Hiking Boot Recomendations

[upcruiser]

Well, I've tried mink oil now and it seems to have helped a bit. I did about 5 coats of it, put it in the oven, and repeated. They seem to still be absorbing it so I'm going to do a few more treatments. It seems like the leather is just super dry, thus the stiffness. Hopefully they'll keep softening up a bit.

Thanks for the tip on the cobbler. Supposedly there is a local guy who does a good job, in fact a friend of mine had his Sundowners resoled there.

 

[bigreen505]

Food for thought. My dad has owned I think three pairs of hiking boots in his life time, current ones are Pavettas (sp?) from about 30 or so years ago and they are about to go in four their third or fourth sole. If it works and it is comfortable, keep them.

I'm so annoyed with my current Vasque's that I'm looking at getting my old Technicas resoled.

 

[BajaTaco]

I also have gone to Danner's for my hunting boots and have been very impressed with them. Great ankle support, (two days of upland game hunting on a sprained ankle). I don't know if they make a plain hiking boot anymore.

Just to chime in on the Danners, yes - they still make a plain hiking boot. I am now on my second pair of Mountain Light II boots. I went through 3 pairs of vibram soles on the first set before I had started to wear out some of the stitching. They just fit me really well and I can hike for days in them right off the bat, with no break-in required. 3 pairs of vibrams is a pretty good amount of use, worth the cost for these boots I would say. I will note that the gore-tex membrane only lasted maybe half the life of the stitching (half the life of the boot) so they weren't 100% waterproof for the lifespan of the boot (in my case anyway). The leather is bulletproof but comfortable. They are still made in the USA.

upcruiser, good luck with the Sundowners, are they working out any better now? I had considered a pair of them a long time ago, but they seemed a bit narrow for me.

 

[Beowulf]

I just posted this over on the boots for girls section:

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Boots are probably the most important thing you can have. My recommendation is to go to as many stores as you can and try them all on with different pairs of socks. Go with the one the fits the best. Looks are secondary, but still somewhat important. Even if they fit great but you hate they way they look and vice versa.

I personally love handmad Limmer boots. All leather and take a few miles to wear in. But, once broke in they are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn.

If you can wait 4 years and part with $500, go with full custom. If you foot is somewhat normal give the off the self Limmer Lightweight and Limmer Standard a try.

My wife actually wears a pair of Men's 8.5 Garmont Dakota Plus boots.

Second to boots is socks. I highly recommend socks such as Smartwool and Bridgedale. It may seem strange to spend $15 to $20 on socks but it makes all the difference. The more wool the better.

I actually wear ultra thin liners under Smartwool Expedition socks. Wicks extremely well with moisture wicking. Keeps me warm in winter and is not to hot for Moab in the summer.

No matter how tired, cold or sick you are you can keep walking. But, the minute your feet hurt that is is about the end of it.

 

[Benjisan]

Everyone loves Limmer but Esatto custom made boots seem good as well. There is also a guy in BC, Canada that apparently makes some awesome boots, Van Gorkem is the name.

All of these custom made boots have wait lists and cost some serious dough. The upside is if you maintain these babies they will last you for eons, can be resoled and repaired, and you have a boot that is perfect. I am seriously considering ordering from one of these crafters. As for off the shelf recommendations, I have none. It is futile to recommend boots to someone as everybody has different feet. As has been stated already, the best thing to do is try on a lot of boots until you find the best fit. Take them home and break them in, only indoors at first. That way if there are any problems, they won't be scuffed up and you can take them back. Just make sure the store you buy from is okay with this, most are but you want to check ahead of time to avoid trouble. If the boots pass the indoor break-in period, proceed to outdoor break-in. Whenever I find a shoe or boot that fits well, I usually try to buy two pairs, that way if the company discontinues or makes changes to the model, I can rotate them, they will last a while longer, and I won't have to go through the agony of trying on fifty thousand pairs of boots for awhile.

I also second the recommendation for Smartwool socks. Hands down they are the best socks I've thrown on my feet.

 

[KingSlug]

I really like my old style Raichle Montangas, when I found out they weren't going to make anymore I bought 4 pair in 1998. They are hella tough, abeit a bit heavy.

For a lighter boot I like the Courtney Selous.

BTW: I was a boot tech at REI too.

 

[upcruiser]

I pretty much only sport smartwools in my boots for both skiing and hiking. They are spendy but they are worth every penny no doubt. Fortunately I get a few pair free every year so that keeps me well stocked.

An update on the Vasques. I did about 8 treatments of mink oil and heat and got the leather pretty supple. I haven't been wearing them a ton yet but when I have, they are starting to get pretty comfortable. The cardboard like consistency is gone and they are getting to where I like them. Took much longer then I was expecting though.

 

[HenryJ]

Once upon a time, when I was working construction, I wore nothing but Hathorne 8" Packers. Oiled heavily with mink oil. Working in mud dirt and on equipment all the time they were a good boot. Way too heavy for long walks, hiking and too slick, or hard for rock climbing.

In the winter snow I wear Sorrel Packers. I have three pair of liners so a dry pair is always available.

The last half dozen years I have become accustomed to 8" duty boots. We fight wildland fires in the Danner Rainforest 8" insulated boot.
Many of the guys wear them for light duty as well. They are a little heavy, but for fighting fire they function well. I have hiked miles and miles in terrible terrain and the feet did not suffer.

For personal use Nike has fit me better than most brands. I have a pair of Nike ACG Wallowa light hikers and a set of Nike ACG Casacde light hikers. Both of these are over ankle light boots. More of a high topped cross trainer with some water resistance. These have worked pretty well, but like anything that fits and wears well , it is soon discontinued. I have worn out three pair of laces in the Nike Wallowas. Those are what I have been wearing as I work in the shop.

The last pair I picked up was a set of 8" side zipper Worx duty boots. These were made by Redwing. They have been working great. I have been trying to keep them for shift work and keep them nice. They are very comfortable and hard to leave alone though. I should have bought two pair when I found them clearanced for $25.

I recently purchased another couple pair of boots. One pair has been set back for duty work, so I have not tried them out yet. These do not have zippers, so I ordered some lace in zippers for them.
The pair that is set aside for now has a smooth finish with ventilated sides. These are the Beretta Thunder 8" duty boot.
The other pair are a little more casual. They are the Beretta Lightning 8" duty boot. OMG! These are very comfortable!
It may just be that they fit correctly. I was measured for a pair of Whites a very long time ago. 10 1/2 F was what they determined. With a quote over $400 , I passed on having a set made.
The Berettas were available in a wide width. 10.5 W :victory:
The soles are a strange rough texture. It has the old military recessed lugs, but a rough raw texture. They are almost silent when walking. No clomping or squeaking sounds on smooth tiled surfaces. Traction seems good. The Lightnings I am now wearing have a rubber over toe reinforcement. The uppers a rougher smoothed leather. Ventilation is good and they are light as sneakers. I picked them up from Sportsmansguide.com. About $50 a pair.

I have been spraying all my boots with KIWI "Camp Dry" heavy duty water repellent. It leaves a nice shine on the smooth duty boots and does not discolor the "suede like" finish the Nike boots have. I may be lazy, but it seems to work pretty well.

Nike, Worx and Beretta are all made in China.

Each area may have a style that works better. My terrain is high desert. Snakes, Ticks, cheat grass, rock, sand, dust. Desert boots with some water resistance work for me.
I don't think I would want to use these in mud all day.

 

[Mike S]

I personally love handmad Limmer boots. All leather and take a few miles to wear in. But, once broke in they are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn.

If you can wait 4 years and part with $500, go with full custom. If you foot is somewhat normal give the off the self Limmer Lightweight and Limmer Standard a try.

Agreed. I have worn out quite few pairs of boots. Last year I bought a pair of Limmer Lightweights. These are easily the best boots I have owned.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I have been using the old Merrill Wilderness boots for ages.. I bought two pair in about 1996 or so.. I used to fix hiking trails in the adirondacks during the summers when I was in high school and college.. Used to beat the snot out of your boots especially, tough terrain, weather, lots of rain, mud, rock etc...

This was right when Merrell got bought and I believe these boots might have been made elsewhere than the traditional Vermont factory, these were the first of the new ones (probably similar to todays) but the quality was actually good...

I never even got into the second pair until just this year when not using them took their toll on the boots. It was really hard to finally throw them away.. I bet I had 400 major hiking days on them and many many long trips. They are back packing boots in theory but are tough as nails, so I used them for everything. If you can get good in hiking in them then you become a very strong hiker... Best thing I did was take them to the cobbler and get a beefier set of soles put on. Slightly more weight but sort of like a tough set of off road tires.. Not sure if they still make the wildernesses.. Luckily they fit my foot... Similar to other high quality boots of the time, resolable, good leather, broke in well.. The key was good boot maintenance.. Clean with saddle soap, let thoroughly dry.. Then put in over, and apply water prrofer.. I forget the brand name but they sell it in red and green tubes., green for Suede I think (IE use the red). Very good stuff, blows sno seal away. that said I havn't been able to find it locally (haven't looked too hard though, REI probably carries it) so I used sno seal last time. If you take care of a good set of boots its sort of like a Welder, should last you as long as you live usually...

The problem with good boots that are fairly stiff is that they are honestly hard to drive in. Back then I got used to it but it is still hard to get good feel of the gas pedal beneath your foot with them on. And they are heavy but you get used to that..

Anyway, the Wildernesses were out for ages right when Limmer finally started putting out their boots to the public (IE not custom).. I would probably go with these again.. This second pair of the wildernesses are pretty good.. I will probably keep them for a while. I had probably an old set of the Sundowners (I think) for ages, slightly softer sole that was better for easy trips and just wearing..

That is an issue when talking about boots for the Expo crowd...


Here is a link to them...
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/merrell/wilderness/

 

[MaddBaggins]

I'm a little late to chime inbut...
My favorite boots have been Danners. Either the Danner light or the mountain light II. Both are great boots and comfortable right from the start. I use mink oil to clean and condition the leather. I always wear them with Merino wool socks and no liners. When it comes to wool socks, those made with Merino are the shizzl.

 

[FortyMileDesert]

Late and off-subject.....

A little off the subject - - - I'm 6'3" tall, long legged, size 12 boot and drive an '04 Land Rover Discovery. As anyone who is tall and driven a Discovery knows; there is a severe lack of knee, leg and toe room for tall people in a Disco. I've modified the seat rails to gain a bit of length but still tight for foot width and knee room under the steering wheel.

To comfortably drive and not constantly find myself hitting the brake and throttle pedals at the same time; I usually have to wear regular shoes while driving and then change to boots for any serious hiking. The only boots I know of with a narrow enough toe width are cowboy boots - But those are really not any good for hiking.

I do my off-roading (and hiking) in northern Nevada, so mud and wet are never a problem. Most hiking is in rocks, talus, sand and sagebrush. Winter temperatures -10 to +20, summer temperatures +20 to +100.......ANY SUGGESTIONS? ROFSheriffHL: