Last of the Men's Hiko's

One day last fall, I decided that it was time to retire my rugby boots. I had been playing with a pair of the Hiko model, made by Canterbury, for the previous 4 years. Not a record, but certainly a solid stint for a pair of boots. (BTW: Rugby has it's own terminology, cleats are referred to as boots) Hence, I needed a new pair. It started as a simple search, like many searches I have made before for rugby gear and just about anything I have ever purchased online. I went to an online retailer for rugby gear, found the pair of boots that I wanted, selected my size, entered my shipping and credit card information and confirmed the purchase. Pretty straight forward to this point. I even received the usual email, stating that my order had been received, and that the item would ship in the next day or two. This is where the story turns south.

Two days later, I received a phone call from the retailer, telling me that they were out of the Hiko's in my size, and that they were not sure when they would get any more. They did however have a pair of the new and improved boot by Canterbury, the "Rampage". The sales guy assured me that they were a great boot and that he had received positive feedback about it. Going against my gut instinct, I told him to change the order, and that I would take a pair of the new boot. The boots came in a few days. What pieces of cr*p those turned out to be. After one training (rugbyspeak for practice) and a match, those boots have sat in my office at home awaiting the decision about their final destiny. The only thing for sure is that they will never be placed on my feet again.

For some reason, Canterbury has decided to put a 'hard' toe on the boot. After getting stepped on once, there is now a crease in the toe of the boot that rubs against the foot. Nice design. The boot is made of some form of synthetic leather garbage that just looks cheap, even though they charge the same amount. The fit of the boot is just terrible as well. The foot bed is probably just wide enough for a rhino, but I would say a little large for the human.

As the spring season approached, I thought I would search around for another pair of boots. I found several online outlets who carried the Hiko, but all of sizes for the basic midget, 8's, 9's, and 10's. It was pretty clear that Canterbury had decided to discontinue one of the better and more popular boots ever sold in the US. The next day, I was having a beer with some teammates after practice, and the coach of the women's team who works for USA Rugby. (Living in Boulder, we are both blessed and mostly cursed with the presence of the headquarters of the national governing body.) I then found out that the US rep from Canterbury was coming into town to meet with USA Rugby, and he would be coming to the bar later that night. When he arrived, after going through the usual pleasantries, and finding out that he in fact played with a teammate of mine from a previous club, I asked him what happened to the Hiko. I was less than impressed with the response. Essentially, the Hiko was canceled and that Canterbury was going away from the high/mid top boot because only dinosaurs like me actually wanted them. They came up with the Rampage as a middle of the road boot to satisfy old timers who still think rugby is a game that requires strength and leverage. Apparently I missed the memo where it became a finesse sport.

My response was that if you are a forward, which this guy clearly was not, you were going to want a boot with a little more support, because in the scrum you are basically in a press. He told me that the scrum only makes up 3.5 minutes of a given match. Which is true, but possession of the ball is also being contested during all of those 3.5 minutes and if you can't push, you lose the ball.

Anyway, I will go on a diatribe about the euro-wannabe, self-appointed stewards of the game, but that is another post. When I got home, I decided that if there was a Size 13 pair of Hikos to be found, I was going to find them. Well, I finally got to the point of where I should have started, Google. I Google'd Hiko Size 13. Amazon had a pair through Red Rhino. (I've worked with RR before and they kick ... um... butt) I decided to call Red Rhino and verify that they actually had the boots that I was looking for. In talking to the very friendly person who answered the phone, I told her what the Canterbury rep had to say. She laughed. She said that they get calls for the Hiko all the time, and that it is a very popular boot. They also have nothing but problems with the Rampage. She also said that I probably found the last pair in the US. Because I'm in Boulder, "Sweet" was all I could say. (Sweet is a key term in Boulder, not sure why it just is)

I have to ask who is doing the market analysis for Canterbury? Clearly it must be their solitary and 26 year old rep for the US. No wonder Canterbury no longer is the manufacturer for the New Zealand All Blacks, the most well known national side in the world.

Whatever the case, I've got a few more years with a good set of boots. Maybe Canterbury will come to their senses by the time I have to retire these.

Fly Pattern of the day:
Probably the most popular dry fly of all time - The elk hair caddis , invented by Al Troth.




Tight Lines,

Dave