To continue my plan to each week write about something we've found useful since home educating, and with the weather having changed from freezing to pouring, it seems a perfect time to write about the kids' super rain boots..... Splats!
I first read about Splats in the Metro last September and was intrigued by this new idea of flexible boots rather than stiff cumbersome wellies. Up until this point we had been using Hunter wellies which are amazingly hard-wearing and long-lasting, but rather stiff and difficult to move about in. As my two are likely to be doing anything in their wellies from climbing trees to going down slides, Splats sounded like a good option. They were both due new wellies anyway and the price was around the same I was expecting to pay for a decent pair of normal wellies, so I went ahead and got them a pair each; Ocean Blue for Povey and Hot Pink for Papaya to co-ordinate with their Didriksons waterproofs.
As soon as they arrived (nice and quickly I might add!) I could see these boots were something special. Gorgeously bright colours, with lots of high visibility reflective details. They are really well made, strong seams and a solid but flexible sole. They do take a bit of pulling to get on (and I should say here that a friend whose son has very high arches found they didn't quite fit him) but once on are nice and flexible around the ankle whilst still tight enough to stop water getting in.
The boots biggest advantage over standard wellies is of course that they are comfortable and light-weight, with a slip resistant sole, as demonstrated by Papaya here...
In all other ways they perform just as well as standard wellies would and we have thoroughly tested them over the past 8 months in heavy rain.....
.....Autumn leaves in city streets....
....and even at the beach!
Cleaning them is easy too. We use Enjo microfibre cloths and gloves at home so if the boots have got muddy I just wipe them over with the plus line duoglove and leave them to dry. Then I give them a quick top-up of the Tarrago Nano Protector spray recommended on their website.
These aren't winter boots, although by getting them a size bigger for my two I was able to layer up with thick socks during the snow and the kids seemed perfectly warm enough. I did notice on the box of the boots that they plan to bring out "Snow Splats" in the future, as well as "Sun Splats" for the summer, so I'll be intrigued to see what they're like when they are available. For now the Rain Splats are doing the trick and seem to work for most occasions!
Next week I'll tell you about the kids' groovy lunchboxes from Goodbyn.
I first read about Splats in the Metro last September and was intrigued by this new idea of flexible boots rather than stiff cumbersome wellies. Up until this point we had been using Hunter wellies which are amazingly hard-wearing and long-lasting, but rather stiff and difficult to move about in. As my two are likely to be doing anything in their wellies from climbing trees to going down slides, Splats sounded like a good option. They were both due new wellies anyway and the price was around the same I was expecting to pay for a decent pair of normal wellies, so I went ahead and got them a pair each; Ocean Blue for Povey and Hot Pink for Papaya to co-ordinate with their Didriksons waterproofs.
As soon as they arrived (nice and quickly I might add!) I could see these boots were something special. Gorgeously bright colours, with lots of high visibility reflective details. They are really well made, strong seams and a solid but flexible sole. They do take a bit of pulling to get on (and I should say here that a friend whose son has very high arches found they didn't quite fit him) but once on are nice and flexible around the ankle whilst still tight enough to stop water getting in.
The boots biggest advantage over standard wellies is of course that they are comfortable and light-weight, with a slip resistant sole, as demonstrated by Papaya here...
In all other ways they perform just as well as standard wellies would and we have thoroughly tested them over the past 8 months in heavy rain.....
.....Autumn leaves in city streets....
....and even at the beach!
One of my favourite things about them though is how good they look. As they look just like a pair of funky boots instead of wellies they're perfect for occasions where you'll be going inside and out, like all the museums we visit! I like the look of them so much I wish they did them in adult sizes too!
Cleaning them is easy too. We use Enjo microfibre cloths and gloves at home so if the boots have got muddy I just wipe them over with the plus line duoglove and leave them to dry. Then I give them a quick top-up of the Tarrago Nano Protector spray recommended on their website.
These aren't winter boots, although by getting them a size bigger for my two I was able to layer up with thick socks during the snow and the kids seemed perfectly warm enough. I did notice on the box of the boots that they plan to bring out "Snow Splats" in the future, as well as "Sun Splats" for the summer, so I'll be intrigued to see what they're like when they are available. For now the Rain Splats are doing the trick and seem to work for most occasions!
Next week I'll tell you about the kids' groovy lunchboxes from Goodbyn.
