Timberland Earthkeepers review – Should you buy them?

2018 update: the Timberland Earthkeepers I have don’t appear to be sold anymore but you can find a range of boots similar to Timberland Earthkeepers on Amazon.

When I travel I usually go for comfortable. Leggings instead of jeans, sneakers instead of leather boots. Nothing too fancy. Considering this, you’d think I’d have walking boots in my closet, wouldn’t you? Well, I don’t. I’ve always been a big fan of sneakers and when it’s hot I can easily spend two weeks just wearing my Teva sandals.

So when I had the opportunity to try the Earthkeepers Timberland boots, I took it. Below you can read my Timberland Earthkeepers review.
 

Timberland Earthkeepers review

So I knew that at some point I’d have to get myself a decent pair of walking shoes… and then I got this email from Blacks.co.uk. Would I be interested in reviewing the Timberland Earthkeepers Brookton 6″ Classic Boots?

Well, of course!

A couple of weeks later the box arrived and when I opened it and found these inside, I fell in love.

I could put these on my salon table and just look at them. They’re so cool. But… are they comfortable?

 

Features – on paper

On paper these walking boots look pretty good, as they have:

• a premium full-grain nubuck upper from a leather tannery rated silver by the Leather Working Group for its water, energy and waste management practices;
• 100% PET laces, made from recycled plastic bottles;
• a padded collar for a comfortable fit around the ankle;
• 100% PET mesh lining and foot bed cover;
• a durable OrthoLite® foam footbed with antimicrobial properties to prevent your feet from getting smelly and sweaty;
• an injection-molded EVA outsole with 15% recycled rubber pods for traction.

 

Feeling – in practice

I wore these boots several times before writing this review, as I wanted to make sure they’d have a bit of time to adjust to my feet. After taking them to work, the Christmas market in Antwerp, Heverlee Woods and the Kalmthoutse Heide my feelings towards them are double.
 

What I liked

I absolutely love the sole and footbed. The sole is thick enough to keep you from feeling every branch and stone you step on, but it isn’t heavy at all. It’s flexible on unsteady terrain and offers enough support. The footbed makes you feel as if you’re walking on a pillow. Whenever you take a step it’s like the footbed bounces you back up, aiding you to walk on.

The look of these Timberland Earthkeepers is still a big plus for me as well. They’re the first walking shoes I ever saw that you’d dare to wear while visiting a city as well. I was a bit afraid that the nubuck would wear off quickly or get dirty rapidly, but that doesn’t seem to be the case so far. I’ve had mud on it a couple of times, but I just let it dry and then I could clean it off easily afterward.
 

What I liked less

There’s one thing I liked less about these walking boots, but I don’t know if it’s their fault or not. You see, I have this knob on the back of my left heel. No idea what it is or how it got there, but when I wear shoes that fit tightly around my heel and aren’t too flexible in that area, I always get blisters.

Unfortunately, that’s what happened with these Timberland Earthkeepers boots as well. As you can see on the pictures the boots are pretty slim in comparison with other walking boots and the heel fits pretty tightly around your heel. As the material used for the heel is pretty sturdy, it doesn’t give a lot in the beginning, causing blisters.

I have to be honest though: I only got blisters on the heel with the knob, not on my right foot, so I really think it depends a bit on what kind of feet you have as well. I’m hoping that if I’ll wear them some more, maybe with thicker socks, the material of the heel will become a bit more flexible and I won’t get any blisters anymore.

 

Final verdict Timberland Earthkeepers review

Overall I think these are nice walking boots. They look good, have a very decent sole and give enough support. I would just take into account that the heel part of the boot isn’t really flexible and you might get a few blisters if you have sensitive (or, in my case, weird shaped) heels.
 

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Blacks.co.uk offered me a pair of Timberland Earthkeepers Brookton 6″ Classic Boots to review. I’ll always be honest here about products I review.