Five stars. I have worn these boots in South American jungles, on African Savannah, in European forests, and have climbed mountains in the Sierra Nevadas, Appalachians, and several peaks in Africa including Kilimanjaro. They are wonderful boots.
They are big, they are heavy, but they will last.
I am on my second pair. The first had a defect with the tongue that made one of the shoes slightly uncomfortable. I was overseas and lived with it for 4 years. It was not that big of a deal, but noticeable for sure. When I got home, I took the boots to a cobbler to see if he could fix it. He told me that the left tongue was 3/4 of an inch wider than the right, and therefore was folded and creased weird and uncomfortably. I called LL Bean and they sent me a new pair, no questions asked, and replaced the old pair. THIS WAS AFTER 4 YEARS.
I wasn't happy with the first pair because of the defect, but I wasn't completely unhappy. The boots were so great otherwise that I was still sold on them.
Nevertheless, LL Bean gladly sent me new ones to replace the defective ones because I wasn't 100 percent satisfied. This is why I keep giving this company money. They have the most amazing customer service and guarantee out there. I ALWAYS come back to LL Bean!
The boots are comfortable straight out of the box, but still take some time to break in and mold to your foot. Get some good socks because you also have to mold your foot to the boot, and that can require some slight discomfort.
Long story short, these are the best boots I have ever owned and I absolutely love them.
A fellow hiker on the AT recommended the Cresta to me in 2001 and I've worn these stable boots on well over a 600 mi. of trail over the last ten years ranging from Glacier NP to Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The boots have been, 'good as gold' to my feet in cold or hot weather. The Vibram soles are long lasting and really grip.
I’ll definitely buy another pair - if they ever wear out.
I purchased these less than a year ago. I wear them for casual use along with 2 other shoes. The in-soles developed holes so large that I could not comfortably wear them after 3 months of limited use. Bean agreed to pay 20 dollars towards a replacement pair of in-soles. Thankfully Bean paid me the full amount (about 25 dollars). I have never had a pair of insoles wear as quickly as with these boots.
The fit is excellent and they are extremely comfortable and supportive. However, the last few months my leather uppers have been separating from the bottom of the shoes in a few areas. The gap is getting much worse and I am going to send them back. Another recent review indicated the same issue. If my replacement pair develops the same issue I will not buy again. For 200 dollars these shoes should not have these issues.
I have been using Cresta Hikers for years. As a forester who does a tremendous amount of hiking, I have found the comfort and durability hard to beat. I first discovered the boot model from my wife, who used them to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in the '90s. However, the last couple of pairs I tried seem to have gone downhill with record time. The glue began giving way where the soles attached to the leather and they lost waterproofing, something I had never previously had happen in years of prior use of other pairs of the boots. I have now returned two consecutive pairs for exchanges, and I can see that already developing with a third that I have at home. I can't be using them any more often or more aggressively, and in fact, they get less weekly use. I have more different kinds of boots on hand for different job purposes than ever before. I don't use the Crestas every day, and I don't use them on wildfires or in the snow during the Connecticut winter months. But I still seem to wear them down in just a few months. The only pattern I can see from this is that the "decline" seemed to correspond to when the boots were no longer manufactured in Italy anymore. This seemed to start around the time LL Bean began manufacturing them in Romania. I still recommend these boots, and some may not notice the difference if they have not been customers of this variety for years. But I wish they were still a little more durable, especially in consideration that the price continues to rise on them. As much as I like them, I am inclined to begin looking elsewhere to find an alternative hiker for my spring/summer/fall forest inventory and timber marking work.
