Montrail Men's Namche

Comfortable, but poor durability.

After approximately 10-15 relatively short hikes the soles delaminated severely. One is now only attached at the toe. The other is about 25% detached.

They were comfortable and lightweight. Just wish they'd lasted longer. 

The Montrail Namche might be sold using terminology like 'fast packing' 'thru-hiking' and other slick-sounding outdoor industry buzzwords... but let's get down to brass tacks. The Namche is a high top trail running shoe.

Compared to a standard trail running shoe, it will give you some more ankle support and will be a bit better at keeping debris out. The other side of that is that it is a little less comfortable for long trail running because the extra ankle collar limits mobility a bit and makes them a bit hotter.

It's not a hiking or backpacking boot. It doesn't offer a stiff shank or the kind of support, construction or protection a hiking boot does. It provides some extra ankle support, but not enough full-package support (foot, ankle, etc) to make you think of leaving your regular boots at home when you're carrying a 40-plus-pound pack for a week. Be real. These are sneakers.

It's not waterproof. If you want a similar shoe that's waterproof, look at the Montrail CTC Mid (although you wouldn't want to run too far in those...). On the plus side, the Namche is much more breathable than any waterproof shoe. There's nothing I hate more than steaming my feet in gore-tex shoes on a warm, dry summer day.

I love my Namches for day hikes with a small pack. I love them for taking the dog for long trail excursions where I mix a bit of running in with walking and scrambling. It's a great approach shoe for bushwhacking to the base of rock climbs.

I recommend them for these types of uses. I wouldn't expect them to replace my leather hiking boots for backpacking trips. Then again, if you're a serious light-packer trying to shave every ounce these might work for you...

Note on sizing. These definitely run smaller than marked. I ended up going with a half-size larger than my normal street shoe size; and, I possibly could even have gone up a whole size. Plan on going up a whole size if you like to wear thick socks or like a roomier fit.

At first, even though these had a tendency to grab my socks in the ankle area, I really liked them. Great for scrambles to the North Lookout at Hawk Mountain, and on nature walks at our environmental center.

Recently though, after about a month of owning them, one of the glued-on/bonded lugs on the sole has begun to come loose. While you may think this is minor, it has actually caused me to trip a few times, nearly falling on the trail. I'm sending them back.