3 items but its something I enjoy and will use regularly.I have to say how good the staff were in George Fishers, yes I know they want to sell you stuff but every one of the staff knew what they were talking about. Unlike most stores where half the staff haven't a clue. The only bizarre thing was that when I went to the counter to pay for it all, the man who was helping me with the bag checked the shoes and noticed that they were different sizes. I had them fitted and they felt good to me. I would never have noticed probably because my feet are slightly different sizes anyway. He got the woman to re-fit the shoes and I ended up with a pair of size 9's. Can't remember what the size of the others were. How the hell he spotted it, god knows. They said any problems just bring them back and they will swap them.
I headed straight off for the hills to check them out and the bag ;-)
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