Merrell Quest Gore-Tex III

I've had these boots for about 20 months, with two full summer hiking seasons in the Rockies in Montana. They fit great out of the box and I've never had ANY blisters. These are a perfect hiking boot and travel well in the mountains with anywhere from no weight to a full pack on. The Vibram sole grips excellent on high talus slopes, however the uppers have suffered a blow-out and the sides where the leather-lowers connect has split in two. This is from using these in too harsh of a terrain than designed for. The Gore-Tex lining is about the only thing preventing an open hole right now.

I've used this hiking boot on a 10-day, 80-mile backpacking trip through New Mexico in July as well as on multi-day backpacking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on a foot of snow in November. These boots are very comfortable and breathable. They require virtually no break-in period. The only reason why I am not giving it 5 starts is that the top laces often come loose from the C hooks on the boot, causing me to stop to fix the laces every so often.

These boots are so comfortable that I also use them when I take the kids sledding in the winter.