Boots

[PJ88]

Hi. I realize this had been discussed ad nauseam, and I will probably get a variety of answers, but I thought this would be the best place to ask. I moved to Colorado 2.5 years ago and bought some crummy Columbia outlet boots. They have been terrible. I am looking to buy my first pair of actual hiking boots to continue to hike the 14ers and other spots in Colorado. I went into REI today and tried on a variety of boots and sizes. I have it narrowed to the Salomon Ultra 3 GTX Mid and La Sportiva Nucleo High GTX. They both feel fantastic but here is my dilemma:

The Salomons: They get fantastic reviews and everyone here seems to rely on the less is more moto for standard routes. I will most likely be doing mostly class 2 and 3 routes and few backpacking trips. I don't plan on doing too much winter hiking if any at all. I also go with my wife on shorter hikes in the foothills during the summer.

The La Sportivas: they feel much more supportive and make me feel like the Salomons will be too close to what I have already. Being that I will most likely only be using them for class 3 tops, I wonder if it will be a bit overkill. The guy at REI said these would last much longer than the Salomons and I see why.

My question is, does anyone have anything drastically positive or negative to say about either one?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[pbarn]

Hi. I realize this had been discussed ad nauseam, and I will probably get a variety of answers, but I thought this would be the best place to ask. I moved to Colorado 2.5 years ago and bought some crummy Columbia outlet boots. They have been terrible. I am looking to buy my first pair of actual hiking boots to continue to hike the 14ers and other spots in Colorado. I went into REI today and tried on a variety of boots and sizes. I have it narrowed to the Salomon Ultra 3 GTX Mid and La Sportiva Nucleo High GTX. They both feel fantastic but here is my dilemma:

The Salomons: They get fantastic reviews and everyone here seems to rely on the less is more moto for standard routes. I will most likely be doing mostly class 2 and 3 routes and few backpacking trips. I don't plan on doing too much winter hiking if any at all. I also go with my wife on shorter hikes in the foothills during the summer.

The La Sportivas: they feel much more supportive and make me feel like the Salomons will be too close to what I have already. Being that I will most likely only be using them for class 3 tops, I wonder if it will be a bit overkill. The guy at REI said these would last much longer than the Salomons and I see why.

My question is, does anyone have anything drastically positive or negative to say about either one?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Love my Salomon U3s so much I went and bought a pair of Salomon trail runners as well, and I love them just as much.

[griddles]

I just bought some of these on sale at Backcountry Salomon X Ultra 3 Hiking Shoe.

Had the same experience as you. Had some oboz boots that were waterproof and high over ankle boots. Had them for about 3 years. Never really used them after the first 6 months with out getting blisters. The waterproofing mostly made my feet very sweaty and hot. And the 'ankle' support didn't really exist. Tired of that whole thing finally making a switch to a lighter shoe.

[Conor]

I only wear boots as needed. Otherwise it is a trail runner. Class 1 to 5.easy, day hikes to 100 mile backpack trips. I definitely wouldn't get gore tex anything. It's hot and very slow to dry.

[Alpine Guy]

Truth is, you won't really know the boot until you've got 30-40 miles on them. At some point you just have to take a leap of faith. Of course, decide if you want high top or low top, and pay close attention to he sole (I've got some very comfortable runners but the soles are dangerously slick on anything wet), and the lacing system. But once you've found a couple of boots that feel great in the shop your going to have to just take the plunge.

I don't have either of your target boots but I bought the La Sportiva Trango TRK GTX last Fall to have something better for crossing snow fields (refer to the dangerous soles comment above). I've continued wearing them into the summer so I can resolve some minor fit issues with hot spots on long hikes. Turns out it's really fun to hike in very light weight goretex high tops - they laugh at water running in the trail or swampy/rooty sections. And they do reduce my common tendency to roll an ankle on long descents. The only thing that bugs me about them is that the sole seems too hard - bottoms of my feet are pretty beat up after about 12 miles or so. Hopefully some better inserts will help.

[mtree]

Pretty much what Alpine Guy says. Footwear is a very personal choice. Kinda like hiking partners. I used to listen to recommendations, read reviews, etc. All that got me was some uncomfortable trail runners, crappy boots, and an empty wallet. So now I go to the source and try on lots of varieties. Test them as best I can and buy what seems to work. So far so good.

My advice: Ignore all the recommendations. Try on boots for yourself. Enjoy!

[PJ88]

Thanks everyone. I went with the Salomons. Plan to pick them up tomorrow and try them out this weekend (after breaking them in over the next couple days). Figured that was a nice middle ground. They felt good in store but if I decide I need more I can go back and grab the others and if I need less I can look at trail runners.