II bought these boots for training and then a basic mountaineering trip to the North Cascades. They were as comfortable out of the box as a pair of custom-made boots that I had had for many years. They were a great support even for walking with a 50 lb pack. Despite some light rain and 3 1/2 days on a glacier, with heavy socks my feet never got wet or cold. The soles were rigid enough for the use of strap-on crampons. The Vibram soles worked well on rock. Although probably no designed primarily for the above, they functioned extremely well and I would recommend them as a great pair of boots.
I was not sure about size, found a pair of black ( 20 bucks cheaper ) size 11 1/2 - they are a tad long (perfect fit) - so I find the L L Bean 12 a good fit - the 1/2 size smaller will do it. looking forward to a few days of hiking and I just know they will be my friend, wishing they where made in Italy - I guess the move to Romania fit the company, will see how they last.
I have had these boots for 10 years and just gave them up as there was virtually no sole left. I wore these in every imaginable condition, snow, rain, desert, etc and hiked in them through snow, rock and sand for short hikes and multi-day. Absolutely loved them, they broke in easily and stayed true with minimal care. If not for the support of these I would have had several injuries which I can absolutely attest but for these boots would have occurred. They were great in snow, rain, rivers, rocks and sand. Absolutely loved them and now time to replace them - terrific value! I used them for shale and cliffs in New Mexico, trudging through waist deep snow in Vermont, hiking in the Alps and day trekking in London. There was literally no environment I couldn't put them through and was truly sad to leave them behind in Santa Fe even though they had finally given up the ghost (no sole, and the shale had finally cut through the seams after years of abuse. These are my preferred boots and will be my preferred replacement.
I bought a pair of these boots almost 15 years ago, when I first moved away from home at age 18 to go work at Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Now I am almost 33, and just now they are starting to fail me. Up until this year, they were totally dependable. They moved with me from coast to coast, climbed mountains, delivered the mail, walked thousands of dog walks for my business The Tired Puppy, and as soon as I get around to it, I will order another pair, because I have never had a boot nearly as dependable as this one. Thank you for being a leader in selling a very high quality product that will survive years and years of use!
