User Review: Montrail Traverse GTX

Montrail Traverse GTX
Above: The current Traverse GTX, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed January 24, 2008 by David Sims

Rating:
Materials: Leather and GORE-TEX
Use: mountain trails in all weather, beside highways, sometimes with a loaded pack
Break-in Period: accelerated with shoe stretcher
Weight: pair 3 lbs 7 oz
Price Paid: $62

Definitely not comfortable out of the box. Traverse boots share the tendency of many of Montrail's styles to become too narrow where my toes are widest and to turn inward at the toes. This causes my little toes to jam up against the side of the upper.

I've come to expect this design flaw from Montrail footwear, however, and my home remedy is to apply a shoe stretcher with a bunion attached, along with some shoe-stretch fluid, to make the toe box a little wider on the outside. That fixed the toe-jam problem. After that was done, the Traverse boots felt about as good as any boots I've ever worn.

The leather on the Traverse is not as water repellent as it should be. I took my boots for a couple of miles through ankle-deep snow, and the melt-water seemed to soak into the leather. If it weren't for the GORE-TEX liner, my foot would have gotten wet. (I guess that's why the GORE-TEX is there.)

It was one of those days when the temperature is about 30 degrees, and the ice or compacted snow underfoot just about wants to melt but doesn't, quite, until you step on it. Then, if you're on sloped ground, you might slip. I slipped a few times; didn't fall down though. I did move off the compacted area into deeper snow, and that made the footing better.

Still, the Traverse isn't too bad, after the toe box was enlarged. I might look into treating the leather with something to improve its water resistance.