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Leather Boots
Sturdy leather boots are the traditional choice for the bushwalker. They protect the feet and can be waterproofed to an extent. However, they can be heavy1 and inflexible, and are a common cause of blisters. To wear them in, wear them in a warm shower until they're soaked, and continue to wear them until they are dry. That way they can mould to the shape of your feet as they dry. To waterproof them, very gently warm the boots in the sun or in a warm room. This opens the pores in the leather, making it accept the wax more easily. Do not over-warm the boots. Coat the boots with dubbin or beeswax (we use a brand called Sno-Seal) using the warmth of your fingers to keep the wax runny. Pay special attention to the seams, the toe, and the join between the upper and the sole. Leather boots are well-suited to wet, muddy tracks, snow, and cross-country terrain.
Synthetic Boots
Synthetic boots are lighter and more breatheable than leather, but less waterproof. They can also be cheaper and easier to wear in, and dry quickly if wet. I found that the more flexible sole offered by a synthetic boot worked well on hard, smooth surfaces such as four wheel drive tracks, but were less useful offtrack. Synthetic boots are ideally suited to summer walking in warm conditions.
Dunlop Volleys
It seems that many people (in direct conflict with my comments about runners) choose to wear Dunlop Volleys, the traditional rubber and canvas tennis shoe. They are highly breatheable, tough, cheap, and dry relatively quickly. However, they are not at all waterproof, do not offer ankle support, and have relatively thin soles. It seemed to us that in the mid-1990s, an examination of photographs in Wild magazine showed most Victorian bushwalkers wearing boots, with very few Volleys. NSW bushwalkers, by contrast, seemed to mostly wear Volleys, with few boots. Whether this is caused by different climate or different walking culture, we don't know. They are useful as camp shoes because they are relatively light, tough, and can double as emergency footwear should your boots not make the grade. If you have a walk with many river crossings, you may choose to wear Volleys in order to keep your leather boots dry. Well-suited to river crossings, camp wear, and tracks and roads.
Runners
Runners are useful in that everyone has a pair. However, they do not offer the ankle support necessary for extended walking on uneven ground. Stony or rocky ground can be quite unpleasant after a while. However, there are some runner-style walking shoes on the market which seem to offer lower ankle support and which might be appropriate. Best-suited to summer walks on tracks and roads.
Reef sandals
Reef sandals are inappropriate for walking in, but can be useful as camp shoes or for crossing rivers where you wish to keep your boots dry. They are very light and dry quickly. At a pinch they could also be used as emergency footwear if your boots disintegrate. Their main disadvantage is that they do not protect the feet adequately.
Snowshoes
Snowshoes are our footwear of choice for terrain which is thickly-wooded or highly 'technical' (whatever that means). Contrary to appearances, snowshoes do not force you to walk unnaturally; you just strap them on and walk as normal, usually with the aid of two trekking poles or cross-country ski poles. They require far less sense of balance than XC skis. We like them because they allow less-skilled skiers (ie: us) to traverse terrain which would otherwise be inaccessible, for example steep wooded hillsides. They are essential for snowboarders out of resort boundaries, who obviously cannot move up hills on the board. Also, snowshoes fit over other footwear; they still require the use of waterproofed leather boots. Their major disadvantage is that in soft snow progress is slow and they can be very hard on the body's energy reserves, especially near the end of the day. Best-suited to steep, rocky, or wooded snow areas.
Sheepskin-lined Boots
High sheepskin-lined boots (sometimes known as sorrelles?) can be hired from ski hire shops. While they are good at walking around the hard-packed snow and asphalt of streets within a ski resort, they are not appropriate for walking on ski trails or off-track work.
Skis
While I am not a huge expert on the strengths and weaknesses of different types of skis, pattern-based cross-country skis with a metal edge are our choice for ski touring outside resort boundaries. The metal edge is useful for gripping the snow in the icy conditions found in the early morning and late afternoon. Outdoor and ski hire shops will be able to advise you on the best kind of ski for your proposed adventure.
1. Some people say that one kilogram on your foot requires the same amount of energy to move as eight kilos on your back. We have no idea if this is correct, but it seems vaguely plausible if you think about how much energy you'd use powerwalking with a heavy leather boot in each hand, ie: moving a limb with a weight on the end of it.
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