Hi-Tec Women's Altitude Glide Waterproof Light Hiking Boot

The best

Just ordered a pair which I hope will be a great and long lasting as my present pair. I got these several years ago, and they've gotten a little thin-soled by this point. Actually I believe they are same style, the inner tag has long since worn away. They look the same with one difference, the tongue. This is a plus because the tongue on mine is a mesh. I really wanted full leather as with the mesh parts can get weeds like foxtail and prickers in them. If you don't see and get them out quickly they work their way into the material and are soon sticking into your ankle or top of foot. Once they've worked their way in, you'll never get them out unless you do bird surgery on your shoe. I live in Northern AZ; mountains, snow, etc., but desert is just an hour or two away so I hike both climate zones, a lot. I am not a trail hiker sort of person, I go for rugged terrain, lots of steep inclines/declines. The protection of full leather is needed.My boots have held up amazingly, I really like them and can depend on them. My foot is a size 6 but in hiking boots I go up a half size to 6.5 for thick socks, but they are comfortable with thin ankle socks too.I noticed another person say they keep you warm in winter and are not hot in summer, both these things are important to me and I couldn't agree more that they do just that. I also like that they are not heavy or bulky. I don't want my foot print to be any bigger than it is when I'm balancing on a close edge or rock. Some of the rock here is volcanic which is very sharp and irregularly shaped. Other places may have loose rock, so the traction these boots offer is is and must be good gripping.Waterproof is another big plus, after being worn as much and as long as I did mine, they lost a lot of that. So time to replace and after viewing many different brands and styles with different pro's and con's I came back to these. I did see some others which offered the things I'm looking for; full leather, no mesh, waterproof, good traction, solid build, expected longevity. But most of those were way more expensive, and since I know these are fast to no work in time, comfortable, and do what I want, no question of if will be OK, it became an easy & cost effective deal.I'll do an update about a month after I receive and let you know if all is as good as anticipated.

I bought these boots unconsciously just a month before setting on a hiking trip to a 3000+ mts (23+ kms) mountain... (it is highly recommended to wear broken boots and shoes since new ones can be tough to walk on) I stepped on then everyday trying to break them and setting my feet to them before going, but I was constantly told by experienced hikers that I might still have problems with them.I went anyway with them and I did not feel them as rough as new shoes were supposed to feel like. The insole was enough to provide for a little cushioning. At 14kms into the walk I did feel my big toes complaining... but I seriously can't tell if it was because of the boots or the distance climbed (since it was my first time hiking in steep and uneven ground with rocks and mud...) note: a little medical tape around my fingers eased the pain and probably prevented blisters on my feet.Eventually I got to the camp and them the peak at the next day with no more discomfort from the boots. The next day I walked downhill back to the base, only that we took a different route that took us through "muddy hell" as our feet and part of our legs sunk into mud at some points... truly glad that these boots had ankle support since they never slid off... unlike the shoes/boots of some of my companions. The next day we passed that muddy route again to reach the base and head home. Only souvenir from the trip was a purple nail of one of my big toes.I wasn't going to sink then in a stream and have my feet wet for the rest of my trip so I didn't thoroughly test that feature, but they do appear to be waterproof since I did crossed some small streams and it did rain quite a bit during the hike.Overall In happy that I got them. As I mentioned above they probably meant all the difference on my hike... (well them and the medical tape too :P)

I hike daily and sometimes in very wet conditions and have owned various pairs of hiking boots. I had never bought a pair online but because of the good reviews and the great price of these boots, I decided to give them a try. Many of the reviews complain about their being sized on the small side but they fit me good, I wear a size 6 and bought a size 6 and they fit. But that's the only good thing I have to say about them. I can't say they're uncomfortable but I've worn far more comfortable hiking boots. The first time I wore them my feet got soaked and they're supposed to be waterproof. I did not walk through a stream or anything, I was just hiking in very wet grass. I went home and had to actually dump the water out of them. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt though and thought that maybe because the leather was new and stiff, I didn't have them laced tightly enough and water seeped in from the top since the grass was high. I dried them out and tried them again the next day, making sure the laces were tight. I came back with soaking wet feet again. I was too lazy to return them and I had some leather conditioner and 'waterproofer' so I dried them out again and sprayed them. The next day my feet stayed dry, so they were not waterproofed when they were sent to me. Beyond that, stock up on shoelaces! I hike every day for about an hour or two and I've had the boots for 3 months now and am on my third set of shoelaces! Shoelaces usually last me years! The metal eyelets on these boots look nice but they play havoc on shoelaces. They wear out and snap in about a month. Also the nice pretty dark chocolate color has faded to a grayish color already. When wet they get the nice chocolate color but when they dry, the toes are grey. Very poorly made, poor design and not worth the money. Look elsewhere (I am - again). Oh, did I mention the sole is coming loose on one of the boots?