Ultimate boot?

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nikonday
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Re: Ultimate boot?

Post by nikonday »

being a high country meter reader for the last 28 years,Ive gone through the whole range of boots.Im in snow rain heat all year every day.so as a self proclaimed expert i can say 100% whole grain leather with resoleable{I know thats misspelled} soles. the latest boots Ive been using are Alico.High Sierra Trading Post had em on sale.regularly $300 on sale for $200 with $50 off for someunknown discount.anyway these are the best. keep them coated with snow seal to preserve the leather.they have white glove leather inside instead of cloth.I always add high end insoles for the ol instep. :soapbox:
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gdurkee
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Re: Ultimate boot?

Post by gdurkee »

Maybe too much for the original question, but if you're looking for the greatest boot in the world, go with Dan Asay at The Rubber Room in Bishop. He'll custom make a boot similar to the beloved Muir Trail or Pivetta 5 of 30 years ago. Expensive, but my wife has a pair and they've now lasted almost 10 years with 1 resole and still in excellent shape (at least 500 miles/year). So if you're spending even $100 each year on boots, they'd pay for themselves. Also, custom fitted and built. They're truly great.

g.
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whrdafamI?
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Re: Ultimate boot?

Post by whrdafamI? »

I suppose that for some people the "glued together" boots are fine. I have tried them and had reasonable success with a pair of Boreal "Bulnes"? Not sure of the spelling on that. I got 6 years worth of use and was happy with that. For some unknown reason I wanted to go back in time and get boots like I had when I was young. Trying to find boots with Nowegian Welt construction was no party. Old school technology is fading fast. I came across a ad for Danner boots and saw their Mtn. Lights and was taken by the fact that they looked kinda like my old Vasque boots from long ago. Ordered them through a outlet here and then waited for their arrival. Whoa,talk about being bummed when I opened the box. Truly, they were a POS. I couldn't believe how cheezy they were. Couldn't put em back in the box quick enough. I still can't believe they want $300 for these. If your looking for that John Denver "Retro" look there you go. I ended up with a pair of Zamberland Cervino Gt's. Spendy for sure. $200 per foot. Worth every penny of it.
Last edited by whrdafamI? on Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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fishmonger
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Re: Ultimate boot?

Post by fishmonger »

oldmanonthetrail wrote:I suppose that for some people the "glued together" boots are fine.
you do realize that even on boots with visible stitching through the rand, usually the only thing this seam connects is the leather middle sole, while the Vibram rubber sole is glued to that.

Even in the 1980s, when I wore massive European mountaineering boots, we had issues with the soles coming off. A friend of mine had to abort a hike when the entire front half of his Vibram soles came off a near new pair of mountaineering boots.

The modern boots just manage to hide those seams under their rands, but where the rubber meets the boot, there's only glue. The days these things were nailed or screwed into the bottom of the boots are long gone.

Even these boots, while they look like they could chew nails, had a glued sole, and it came off after a few hundred miles:

Image
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whrdafamI?
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Re: Ultimate boot?

Post by whrdafamI? »

Well I guess time will tell.............
Better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it!

Get busy living or get busy dying.
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Clubb
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Re: Ultimate boot?

Post by Clubb »

I'm a Danner guy. I've got a pair of Danner hunting boots that need to be re-soled for the 2nd time. I've had em for 20+ yrs. Lots of tough miles.

The Danner Mountain Light II is my boot of choice for backpacking. Full leather, stitch down, made in Portland, OR. Take care of the leather and they'll last you dam near forever. The Danner shop was very good to deal with when I sent my boots back to be re-soled.
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