Back in May, I was getting ready to go on a 4-week trip to Europe. As I began to pack, I thought about what footwear to bring with me. As I was planning on only doing a carry-on for the whole trip, I didn’t want to bring my Oboz Bridgers since they were a full boot and a bit bulky. The Bridgers are usually my go-to hiking boot, but on this trip I opted to bring the Oboz Cirque Lows since they are less bulky and lighter weight. (I was definitely happy with my choice by the end of my trip!)
The first stop of our Europe trip was Iceland. We saw some blue skies the day we landed, but the majority of the trip ended up being pretty wet, rainy, and a slog on the trails. Our first full day in Iceland was spent driving the Golden Circle. We hiked around in Thingveller National Park, checked out some waterfalls and the tectonic plates before moving on to the Geysir Geothermal Area. Both places, the trails were wet and muddy, but my Oboz kept my feet dry, and had great traction. We also stopped at Gullfoss Waterfall, which was beautiful but also had very slick rocks. I had no troubles with hiking the rocks in these shoes. On our second full day in Iceland, we headed to the South Coast and checked out more waterfalls and the town of Vik. Again, my feet stayed nice and dry as we hiked up steep steps, and wet rocks near the waterfalls.
From Iceland, we headed to Norway. We landed in Oslo and from there we went to Telemark, Bergen, Fjaerland, Loen, Lillehammer, then back to Oslo. With so many stops, I was definitely glad I packed my Oboz Circe Lows. When commuting from place to place, I either had the shoes on my feet, or hanging from my pack for easy access. The terrain in Norway can get pretty rugged, so I am glad I brought along a pair of shoes I could hike in!
At one of our stops, we had just taken a tram up to the top of Mt Hoven. Even during summer months, there can still be snow up there. On the day we went, my family wanted to hike around but they couldn’t go very far in their plain sneakers in the snow. I had no problems in my Oboz. We were able to cross some small snow fields, but ended up not going very far due to snow. I opted to stay with the family, but I could have definitely managed the terrain in the Cirque Lows.
After Norway, I headed to Ireland with just my mom. We took a tour one day and headed to the Wicklow Mountains. My Oboz did great yet again! We spent 10 hours on our feet that day hiking around and checking out scenery.
I averaged 15-20k steps a day and my feet stayed happy in the Oboz Cirque Lows. They were easy to travel with, and were great for keeping my feet dry. I will definitely be taking these on another trip with me!
