Ankle Support, Comfortable/No Break-In, Low price, Sturdy/Durable, Water Resistant

Heavy, Take a long time to dry

Harsh Terrain, Heavy Loads, Long-Distance Hiking, Wet Conditions

Avid Adventurer

Feels true to size

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

My daughter used these boots for a weeklong backpacking trip on Isle Royale. Since she is only 14 and still growing, I was reluctant to pay a lot of money for boots that she would wear for only one season (as has been the case for the past 4 years since she started backpacking). These boots were about half the price I expected to have to pay given that I wanted sturdy boots that were suitable for somewhat heavy loads, not lighter weight day hiker boots. I also wanted waterproof boots since the mid-west can get wet in the summer. My daughter is notorious for being picky and hard to fit in shoes. But she liked how these boots felt. She did not take my advice and do much to break them in before her backpacking trip. But she did not get any blisters. On the other hand, she came back from the trip with numb toes and says that they still feel funny months later. I don't know if the boots caused that problem though. After the backpacking, she also did a short canoe trip and wore the boots for "wet exits" so they got completely soaked. When after at least 5 days, they were still not dried, I finally used my electric boot dryer that I use for snow and ski boots in the winter. So although the Gore-tex liner should keep the boots dry from the water from the outside, if they do get soaked, they take a long time to dry. It's not just the Gore-tex either since I have some leather backpacking boots with Gore-tex liners that dried completely overnight after I walked in a lake with them.