LanLand Down Booties

For a bit of luxurious warmth in your tent or bivi at night, you can’t do better than a pair of down booties. And if you don’t want to fork out a small fortune for something you might wear once in a blue moon, these budget booties would be worth a look.

I’d had a pair of Rab down boots for many years but sold them off last year along with all my high altitude mountaineering gear.  They were simply overkill for backpacking, complete with ballistic soles so you could walk around in the snow.

What I simply need are basically some down socks, and a quick search in AliExpress threw up these,  LanLand Down Booties. At less than £13 delivered I couldn’t resist seeing if they were any good, so I ordered a pair.

They arrived in less than two weeks and on first inspection I have to say I almost disbelieved they were stuffed with down. The booties are so plump, almost overstuffed, I was convinced they must have had a synthetic fill. But no, the tell tale signs of down are there, and not a quill in sight. The advert infers 90% down, and I wouldn’t dispute that.

The fabric is a very shiny looking 410T/15D nylon, inside and out. And the design is very simple. No sole, just a simple sock with a reassuring snug fit. I bought a size large and I’m a 9UK/43EU shoe size. I reckon they’d be good to a UK 10 at least.

They come with a small stuffsack and would easily compress down to something the size of a tin of beans or less. And at 90-100g a pair they’re not going to weigh down your pack either.

And there’s really not much more to say than that. They’re cheap, light, pack pretty small and keep your tootsies toasty. I’ve used them a few times recently and they certainly do the job.

So is there a downside ? Well of course yes. They’re made in China and so the progeny of the down is questionable. But if you can live without knowing whether the down is ethically sourced then they make a great budget buy.