User Review: La Sportiva ATX Talon

Reviewed November 17, 1999 by Wolfman

Rating:
Materials: mid-weight leather hiking boot
Use: day hikes and beyond - even on rough trails
Break-in Period: a lot longer than I'd thought
Price Paid: $149 (sale price)

This is an all-leather high-cut mid-weight hiking boot from Las Sportiva. The features all looked great when I bought them and I had visions of hiking boot nirvana for years to come. Unfortunately for me, it hasn't worked out that way.

They were very comfortable while trying them on in the store and during the first couple of miles of use. Then, it all went downhill:

I've had a lot of problems with blisters in these boots even after having done several short, medium and long day-hikes to break them in. I've probably put over 100 miles on them; and while they continue to feel great when I first put them on, agony is soon to follow after a few miles.

Other beefs:

not at all waterproof out of the box. Nikwax worked well though. But my first hike included some spring snow (tuolomne meadows) and the boots soaked completely through. I haven't had that happen to me with new boots in a long time. Usually all boots these days have some factory waterproofing on them. Nikwax is usually a maintenance thing after the factory waterproofing wears off.

Sole: not vibram. It is La Sportiva's own rubber compound. Mostly fine except on wet grimy surfaces where it is a bit less sure-footed than genuine vibram.

A lot of these complaints may be due to my expectation level. I fell in love with them in the store and then felt let down after I'd used them.

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