Great backpacking boots. Bought the fabric/leather ones. Minimal break in - I wore them to work at my office for a couple of weeks which did the trick. Good support for my 25 mile backpacking and camping trip on the Big Island of Hawaii in the wilderness area from about 2,500' elevation down to the ocean. Started off in the pouring rain for 3.5 hours - with gaiters and rain pants my feet were perfectly dry. Traction in the wet and dry good, on varied terrain (grasslands, lava rocks, gravel, some mud, etc.). I carry a probably too heavy pack at 50-60 lbs or so, and the shoes do fine for that load. Good stability in other words. Only negative is I agree with others who suggest the boots should have rubber toes to protect against rocks and scuffing up. Hopefully my photos will show what the boots look like after that single 25 mile backpacking trip. Whatever - I still recommend 'em.
These boots are for my adult son who wears them every day in his job as a UPS driver. We ordered his first pair in November '11, and they still look nearly as good as the day they arrived. He's been talking about getting a second pair just to have on hand in case these ever wear out (!!!). Just then we get a notice from LLBean that they were having a sale (how timely of them:) so we ordered right away. He has had cheap boots, expensive boots, major name brands, etc., and none of them have performed like these. Please, LLBean, don't ever change these boots, and he'll order them forever!
Well, this is a tough review. I had the BLUE Cresta Hikers that were manufactured in Italy and really REALLY loved them. They had great support, fit around my upper ankle well, and were serious Back Packing boots. The fit and support were awesome and I never had a blister, ever. Unfortunately, the Vibram sole had a bad spot that came "un-welded" and they were sent back in exchange for the new GREEN Cresta Hikers. These new boots are not the same by any means! While attractive and comfortable, they lack much of the support my original pair had, in fact the sole is such that I received a bad stress fracture while hiking with full pack after just 4 hours on the trail. These are great day hiking boots, but for serious hiking in rough terrain with a full pack, they are not near stiff enough and seem to lack the additional thickness that the Vibram sole had in my original Cresta's and are about 1 -2 inches shorter in height. They are not even made by the same company and come from Romania. They are comfortable and kept my feet very dry in a 10 mile hike in pouring down rain conditions. ONLY until I slipped crossing a rain swollen creek did one of my feet get wet and even while soaked, the boots fit well and didn't leave any blisters. I would recommend them only to those that want a light boot for day hiking.
Bought these all leather boots for my husband, who always has trouble finding B widths. He is a happy camper now, great boot, true to size, very comfortable. My husband likes them so much so I just purchased a second pair the Fabric/Leather boot. Thank you LLBean for a great product.
