As a travel writer, I (usually) spend a lot of time in airports, where stressors abound. I’m constantly afraid of baggage getting lost, if I’m going to miss hearing my boarding section called and have to wait at the back of the hoard for overhead space, how much I’ll overpay for a stale brioche turkey sandwich, and so on. Having a basic airport uniform to turn to means one less decision that needs to be made in the bluster of getting bags checked, tickets printed, and passports ready to hand over to the clerk. That’s why I always wear a trusty pair of Chelsea boots out of the house on travel days.

While there are plenty of great black Chelsea boots out there, I’m loyal to a Doc Martens style, the Graeme II in smooth leather. Because the brand is fairly ubiquitous, this style is almost always in stock, as opposed to some designer alternatives that tend to go in and out of stock, online and otherwise, each season. They're also a great airport shoe. The flex webbing on the sides allows you to pull them on and off easily—critical for the TSA line when everyone is scrambling to untie laces and take off their shoes.

And while they take up quite a bit of real estate in a bag, they don’t feel heavy on my feet. Unlike Dr. Martens’s perhaps more famous shoe—the combat boot seen on everyone from emo teens in the early 2000s to punk rockers in Camden Town circa 1980—the Chelsea boots are cut far slimmer and have a much more toned down sole. I’ve worn them walking around town all day in jeans and with a suit to a dinner party. The massive soles found on Doc Martens combat boots are swapped out for thick, darkly-colored rubber ones that still offer a lot of give and shock absorption during a day spent on uneven city streets, but are thin enough to not look like your suit has you ready to land on the moon.

Because the boots have been around for so long, I’ve worn either this specific pair or a similar model for years. In the elements, they hold up wonderfully. I wear them mostly walking around cities, going from gravel park paths to cobblestone streets in Paris and the medina in Marrakech, and the rubber soles and tread ensure my feet aren't all but falling apart by the time I pull them off.

My favorite part of these boots though is that they are fairly indestructible. During the winter, the rubber treads keep me from slipping on the ice. In the spring, the rain just coasts off of them. (You may want to invest in a rub-on sealer for them, too, though, if you’re the kind who will use them as a more formal shoe.) I’ve even worn them hiking through a muddy field in Spain, and they nearly wipe clean with a wet cloth after.

Aside from the absolute essentials (passport, wallet, glasses, watch), these boots are the only thing I make sure to pack when I travel, and are always on my feet when I’m out in the world.