Adidas Kampung - practical forest footwear

Adidas Kampung - practical forest footwear

If you needed advice on the best footwear for exploring our tropical rainforests, hear it from those who are experienced in rock climbing, hill hiking and walking on slippery rock-floored rivers.  They all swear by a pair of "Adidas kampung."

“What’s that?” I hadn’t heard of it until we went white water rafting and exploring the rainforests around Gopeng and Ulu Geroh in Perak. With ideas for jungle trekking and waterfall abseiling, someone suggested the infamous Adidas kampung.

Seasoned jungle trekkers will tell you that the ideal footwear for our tropical terrain should be lightweight and easy to get dry. They insist it must be the village version of a super shoe. After trudging through mud, muck, rivers or waterfalls, the last things you need are shoes that weigh you down.


Popular with farmers and rubber tappers, Adidas kampung has the distinguished reputation as the most versatile shoes to use in our jungles. Now this fantastic forest footwear comes highly recommend for jungle trekking.

The unique Adidas kampung is a one-piece rubber soccer boot cast from a mould of the real leather Adidas shoes. The latex keeps out moisture and mud and it’s thin enough for our soles to feel every rock and root on the forest floor. Super light and comfortable, these rubber-studded shoes have excellent grip and are the preferred footwear of regular jungle trekkers and even champion climbers of the Sabah’s Kinabalu Climbathon.

Retailing at only RM5 a pair in mom-and-pop retail stores in the Gopeng area, these shoes are an absolute steal. Designed in solid black or highlighted with yellow stripes and fastened by shoelaces, these versatile “village Adidas” shoes, worn with leech-proof socks, are the ultimate forest footwear that promises hours of walking pleasure with no blisters!


This article was first published in The New Straits Times, Travel Times on 6 August 2007

Photo was taken by Casey Ng, organizer of our nature trail in Gopeng.  Get to know him better on his website: http://caseyng.com ; Casey is also Founder of "Take the path less ordinary" http://outskirtoutreach.org

Model of 'Adidas kampung' forest footwear is Andy Paul.  View more of his work in our jungles on his website: http://jungle-asia.com