The boot’s dark brown, really chunky and it weighs just under one kilo (2.2 lbs). It’s got a double-layered, triple-leather sole, a Norwegian welted upper and a bellowed tongue. The sole is double sewn by hand making it immensely strong and rigid so he could use it for climbing on small crevices and ledges. It is certainly is a thing that has been made to stand a lot of punishment.
Peter Schweiger, owner of James Taylor & Sons, describing what he believes were the shoes designed for Sir Edmund Hillary’s 1953 expedition.