boots

[kevin]

I need to find some new boots. Ive worn jungle boots the last few years, then switched to these:

http://altama.com/Tp1/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=4158

is there anything better? So far these are the best boots i have been able to find and by far the most comfortable and longest lasting of any boot brand ive tried. I have one pair i can still wear but i like to have two pairs of boots. The ones ive got are nearly two years old and are just now starting to show wear. I would have them resoled but ive worn a hole behind each heel and also the fabic inside the boot has several holes in it. They still feel great but are starting to look bad. Ive worn them everyday for two years, through mud, oil, rocks water etc. Never cleaned them just a stiff nylon brush and they would look new after that.

[NavajoNPaleFace]

Kevin, do you have to buy them off the net?

I like the looks of them and your testimonial leaves me looking at them hard.

My thing is that I know that I wear differnt sizes depending on who makes them and on-line buying for boots, for me anyway, is iffy getting a good fit.

[kevin]

i buy them online. if they are wrong size you can send em back but you pay the shipping. you could try them on at a surplus store. i like this kind cuz it has a very spongy rubber layer in the middle, 3 layers of rubber on the sole. and a nice foam rubber insert inside the boot and vents like jungle boots in the instep. Keeps my feed dry and cool.

i was just wondering if there was anything better to try before i order another pair. Ive stuck with this brand for almost 10yrs. These desert ones are easy to keep clean. Just a brush. I like the tread on them as well, grips better on wet slick stuff than the panama style sole

[Darkwatch]

This is what I wear everyday...very comfy with a good pair of insoles.
http://www.stompersboots.com/gtwy_laceup-091.php

I have been wearing them for about 4-5 years now (everyday) And I love them! And stompers have them the cheapest. Good hunting.

[okie shooter]

Kevin, they carry those, or a shoe like that on the shoe truck here at work, you might look up a industrial shoe company and see if any truck stop at work sites there in the area, the one here is "Iron Age" and the guys who get those swear by them for work in the field.

[amd65]

I work for Lehigh boots, and Iron Age was our biggest competitor. I say "was", because they have recently declared total bankruptcy.

[okie shooter]

I work for Lehigh boots, and Iron Age was our biggest competitor. I say "was", because they have recently declared total bankruptcy.

Oh well guess thats why the last truck will be here tommrow, guess there might be a Lehigh boots route opening here soon.

[amd65]

Kevin, in another life, I managed a high-end backpacking shop. I also have alot of experience on long backpack trips carrying a 40+lb pack. While I also had good luck with surplus jungle boots, nothing beats a good quality backpacking boot. I highly recommend two models--Vasque Clarion GTX, and Asolo 535. These are both considered mid-weight backpack boots. The Clarion GTX is a gore-tex boot, and I have walked across steams with no wetness wntering the boots. The Asolo is the most comfortable boot on my feet, ever. Not waterproof, but I treat them with Nikwax, a water-based polymer. Hiked 30+miles in them in rain and never got wet.
They are your feet, use what you like, but if you spend alot of time hiking, a really good boot is worth the $$'s.

[SteelCore]

thanks fer the link. I'm lookin fer nw ones too.

[k98k792]

When I was into climbing-trekking I had a pair of Vasque boots that lasted 10 years.

That was when REI was a Co-op and you could call about an order and be talking to Jim Whittiker. I bought chocks from Royal Robbins personally. Bought a rope from Yvon Chouinard,on the phone.

Man I am getting old.

[amd65]

Those ARE some names... I have a picture of Chouinard hammering out pitons when he was young, somewhere. I also have a couple old stuffbags with the original "chouinard" label.

[k98k792]

I still have a Kelty Expedition pack that I got a discount on because Whitaker got a group buy for the equipment for the K2 climb. The thing is patched and very dirty,but is has been EVERYWHERE. The frame is still solid as a rock,but the straps have been replaced a couple of times.

I guess where I was going with this is,when your life depends on it,get the BEST. Not the best you can afford,but the BEST,and find a way to afford it later. Depending on what you are doing,boots are one of those things.Also a good pair of boots cost more at first,but are cheaper in the long run because they will last.

[omerta123]

personally my favorite pair of boots are my desert boots i get from the bx, they've outlasted my jungle boots but there like the same thing just tougher leather, i wear em everyday to work, through hell and back, people always look at them funny cause the left boot is covered in blood and won't come out

[kevin]

your blood?

[k98k792]

Regardless...it is now.

[amd65]

One of the best things about working in a high end backpack shop, is all the manufacturers offer "pro-deals" with tremendous discounts. Usually 50% off retail, sometimes 25 or 40% of WHOLESALE! This equates to expedition level gore tex jackets that cost $350 going to you for about $125 or less. $250 tents for $75. When you add in that many of these things have true lifetime warranties, you can't beat it. A friend of mine used to work in the shop I did. He bought a Marmot Gore tex parka on a pro deal for $70 15 years ago. When he recently had a problem with it, they replaced it at no charge with their latest and greatest.
It is worth it to work in such a shop for a year or two just to accumulate gear cheap.
Plus, the customers, and co-workers are pretty cool folks. You spend alot of time talking about trips and gear, and finding out what works and what dosn't.
At the shop I worked at, we had customers who wanted to backpack, but didn't know how or where. We used to run beginner weekend trips for them, the two employes leading the trip would collect $50 a head to take them backpacking for a weekend, what a blast!

[omerta123]

Regardless...it is now.

sure is

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f175/omerta211/boot.jpg

[Optimus Prime]

These are the most comfortable warm weather ones the Army's given me yet, and they've held up really well, not much wear on the tread at all, and in the same length of time I wore these in Afghanistan I wore holes in the soles of a pair of the old style desert boots. They feel more like a pair of good running shoes than boots with the right socks.

http://www.bellevilleshoe.com/product.php

That's the manufactures site, so I'm sure if you look around you can get them alot cheaper.