Just ordered my third pair. I use them for everything; hard day-hiking, hunting in steep, rough, often wet terrain. I have tried the other major brands of boots, nothing compares to these for comfort, durability, and price.
I'm in the process of purchasing my 4th pair. Over the past 10yrs, this shoe style from LL Bean has not changed. One cannot improve perfection. Comfort out of the box which continues for years. I like to have an overlapping pair. Shoes for good & older shoes for abusing-lawn mowing,shoveling etc. This item has been one of the few constants in my life. Thanx LL Bean
I am a assistant scout master with a boy scout troop that does a lot of backpacking. I have backpacked with these boots in Washington State, Colorado, Indiana, Yosemite, Kentucky, Maine, and New Hamshire. These are the most comfortable boots I have ever had. The boots are great. They are very comfortable right out of the box. They are also very water proof. This past week we had to wade through a streem that was about 6 inches deep, 4 times. My feet were the only ones that stayed dry. I'm still not sure how the boots kept the water out. When I go on long backpacking trips, I must use good packpacking socks and liners to avoid blisters. I had an eyelet rip out of my first pair after about a year. LLBean replaced the boots at no charge. When these boots ware out, I will definately get another pair. Now that my feet are comfortable, I just have to figure out how to keep up with the boys.
I bought this boot a week ago in anticipation for getting back into backpacking extensively. I have had many other brands, and lighter and heavier weight boots, but the Cresta hikers caught my eye. I was interested in the fact that they are said to break in very quick, yet last well. While I cannot speak of their durability yet, they do break in nicely. After a week of wearing daily, I wore them on a day hike to Mt. Marshall in the Adirondacks. Rain, mud and very rough. The boots fit as well as well worn hikers, despite the short break-in. 7.5 hours in the mud and muck and my feet were not sore at all. I did however replace the really cheap footbed with a Superfeet foot bed and improved the boot even more. Definitely a good boot. The poor footbed degraded this boot from being a 5 star rating.
