I have a "new" pair of used hiking boots

I haven't found a supplier in Tanzania of some of the hiking gear that I use to climb Kilimnajaro. My best option has been to search for items from a well-stocked used goods market in Mwanza called Mlango Mmoja.

In 2010 I bought the pair, above, and when I bought them I felt they would last a long time. They have endured five climbs between 2010 and 2013.

Eventually they began to come apart and just before the September 2014 climb with Vitali Maembe, I bought another pair, below. They are lighter and have a front steel plate that I suspected might induce cold feet on my part during the night-long ascents from Barafu camp to the summit.

I can happily report that there is nothing to complain about this latest pair. Yet.

The link between Lango Moja in Mwanza and mountaineering

On 17th August 2009 at the famous Lango Moja area of Mwanza City, I bought a used pair of hiking boots (photo, below) for my next Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. The place has a wide selection of used shoes, some in

near perfect condition. But not this pair, which showed strains of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro by the time I descended in October.