User Review: Alico Summit

Alico Summit
Above: The current Summit, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed October 28, 2006 by Jeff Brockelbank

Rating:
Materials: leather
Use: Walking straight compass lines through the woods
Break-in Period: 2 weeks for me
Weight: 235 lbs
Price Paid: $120

I love this boot. I am a Forester and need a boot with a sewn sole instead of glued to hold up to the adverse terrain that I deal with. My job is all bushwacking and no trail walking. These are my wet weather boots because of the thickness of the leather. Tip for break-in, neats foot oil. It will soften the leather and speed up the break-in. After broken in don't use the neats foot oil again until the leather needs rejuvination after extended wet/dry periods. Otherwise the leather will be to supple and lose its durabilty and supportiveness.

My two complaints with this boot is a wide is a little too wide and the sole is a little slippery. Fortunateley this can be solved by putting thicker insoles in.

As for the grip, they can be resoled for about $40 by you local cobbler with the classic and still the best vibram sole. I haven't resoled yet, because they aren't that slippery and after wearing them for awhile you adjust to the weakness and dig in with the sides and heel instead of the toe and ball.

They will keep you feet relativeley dry. I think on the trail they would keep you feet pretty dry. My experience has been that walking through brush and grasses will soak your feet a lot faster than puddles on a trail. I think it's a surface tension thing.

These are a bulletproof boot. I have worn them for three seasons now and will probably wear them for at least three more. I wear them at least 2-3 days a week for eight hours at a time for 26 weeks a year. The key to this boot is maintenace. It's all leather and must be oiled and waxed. Nixwax is not enough. Neither is bee's wax or sno-seal. The best treatment neats foot oil and then sno-seal over top.

DO NOT HEAT THE BOOT. It only cracks the leather. Wash the boots let them dry so that when you push the leather it feels damp, but no water squeezes out. Then apply a light coat of neats foot oil. By the time you have both boots treated the first boot will be ready to treat with sno-seal. Rub it in with you fingers or a leather glove. At this point I usually put them on my boot drier which uses very low heat circulating through the boot. By treating the boot while still wet and driing them from the inside with a boot drier I believe all the oil and wax is being sucked into the leather. I use the same process with Obenauf's leather perservative minus the neats foot oil because it contains oil.

You must treat them everytime you soak them or else they will dry rot. This is my ritual for boot care. Try it, it will work. I make my living on my feet and in my boots. One of my co-workers got the same pair and only got two seasons out them because he didn't treat them.