User Review: Montrail Men's Torre GTX

I purchased a pair of these boots on sale at a local outfitter. I had tried on several different boots from other manufacturers, but these were by far the most comfortable. There was essentially no break in period. As soon as I started hiking these felt great.

First, I took these boots on a week long backpacking trip in the Wind River Range. They performed well, though the Gore-tex seemed to do more to hold water in than it did to keep it out. Overall, though, I was pretty happy with these boots at that point. They were definitely the most comfortable boots that I had ever worn for any length of time.

After their maiden backpacking trip, I took these boots on a NOLS semester course. For the first month we were back in the Wind River Range. This time, however, these boots were not up to the task. Within two weeks the leather upper was separating along a seam near the inner side of the toe box on both the left and the right boot. As the semester wore on, the separation grew worse and worse, as the seam continued to unravel. There were large holes in both of my boots allowing you to see all the way to the gore tex liners and beyond. Sand crept into my boots and started to painfully scour my feet.

As far as I'm concerned, these boots are now essentially trash. I might be able to send them back to Montrail to get them fixed, but I'll never trust them again for anything more than a day hike. I'm never buying anything for serious hiking other than single-piece, full grain leather ever again.