I purchased these boots for a trek along the Great Himalayan Trail and had a mixed experience with using them. I brought these boots, along with a different pair of hiking shoes, and ended up being very glad that I had done so. I found these boots to be outstanding on days where I was hiking over lots of uneven, rocky terrain where water crossing and/or high moisture was to be expected, so long as no very steep uphills were involved. The stiffness of the soles and uppers, along with the waterproofing really shined in these settings, and I was glad to have had them. This said, it was my experience that on very steep uphill sections, the stiffness of the upper, especially around the ankle, caused me to have a lot of problems with blisters on the backs of my feet from the way the boots fit and because of the lack of flex afforded by the stiffness of the material. Even after using an ankle lock to reduce any looseness in the fit to an absolute minimum, I still found that I consistently had problems with this. It's possible that the pair I had simply was not sufficiently broken in by this point, and that had I bought them further in advance of my trip and put a few more miles on them ahead of time, that I may not have had this issue, but even so I would have to say that because of this, I would not be able to recommend them as a boot for any occasion. This said, I found these boots to otherwise be comfortable, well-fitting, and very much up to the task of carrying me over the trail. If you are planning on a trek in an area with water crossings, lots of rocks and/or uneven ground, and no sustained climbs in excess of around 30 degrees, I think these boots are an excellent solution.
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