“I recently purchased the Grisport Crusader boots. Grisport claim that these are ‘the pinnacle of our Backpacking range of walking boots’ and that they are guaranteed ‘comfortable from the box’.
I wore the boots at home for a couple of days and they did seem to fit okay, if a bit narrower than I expected for a ‘wider fitting boot’. For their first trial outdoors I chose a fairly flat walk on good paths. However, within two to three miles, on the boots' first easy test walk, I was in absolute agony with something rubbing quite aggressively on my inside right ankle bone. I tried several ways of re-tying the laces but the only way I could gain any relief from the pain was to tie the boot as a walking shoe, leaving the ankle support loose and ineffective.
When I highlighted this issue to Grisport Customer Services their response was: 'From what you have said, then there is a possibility that the hook is in the incorrect position or there is not enough padding between the hook and the inside of the boot. Or the boots simply need a period of wearing in.' It was then stated, 'What ever reason, we would like to assess here so would need the boots back for our inspection.'
Having duly returned the boots for assessment, a week later I received an email stating,
' We have dealt with your return with a refund.’ When I asked what had been found during the promised assessment, I was told, ‘We do not perform any in depth assessments here, only inspections of the reason for return and deal with them however the customer wants (without actually asking the customer!!). At some point the boots may go back to Italy if requested. Any assessments would then happen then, which could be many months away.’
As I now cannot reach a conclusion on whether the boots were not as they should have been, or it is just me that is not compatible with them, I am unable to commit to buying a further pair of Grisport boots. I have since bought a pair of Brasher Country Master II boots, for less money than I paid for the Grisport Crusaders. The Brasher boots were indeed very comfortable out of the box and I am really happy with them. I did a 14 mile hike in them yesterday without any issues at all.
I was hoping for better from Grisport, but at least I got a refund for the boots without hassle. I was not actually seeking a refund. I’d returned the boots for the assessment which had been promised, but it appears I was misled on that point.”
“Would rather not pay a premium on top of the boots as I didn't need more socks or the poorly designed travel mug which is too large to hold or fit into a car cup holder and it leaked hot coffee all over my hands, clothes and shoes.”
“I ordered shoes on the 25.11.2022 and still have not received them. I received an email on the 09.12.2022, which was helpful. However I have not received a response to my email since.”
