My old cheap hiking boots have about had it. I bought them at Target a few years for about $20 or $30. The brand name is Cherokee which I think is a store brand. I have done a ton of hiking in them. But when in the rocky terrain of climbing Cascade Mountain, they offered little ankle support. There is also a small hole in the leather on the outside of the right boot. Not sure if it happened on the mountain as I hadn’t noticed it until after I came back down. They have been good boots for what I have done, and I might keep them around for a few particular, really messy geocaches. But I want to get something better.
With plans of climbing more of the Adirondack High Peaks and the possible climbing halfway up Mt Rainier next year, I want some good hiking boots. Boots that are designed for what I will be doing. But I know nothing about hiking boots.
I stopped in at my local Dick’s Sporting Goods store. It took a while to get help. They didn’t have a big selection, and the girl working in that area didn’t know anything about hiking boots either. She said they will get a larger selection of boots in the Fall. So I stopped into another Dick’s that was close to my work. They had a slightly larger selection of hiking boots. I never did get the guy to come help me. He was helping someone else, then just sort of dissappeared into the back room.
I have looked online, and found some great deals on hiking boots. But I hesitate to buy them online not knowing how they will fit when I actually get them. Also, I still don’t know what type of boots will be best for the types of hiking I am planning on doing. If I am going to be spending the money on new boots, I might as well get the right ones.
I called Dick’s Sporting Goods via a phone number I found on their web site. I talked to a nice girl named Tammy and she gave me a couple suggestions. She said the Hi-Tec Ascent II boot would probably work well for me. Also the Salomon Mega Trek is supposed to be good. I read a review of the Hi-Tec Ascent and it sound like a fairly solid but relatively inexpensive boot.
After work, I headed over to Eastern Mountain Sports. They had Asolo, Montrail, and their own brand EMS. The boots were slightly more expensive, but they people there seem to be more knowledgable.
Yet another Dick’s Sporting Goods was across the hall. They had a slightly better selection, but still not what I was looking for.
Then I went across the road to Gander Mountain. They had a very good selection. Brands such as Columbia Sports, Vasque. And a brand named Irish Setter? The guy was helpful, but I think he was more of a salesman then knowledgable.
I have decided that whatever boots I get, I want Vibram souls, and Gore-Tex. Right now I am leaning to the Montrail at Eastern Mountain Sports. The Montrail Torre GTX boots have gotten pretty good reviews. I am sure they will be better able to fit me properly. I could get the boots cheaper online, but when you figure in shipping, and stuff, and the personal service, I will probably be better of at Eastern Mountain Sports. Maybe I will head over there tonight after work.
I pretty much made up my mind on the Montrail Torre GTX hiking boots. I went to Eastern Mountain Sports after work. I normally wear either size 10 1/2 or 11 shoes. They didn’t have the Montrail’s in normal width size 11. They had size 11 wides, and size 11 1/2 normal width.
I borrowed some hiking socks, and tried the size 11.5’s but they felt just a little loose around the toes. I tried lacing them tighter, but they still felt loose. I want to try the size 11’s. I put my name on a list and they will cal me when they get them in.
I also looked at the Asolo TPS 520 GV, and the EMS Summit GTX II’s. The reviews of the Asolo TPS 520 GV’s seemed to be kind of mixed. I only found one post regarding the EMS Summit GTX II’s, and the guy had just gotten them, so he didn’t have much of a opinion yet. I am still leaning to the Montrail Torre GTX’s.
I could order them via the internet, and probably even get a bette price. But I would really like to try them on. I could wait. Dunno.
Comment by RJ — July 14, 2006 @ 11:34 pm
I decided to go back to Gander Mountain and take a closer look at the boots they had. I remembered they had Vasque brand boots which I have seen recomended. They did have Vasque Zephyr GTX’s, but only in size 8 1/2! I wear either 10 1/2 or 11. *Grumble* They also have several models made by Columbia Sports that I want to read reviews for: Titanium Altasaurus Pass GTX, Vertical Rise, and Titanium 5 Peaks GTX. They also had a couple more expensive boots made by Danner. They were the Danner Explorer and Danner Mountain Light II. They cost more, and were kind of ugly, and plain. But I will read the reviews anyway just out of curiousity.
I am trying to remember if EMS also had Vasque boots.
Comment by RJ — July 15, 2006 @ 12:39 pm
I had some time, so I stopped in at a few regular shoe stores. I checked a place called shoe outlet that I found listed in the yellow pages. Their sister store list Chaco as a brand they carried, but unfortunatly they did carry hiking boots. I had read some good reviews of some Chaco hiking boots.
I checked out Famous Footwear. They had Timberland, Hi Tec, and Columbia Sports. The Hi Tec Altitude IV looked decent. It had good reviews, but it is a light hiker, and I am hoping to get something a little more heavy duty.
Just for chuckles I checked out Payless Shoes. I expected to find low end shoes, and wasn’t surprised.
I have been scanning the net looking at reviews for Asolo, Vasque, Danner, Columbia Sports, and a few others. I have considered the EMS Summit GTX II. I wished I could find reviews for it. At this point, I may just give EMS some time, and wait to try the size 11 Montrail Torre GTX.
Comment by RJ — July 17, 2006 @ 8:59 am
I found a pair! I checked out Montrail’s website and checked for local dealers. Besides EMS, they listed Snow Country and some place called Medved. I called Snow Country, and they had only a single model of Montrails in stock (not the Torre GTX) and the largest size was 10 1/2.
So then I called Medved, and they actually had the Montrail Torre GTX in size 11! So I will go down there tonight, and try it on. I forgot to ask the price. Hopefully it is still around the $160 price that EMS sells it for. It is it too much more, then I will at least try it on, and then order it online.
Comment by RJ — July 17, 2006 @ 9:58 am
I got my hiking boots! I bought a pair of size 11 Montrail Torre GTX’s at tge Medved place. I always thought the Medved store was some some of medical supply place, or supplies for geriatrics or something. Not a very good name. Not a great location either. But anyway, I bought the boots for $160.
So now I get to start breaking them in. I can do some short local hikes, maybe check on a couple of my geocaches. Maybe even find a few goecaches. It’s been a while since I have done any goecaching. Lots and lots of wimpy, walk-into-a-park-and-look-behind-a-bush caches sprung up. There is bound to be a few challenging caches arond here (besides mine).
Comment by RJ — July 18, 2006 @ 8:26 am
So, how did the boots ultimately work out for you? After all the suspense of the purchase process, you really left us hanging!!
Thanks
Comment by Matt — April 12, 2007 @ 8:56 am
Sorry Matt, unfortunatly due to my schedule and my wifes schedule, I have only gotten a couple chances to wear them. And that was just locally on short hikes. When the weather warms up, we are planning on heading up to the Adirondacks to do some hiking. My wife has been working out on an elliptical trainer, and I am hoping that she gets into good enough shape to do a little serious hiking with me.
Comment by RJ — April 12, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Geese I was really getting into the story..then watta bing watta boom =-) its the end..My husband and I are going to Belize in July and I am in search of good hiking boots unsure if they have tp go up to the ankle. I bought the Vasque low hikes – does anyone know if these will perform ok
Comment by Penny — April 26, 2007 @ 2:42 pm
What are you planning on doing in Belize? I have been to Belize. We did a cave tubing excursion which included a half hour hike through the jungle. I just wore Nike web sandals.
Depending on the terrain, and the amount of time you are spending doing it, makes a big difference. I bought the Montrails with plans to do a lot of serious hiking in the Adirondack mountains. Repeated climbs. I wanted ankle support for the climbing.
If I were just going to do a bit of hiking, then I probably would have gone with some trail running type shoes…basically running shoes with tread for traction in dirt and mud.
I have a couple pais of Nike trail running shoes, and am pretty happy with them.
Comment by RJ — April 26, 2007 @ 6:33 pm