Dr. Martens: For Travelers, Punks, and Traveling Punks

via drmartens.com

There’s a lot of talk about shoes in the travel blogging world. And why not? You’re on your feet for ages when you travel, and when space is limited, you want to make sure you’re making the right shoe choice for any situation. In all the reading I’ve done about travel gear, I’ve seen nary a mention of the best travel shoe ever: Dr. Martens.

They are unfortunately a bit too heavy for warm-weather travel (they do have sandals, but I haven’t tried them), but for all but the toastiest climates, their boots and shoes are perfect. Turns out they’re the ultimate all-in-one travel shoe. Docs are comfortable, stylish, form right to your feet, are waterproof (the leather ones, anyway), and have a great tread. For everything from walking a couple miles through London because you forgot your Oyster card…ahem, not that I’ve done that before, to hiking through the Icelandic countryside, these shoes have your back. Well, your feet anyway.

I’ve worn a few different styles of Dr. Martens in my travels in the last few years. I spent a month in a pair of these in the UK and Ireland last year, and they were great. Be warned, though, that you should definitely not travel in a brand-new pair. The back of the shoe can get into the blister zone pretty quickly if the shoes haven’t been broken in. For the rest of my travels, I’ve worn one type or another of their distinctive 1460 boot.

The only real downside to these shoes is the price. Most pairs of Docs start at around $120, but don’t let that deter you. These shoes last for years of constant wear. If you’re willing to throw down a little extra cash in advance, you can buy a pair of “ForLife” shoes or boots, which the company will repair or replace for your entire life. They also have some good stuff on sale every so often, and sometimes the price dips below $100.

Here’s my pal Sarah and I in front of Skógafoss on our trip to Iceland last year, both wearing Docs that we brought as our only pair of shoes. Sarah is wearing their chelsea-style boot, and I’m wearing the iconic combat-style boots.

We have fun.

Dealing with city walking, ice, scrambling around on volcanic rock, and standing for a long time at concerts (we were there for Iceland Airwaves Music Festival), we were comfortable the whole time, and managed not to fall on our butts on the icy streets…well, at least not unless there was alcohol involved.

For the record, Dr. Martens didn’t pay me to write this. I just really, really want you to have comfy feet!