what is consider as good survival boots? I wear leather Raichle medium built boots. It is intended for modest load backpacking. I don't want to walk around in heavy duty backpacking boots that will tire me out quickly. In choosing boots, I look for boots that has minimum seams. The boots should be made of 1 or 2 piece of leather. I dislike millitary boots because its good year welt is not as good as civilian version. Millitary leather boots tend to have too many pieces of leather patches sewed together.

Well, here in Baghdad I have a pair of Wolverines in a smooth neutral suede with 200 grams of Thinsulate insulation. The sole is softer than vibram but thicker than what is on the combat boots. They do not have a steel toe. I cover on average about 5 to 7 miles a day in them on all kinds of terrain, carrying 40 lbs of body armor. I added an orthopedic heel insert to them only to cushion the impact, which seems to be working well. The insulation seems to help keep my feet cooler I guess. I waterproofed them and I clean them once a month. They cost me about $60 as I recall, and they've held up pretty well. One day I did 12 miles in them, and my feet weren't complaining as bad as other parts of me were. These are lighter than my elk hunting boots, and I would use them for hunting upland game in moderate terrain, but not up in the hills, they do not have enough support for that I think. I doubt you are going to push as hard as that for moderate load backpacking, so these type boots should be suitable. They have only two seams, so they should still meet your criteria. They are a great hot weather boot.

It's been my experience that what people put on their feet is a very personal choice. I've shucked top of the line boots for something that fit my foot and my style more appropriately.

And here I thought I was the only one with that experience with light amounts of thinsulate. I've worn 200g insulated Danners in every conceivable kind of weather, and after 22 years they are going strong (second set of vibrams -- I sent them back to Danner, and they resoled them for free at the 11 year mark. I think they looked at them as a good advert - and they are.

For what it's worth, I bough a pair of Calela's "Gentleman's Upland Hunting Boots" about a year ago and have worn them almost every day to work, in addition to camping. They're not waterproof, but I treat them with mink oil and have never had any leakage.

They're not just the most comfortable boots I ever wore, they're the most comfortabe shoe of any kind. There was a short break-in period. They're very light and give a lot of ankle support.

After several bad purchases, I decided I wasn't going to buy boots by mail anymore. I think you actually have to try them on first. It was worth the trip to Cabela's, because they have great service in the shoe department.