Wherefore art thou... sturdy boot

Catherine · Post by **Catherine** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:32 am

I was wondering if someone could help me... I've been looking for a sturdy alpine boot in calgary and the best i've found so far have been these:

Solomon Super Mountain Lite W:
http://www.tgomagazine.co.uk/article.as ... 27&id=7188

Solomon Super Mountain Expert
http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product-Sal ... -12751.htm

Raichle Kootenay 5 Backpacking Boots (Women's) :
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_deta ... 3359058106

I heard a bad review regarding solomon. But there is someone who has planted for 5 years and has used the Solomon Super Mountain Experts and they've lasted her 2 seasons. I saw them in the store today and the rubber goes all around the boot so they seemed good. But the thing I didn't like is that they are very insulated. So it wouldn't be a good choice for my "sturdy" hiking boot for summer (no rain or mud) days cuz my feet would melt off.

But then I thought maybe I should buy those and use them for the early season mud weather, and buy the Raichle's at MEC for the "good" weather. The girl there went treeplanting 1 season and used them and she said they were good for her, though she would not recommend ever going any lighter than these.

So, being so inclined... I bought the Solomon Super Mountain Lite. They aren't as insulated as the Experts and are not as light as the Raichles.

Maybe the best of both worlds I don't know. But then again, what if they are too hot and what am I going to buy for the waterproof-ish ones for cold and wet weather?

I was wondering if anyone knows about these boots, and if they are good? Am I on to something when I was thinking that i should buy:

the solomon SM Expert for bad weather and then the lighter Raichles for good weather? or are the Raichles not strong enough?

or

Should I keep the Solomon SM Lite to use in good weather and buy the Solomon SM Expert for bad weather?

or

Should I return the ones I got cuz they suck and forget the rest cuz they all suck?

if anyone knows anything about this I would really love any thoughts you have..
I've phonned every store in calgary and banff and this is all i've come up with regarding my boots which I will never go treeplanting without

thanks

Gnarly · Post by **Gnarly** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:06 am

Where are you planting? That is the first thing I would consider...if you are planting mostly fast ground you don't want to be lugging around a lot of exra weight on each foot...

But regardless of where you are planting I would not reccomend the Solomon Super Mountain Expert to plant in- besides the weight, the only difference between that and the Lite is the amount of insulation. The Experts are made for winter climbing...even on the coldest spring these babies would be overkill.

The Lites I've looked at in the past (I've mulled over getting caulks put in the bottoms...). They are still quite stiff boots, which I'm sure you know, having bought them. If you decide to keep them I would be really careful to break them in well before you head out...

I haven't tried the Raichle boots you speak of- I've got a pair of Zamaberlans that I've been pleased with. (I'd say besides fit, the most important thing to look for in hiking boots for planting is as few seams as possible- the seams will almost always be the first place to go.)
I use those on decent ground when it is not pouring out...when it is, or I am on a slash mountain I have a pair of leather/rubber lace-up caulks that I use, and have become very fond of.

But, I've also seen cheep-assed walmart boots go pretty far for the dollar...I mean, you want/need your feet to be happy, but don't think you have to drop a small fortune to outfit yourself, especially if it is your first season.(I don't know if this is the case,but just general advice)

Hope this helps, good luck and happy planting.

Catherine · Post by **Catherine** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:32 am

I'm glad that you thought of buying the sm lite ones

I feel saner. How do you get a hiking boot caulked? I looked in the yellow pages and the search engine with words like "caulk, caulked, caulking, custom caulks" etc and nothing showed up but a caulk manufacturer.

What Zamberlans do you have? I'll look them up to compare them to the Raichles. I'm afraid of 'bruising' my feet with the Kootenays cuz the shanks are not very hard.

It's going to be my first season starting April 24th to the end of July. I'll be planting up near Prince George and then in Alberta somewhere between Jasper and Edmonton.

Thanks for the help Gnarly!
I feel more confident

Gnarly · Post by **Gnarly** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:45 pm

You can get boots caulked at some specialized boot places (are they still called cobblers? hmm...). It costs around 100 bucks if I am not mistaken. A bit of an investment, you'd want to be sure it was worth it for you. I'd mostly reccomend it if you were on a lot of slashy/steep ground, or (cringe) on a contract where you still have to do a fair bit of screefing. Caulks are sweet for that...

I checked on the mec website, and they do not seem to have my boots any more...the closest thing to them appears to be the women's baffin boot.

But really. although you want tough soles (rah vibram), since stomping on a shovel is tough on them, you should aim to open as many of your holes as you can with your arm alone, and maybe one swift tap of the foot. Although this is not always possible in all ground, don't make the rookie move of pogo-ing up and down on your shovel to open holes- not only is it inefficient, but your boots will also be trashed in no time.

Ah PG - quite the town...be sure to visit the Iron Horse on buck-a-beer night and experience some of the local 'culture'

Who are you planting for?

Cheers

Catherine · Post by **Catherine** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:10 am

I'm planting for Folklore. I'm pretty glad, for my first season anyway! I don't think there is any hitler style yelling and digusting food in this camp (I hear this happens sometimes..)

ahhh, beer..

Euh, is rah to the vibram good or bad? Never heard "rah" before. Pardonez, I'm a little french!

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:42 pm

Hey there Catherine,

You are in my camp! I would advise you to keep the boots you just got as we are spending most of the summer of fairly easy land. Then I would get some rubbers or caulks for the rainy days and marshy blocks that crop up.

Don't spend too much money, especially if you are coming out as a rookie......

Shelley

kingjames_2nd · Post by **kingjames_2nd** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:30 pm

I had a friend who planted 4 years before becoming a forman. every year he would go to payless shoe source and buy a 20$ pair of shoes and use them till they fell off. if needs be he would buy another 20$ pair.

its cheap and it works but your feet come out looking like they belong in the garbage.