La Sportiva FC Eco 4.0 GTX

I bought these La Sportivas after reading many reviews on a lot of different outdoor sites. I could find no bad reviews of this hiker. After searching outdoor gear sites for a couple days I found one that had these boots at a ridiculously low price. Paid $112, $120 because I wanted 2-day delivery.

These hikers are amazing! I have never had the opportunity to get a boot that fit my foot so perfectly right out of the box. I have never tried on La Sportivas and so I bought these sight unseen. They were cheap and I needed boots.

I have never bought quality shoes so I figured it wasn't going to matter how these fit anyway. I was so very wrong! Amazing fit, hugged and cupped my heal, snug around my ankles, and room for my toes to wiggle. I have never felt anything like it. These hikers are true to size, they don't run small or big, but you will need to know EUR equivalent to your boot/shoe size when ordering.

These look amazing, the leather is so soft on these. The tongue is and the boot are one piece, so if there are damp conditions or rain, there will not be any leaking into your socks around the tongue. These also have Gore-tex, and a Vibram sole. The laces are easy to pull to tighten the boot, and stay snug after they are tied.

No expense was spared in the creation of this hiker. So the boot is amazing, but wait until you see the box it comes in, the box is just as amazing. I like the box so much that it is in my closet so it doesn't get damaged. Crazy right?

One thing I have found, and this is more a personal problem for me, I need insoles for this boot, not because the insoles are bad, but because I had my foot crushed and small pieces of bone float around in my foot, and sometimes end up on the bottom side of my foot. So it's slightly painful, bone spurs I think is what they are called. Anyway, I have had to get insoles for everything I wear, even Under Armour trail running shoes. So not the fault of the La Sportiva hiker.

Took these on a 20-mile hike over a trail that got very rocky in some spots while I carried a 50# pack. No hot spots, no rubbing, and most importantly no blisters. How often does that happen?

Break in period was 0-3 days, would have been 0 days but because I have no toenails on my big toes (works great for hiking to have them removed) it felt weird on the tops of them so it took about 3 days to get used to new boots. All the shoes/boots I buy I have the same problem with.

****UPDATE MARCH 17, 2014****

OK, so I have had these boots for about 4 years now, and they are finally in need of replacement. I wore this boot 7 days a week 365 days a year. These were the only footwear that I would wear with the exception of some running shoes I used for my treadmill.

Anyway, these boots have been put through some extremely rough terrain. They have been through city streets, muddy fields, rock covered hills, boulder fields, deep snow, and streams. I have beat the snot out of them and cannot even compute the actual amount of miles they have seen.

My only disappointment is that I cannot find these anywhere to buy so I can replace these.