Hello all,

I did a quick search of the forum and couldn't find what I was looking for in the last 2 years. Forgive me if my search was bad and this has been discussed within that time frame.

I'm looking for a hiking boot that is lightweight (my pack ways 20 pounds) and will stand a chance of lasting 10 years of daily use (or something amazing). Price is not a concern. I've checked out some other forums but I'd like to hear what ETS members have found to be long lasting boots.

Perhaps I should have put this under long term preparedness?:)

-Nim

Merrell

I'll second the Merells. I've had a pair of Merell Ridge hiking boots for a couple of years. They have been good friends to me in Olympic NP, Grand Canyon, Smoky Mountain NP, Zion NP and more. Comfortable and waterproof.

I don't think that there is a boot made that will survive 10 years use. The soles wear through. Best you can hope for is boots that have a replaceable sole.

It seems like most boots won't be very good after 10 years of even modest use, let alone daily wear. That said, the Merrill boots are generally very good. I have also had good luck with some of the older line of Vasque boots. I'm currently using EMS Tempo GTX boots, which are fairly breathable, reasonably waterproof (Goretex membrane), and have a good Vibram sole with a moderately aggressive tread.

Fit is very important. The EMS boots and Vasque boots fit my shape foot well, but, they might not work for you. Find a shop that has several quality brands, and go try some. Make sure that you are wearing the sock/liner combination you expect to wear in the field. Walk around the shop with a loaded backpack for a while and get a feel for them. Good shops will let you do that, and will have a ramp or two around so you can see if your foot slips going up or downhill. That's very important.

In the northeast, Eastern Mountain Sports has some of their salespeople trained to just fit boots properly, and they really focus on matching you up right. They actually steared me to a less expensive model, that fit me better than the one I initially was considering. Find a reputable outfitter like that where you live, and let them help you. Boots are one of the few things that I won't buy online, for just that reason.

Even the most scenic hiking trail can turn ugly in bad boots.

Usually light weight and durable are mutually exclusive, especially for hiking boots. But, I did go hiking with a guy who's been using the same leather boots since the mid 70's, over 30 years from one pair of boots! He has gone through quite a few resoles, but the boot themselves actually looked in decent shape.

I've gone through quite a few boots too, and the sole is almost always the first thing to go. If you're looking for something to keep for a while, make sure it can be resoled, a lot of the new lightweight boots can NOT due to their construction. Other than that, definitely look for a leather boot, and specifically a one piece leather boot. Fabric wears out much faster than leather, and seams will deteriorate over time even if the leather leather holds up. Somthing like this would be good, but don't make very many lightweight all leather hiking boots anymore. I just finished with a pair of Lowa's, they are really good light hikers, but again the sole and stitching didn't hold up very well. I don't think you'd want to be wearing the same boots after 10 years anyway, they'd start to smell pretty bad. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've worn various boots over the last 12 years and they have all been light hiking boots. The best boots I could find are the one piece solid leather Vasque Sundowner (now Classic and GTX I think). They have been my every day boot for 10 years and although I am on my third pair, I can't beat them. I normally am very tough on my boots and they get a lot of concrete jungle wear, and farm wear. A normal hiking boot lasts me around 6 months (the stitching goes) but the Sundowners last me around 2-4 years. It depends on how much water I expose them to. I never resole them because the leather is distroyed after that time. People who look after the leather better would get a much longer life out of the boot. I have heard of people going through several resoles.

Vasque use a knit and very strong liner in their boots which takes much work to make a hole in, that is more than can be said for most hiking boots.

When I choose a hiking boot I look for several things.
1. replaceable sole
2. solid upper (no little pieces sewn together which can fail)
3. Double or tripple stitching on all seams
4. No liner (leather inside) or a fabric liner (not the stuff you find in running shoes. What most shoe companies call fabric, has no visible threads to it and wears through very quickly.

This is seperate to the normal things of support, fit and look.

When it comes to goretex liners versus no liners at all, my experience is that goretex is great for keeping moisture out but also great for keeping moisture in.

I have never found goretex or it's equivalents to be breathable. Over a long hike you will get damp feet regardless of what the liner is, that is why you should carry spare socks. It is nice to have a waterproof boot but under humid or damp conditions your feet will get damp anyway.

Thank you for all of your input. I'd trust experience to sales people any day.

I apologize for the atrocious spelling in my first post and my tardy reply. Again, thank you for your advice!

-Nim

No, typical feet. The terrain has many large exposed rocks. Fairly humid and fairly cool.

-Nim

I went down to my local REI with a thought I'd buy the Merrells I saw in their catalogue. Luckily I'm near the huge flagship store in Denver, so they have this neat little up/down rocky/step/incline thing that you can climb on to give the boots a test in artificial-trail conditions. The Merrells were certainly nice boots, but fit is everything, and for MY feet a pair of Vasque Breeze boots were clearly superior. I really like the lightness and air-iness of the Vasques, but everybody has to find their fit. I would not buy boots without trying them on and using them semi-trail-like for an extended fit test. I would recommend concentrating on fit over all else. My personal choice, or anybody elses here, may be totally wrong for you. Expecting ANY boot to last ten years - much less with daily use - is asking too much. Even given sole replacements. The support elements in the boots will break down over time, leaving you with a Vibram-soled house slipper.