First and foremost, this has been the best boot I have ever, EVER had. Not only do I have these boots, but my father, wife, and brother as well. I have owned Vasque in the past, but they don't hold a candle to these. I hike into Baxter State Park and other various places, and these boots always feel great. I would recommend breaking in these boots well in advance but when you do, I believe they will be the most comfortable hiking boots you will have ever own. LLBean, my feet and I thank you.
I LOVE these boots! I have had mine for about 7 years and have hiked in them in Shenandoah NP, Glacier NP, Yellowstone, Tetons, Denali and in just a few days I'm bringing them "home" to Maine for 2 weeks in Acadia and the AT! All these years and all those miles and they still have "that new boot smell"! :-) Seriously, the boots have had a distinctive leather smell (a good smell) and I can still smell it!
I have worn them for hiking in the snow and fording creeks and my feet remain completely dry! (unless the water/snow goes over the top of the boot that is)
I had some issues with blisters a few years ago but I simply put duct tape over the "hot spot" before heading out and wore sock liners - now I hike w/o sock liners and haven't had any issues.
The only prob I have had is that the lace broke recently and I'm here on LL Bean's website to find new laces for them! :-)
I am on my second pair of Cresta's and they are showing some wear after two years- I have been hard on them, they have got me through five weeks of daily rough off-trail use in geology field camp (SW Montana), a 270 mile end-to-end hike of VTs Long Trail (very often wet and quite rough in places), a whole summer of daily use in mixed conditions during geology field work in NW Montana, and lots of other trips in UT, MT, and the Adirondacks including multi-overnight backpacking trip and snowshoeing. I estimate they have 600 to 800 miles on them. The Crestas are easy to recommend and I will consider another pair when these give up the ghost - they will finish at least this summer with the present soles and I might see if I can get new soles on them to get a couple more seasons use. Lots of boots consting significantly more are probably no better (though I haven't tried many models). I honestly think that short of custom hand-made boots (triple the cost of Crestas) you will have trouble getting better boots for general backpacking. If you stick to on-trail dayhikes you don't need anything this big, get a lighter lower-top sneaker type boot. On the other hand these are not mountaineering boots, I wouldn't take them up Denali. If you carry normal backpacking loads (30-50 pounds about) over mixed trail with occasional off-trail jaunts, these are great.
These are pretty lightweight for a full-leather backpacking boot, and the design is vastly imroved over the previous leather cresta with few seams (and those in out-of-the-way spots). I find the outsoles pretty tough and grippy (hard to bead Vibrams!). Leather uppers are WAY tougher than synthetic and, if you maintain them, will drastically outlast synthetics, which are thin and typically have tons of seams waiting to bust. Mine have gotten one crack at the ball-of-foot hinge point, this is due to insufficient maintenance and is a concern with any leather boot (I let them dry out too fast probably, or maybe didn't give them mink oil often enough). Break them in right and wear thick socks and you should have happy feet, I have not had many blister issues (I use a poly sock liner under heavy hand-knit wools socks). The Crestas have good ankle support and and moderate arch support -- my pair is starting to break down and I am thinking of getting orthotic inserts for my arches. I think there is just enough cushion, but with a real heavy pack and long miles you may feel the pounding as the soles are not too thick. However, this contributes to their being lightweight compared to other leather backpacking boots. Another weight-saver is they went with a glued sole and not the tougher and easier-repaired norwegian welt. With a glued sole you will eventually see it start to separate a tiny bit from the upper, especially arond the ball-of-foot hinge-point and to a lesser extent around the toe-box. This is no biggie but keep an eye on it and re-sole when its time (my tread is showing significant wear and they are still in decent shape). Oh yeah, these things are COMPLETELY waterproof, but just like other boots if rain runs down your legs or your sock gets soaked or you step in too deep of a puddle, they will be wet inside. If they get saturated they will be heavy (buy some gaiters and/or rainpants from beans to wear in inclement conditions and prevent soaking the boots).
The reason I don't give these a five is that on both of mine, the lower horizontal seam across the achiles tendon has come unstitched. Though I'm not a cobbler or leatherworker, it looks like this seam is basically unecesary so I consider it a design weakness. That said, I have put the boots through a lot, and a local shoe repair guy is fixing them for ten bucks. Not bad. If I had time I would have sent them to the company and got them fixed or replaced free, but next week I need them for a trip in Glacier National Park. When seams started coming apart on my old pair, I sent them to Beans for repair and this pair came back in the mail. That pair had seen more wear than these probably; the soles were delaminating and I once burned one in a fire-- Beans takes care of its people!
Overall I say these are a no-nonsense good honest backpacking boot backed up by legendary LL Bean customer service. Full leather uppers make repairs easy and will last a long time with care. Keep 'em greased up and be keep an eye on the wear and tear -- with normal maintenance these will last long years and many miles.
The soles on these boots are so slippery. They are indeed waterproof but on wet wood or rocks forget it. My husband bought these to wear while doing lawn and ground maintenance and several times when wearing them at work almost fell when on wet rocks or wet wood?? I can't imagine trying to walk on a rocky trail that is wet with these boots.
