Does Gore-Tex really breathe ??

[AmericaOverland]

As for gore-tex boots, I don't care for them, as I live in Houston, and they don't breathe well when it's warm, as they work best when there is a sufficiently large temperature differential between outside temperature and feet temperature. This is why you notice them working better when it's cool/cold out. The body heat needs to push the moisture out. My socks are kinda wet at the end of the day. I've switched over to the Red Wing women's worker boots, Model 1626, altered by Red Wing's resole shop here in town to have hiker's Vibram soles instead of the stock soles ($109 + $65 resoling = $174 total). I'm in the process of breaking them in before I wear them at work. These are just straight leather boots with no waterproof lining. I'm hoping that I will not have as wet of socks from sweat. I don't do much stuff around wet weather, anyway.

 

[AchillesBogart]

If your feet sweat, bring extra socks. IMO gortex, or any of the rain repellent gear, doesn't breath as well as cloth, but vs a leather boot I haven't noticed any difference, here in the PNW. If you're doing a full day of hiking you should have at least 2 pairs with you. Wear one until they get wet (my experience is about lunch time) swap them with the dry ones and let the wet ones dry. Of course inclement weather means more socks.