User Review: Alico New Guide
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Rating: 
Materials: Perwanger waterproof and breathable leather
Use: mulitple from mountaineering to lighter hikage
Break-in Period: doubless longer than most, but even less doubtful well worth it...isn't that the fun of it?
Weight: 6+lbs per pair...you want great boots or skinny gams?
Price Paid: $48.78 (including shipping) I kid you not
As my father used to joke: "It's nice to see you get ahead -- you need one", which is how I felt when I was lucky enough to land these boots. We are talking absolutely top shelf quality Italian leather cobbler craftmanship. I'm not sure, but I believe that these boots may be a discontinued/closeout item, since the only U.S. place I could find them new was @ Sierra Trading. If you are lucky enough to find these either affordably new or even more affordably not too badly abused/used, I say jump on and into them!
They are heavier and stiffer than my '92 Vasque Sundowners (newer models of which are now made in China and I do not recommend those), so I know the Alico New Guide Mounatineering Boots will require a somewhat longer break-in period than other more highly marketed -- as in Madison Ave.'d -- brand names.
Alico's trademark tanning process is called Perwanger -- they claim "Perwa Leather gets waterproofed through a special tan procedure and continues to breathe." I've honestly yet to tramp in a stream with them because I'll wear them indoors during the evenings for a couple/few weeks to set their fit, but when I do get busy in them in my usual digs of the Cascades and Coastal ranges of the PacNW I will step w/the confidence of dry feet and great footing.
They are classified as a crampon beckoning mountaineering boot, but are not limited to those environs, and these days I seldom romp above the tree line favoring the more lush than sparse ecosytems. These boots are constructed to apply themselves like a hybrid (and not like the crappy bikes more dysfunctional than applicable to realities of multi-use). They are heavier than other options, around 3lbs each or 6+lbs for the pair, so you ounce counters will likely pass on them...to each their own, that's better than fine since there will then be more available for us who don't mind building up our lower extremity strength.
So, you may ask, that is if you muster intelligible affect amidst all the salivation, "How the hell did you manage to find them for less than 50 clams?" Well, doubtless I was kissed by the fates; But I can tell you in what nightspots I found the gals:
My Sundowners were seriously scuffed by a dozen years of use, but their leather integrity was still holding up and while their footing had failed me their barrier protection never did -- and I have to put the former slippage on the fact that they've needed a retread for a while now. But after pricing the cost of a new factory approved Vibram cover I began to think more in terms of getting new boots. Re quality my wants always exceed my means, so I decided to begin to research the low use/used boots options.
A few different outbackers used equipment sites can be found by virtually trekking through cyberland. There are good deals to be had, but I have to add sadly, they go fast and too many people seem like they are trying to pass on their poor purchase judgement to someone else, instead of taking more of the loss they deserve and finding a good home for their stuff. So my search broadened to the likes of not so exclusively wilderness enthusiasts sites like ebay and craigslists. Lots of time spent and I ultimately found mine on ebay with description notes like "hubby didn't want his...never used...minor scrapes due to box wear, etc." Looked to me like the boots never touched the ground, so I watched the competion which didn't seem all that hip to the potential promise. Did the research on them, decided to bid for them once @ auctions endgame (that's the trick, friends -- and I'm only sharing it because those who read this deserve to know enough not to bid earlier than that, that only pushes the prices ever upward -- a direction good for summits but not for deals). If the guy who I overbid wasn't kicking himself, he should.
You just have to do the legwork, but if you're looking at this then you already know that.
Good luck and happy trails. -paul
Where to Buy
Buy Online We found the New Guide at 1 online store:
| Store | Product Description | Price |
 Sierra Trading Post | New Guide Mountaineering Hiking Boots - For Men | $199.95 | Buy Now |
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