Over the last year we’ve scrambled through sand dunes in Peru, trekked deep into the Amazon, and hiked through some of the most remote island destinations on earth. We’ve wandered through the desert, rappelled down buildings, and trodden on the ruins of ancient Incan civilizations. So it should come as no surprise that we’ve sacrificed many soles.

My feet have been pierced by needles from cactus plants, we lost one pair of shoes to a vicious cotton-mouth snake attack, and others have succumbed to water damage after crashing a quad bike into the sea. So it was about high time, we thought, to invest in some long lasting, high quality hiking shoes.

Enter ECCO Outdoor.

Experts in outdoor clothing and equipment, we have decided ECCO is our shoe brand of choice for our upcoming adventures. And, as the newest Ambassadors for ECCO Outdoor, we’re looking forward to taking on the world in our brand new shoes.

Check them out:

ECCO Womens BIOM Hike GTX

This is a high quality hiking boot with state of the art technology, and feels amazing on your feet.

The shoes are comfortable, supportive and lightweight, and are fantastic for hiking across all forms of terrain.

Click on individual photos to enlarge.

Insanely tough shoes with a lot of synthetic overlays for structural integrity, your feet are fully supported.

A tough heel cage provides great heel support and means your foot is absolutely stable. It’s snug in the heel and the upper, though roomy in the front of the shoe so there is plenty of toe room for walking across all different types of terrain.

Outstanding hiking comfort is a big perk of these shoes, and ECCO have done an amazing job with the inside of the shoe. There is great cushioning, and it’s almost as if they’ve used a form of memory foam within the shoe for a great fit and feel every time.

The boot is lightweight and flexible, and is waterproof like you wouldn’t believe.

Fitted out with a Gor-tex lining, the boot comes with a 100% waterproof guarantee, ensuring dry feet at all times, though it wasn’t until I watched as water literally beaded straight off the leather that I was convinced.

This excited me to the point of tipping out the majority of my drinking water mid hike just to watch my boots repel the water.

Made from a full grain yak leather, which is three times stronger than cow hide, they’re incredibly durable too. There is also a reinforced toe cap which extends durability. The metal D ring speed lacing system and ski hooks at the top meaning great adjustability across your in-step.

ECCO Mens BIOM Ultra Quest

For the man of the house, we chose the BIOM Ultra Quest – Mike enjoys a super lightweight and flexible shoe for his hiking exploits, so this was a no brainer.

An all round adventure shoe, it fits him like an absolute glove and is extremely slim with flexible grip and traction for any surface – you can really feel the terrain under you.

It’s a light and breathable shoe with cleats which have been built specifically for better ground contact.

Excellent foot support and comfort, the shoe is lined with a removable foot-bed for extra cushioning inside the shoe, and has a reinforced synthetic running cage for added support.

A full length Gor-tex membrane in the upper means the shoe is also waterproof.

Meg Jerrard is an Australian Journalist who has been travelling and blogging around the world for the last 7 years to inspire others to embark on their own worldwide adventure!  Her husband Mike is an American travel photographer, and together they have made the world their home.

Follow their journey on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

As ECCO Outdoor Ambassadors we were provided with complimentary shoes. All opinions are our own. No cactus plants were harmed for the photography in this post!