Columbia Titanium Diablo Pass

Upside: I bought these boots from Amazon for roughly $50. I thought at that price they were worth a shot. They seemed to fit my feet well at size 14 with appropriate room in the toes and an all around good feel. They don't look goofy, as all too many hiking boots now look absurd. The construction seems to have held up.

Downside: Blisters, Blisters, Blisters. To begin, I spent some time breaking these boots in through light walking around town totaling 15 miles or so. Through the break in period, I didn't notice much discomfort in the heels or otherwise. I wore these boots on six day hikes of 5 to 10 miles each in the Seattle area, mostly in the Alpine Lakes area. My heels were terribly blistered from the hikes. I actually had a blister scar on top of a large blister on top of another blister by the time I discontinued use of these boots.

Also, the ankle seems poorly supported for a hiking boot. On a few occasions I observed a break in ankle support at critical moments while traversing some light scrambles. Because of that lack of support, I would not feel comfortable on an extended trip with significant weight on my back in these boots.

I give the Columbia Titanium Diablo Pass boots two stars only because they do seem fairly durable, are made with Gore-tex and my negative experience was largely limited to highly inclined terrain. They may be great boots on flatter terrain, but certainly do not meet my needs in a boot.