Boots - Where to Buy

[Scotty]

Hey All,

I will arrive in Harbin on 19th October, Based on some light research, I'm assuming that I have up to about 3 weeks to buy some decent boots before everything gets snowed/iced under. So what boots and where from? I will be living in 南岗区 quite close to 西大直街. Any recommendations of where to go close by?

I'm a size 9 so don't think I will have that hard of a time finding something.

Scott

[liuzhou]

Arriving from where?

[Scotty]

Arriving from New Zealand.

[liuzhou]

Buy boots in New Zealand then. They are almost certainly going to be better made and so long as you go for extreme temperature boots, you'll be fine. Try outdoor specialists, mountaineering shops.

I have still have and rely on the boots I bought in England more than 20 years ago for a year in northern Russia. Most of my Russian associates begged me for them when I left, despite size differences.

Size 9 means very little here or in many places. When I arrived in China, my shoe size jumped from 8½ to 43 overnight! And that is but one way to measure it.

[Scotty]

I will have a look around see what I can find.

[andysun731]

You can bring a pair of hiking boots from New Zealand, which can cope with the temperature about -15℃. But from December to February in Harbin, it is the coldest time, often -30℃ outside. Then you may need a pair of boots specially for the severe winter. Maybe most shoes here are not as good as those in New Zealand, but I think there is one kind good indeed called 军勾鞋, which has something to do with military supplies and worn by a lot of locals. I remember some shops on 西大直街 selling 军勾鞋.