Contact 1000

I broke my foot bouldering about 4 months ago, and so have not been wearing these boots for very long - about a month in fact. So here are some initial impressions :

1. Excellent ankle support - as good as some of the lightweight mountaineering boots out there.

2. Fairly stiff sole for a hiking boot. My heel bone (the one I broke) does not complain while wearing these boots.

3. Solid and relatively sticky vibram rubber.

I've scrambled to class 4 and low class 5 in these boots, hopped talus fields, and even strapped on a pair of crampons and flat-footed up the ice patches on a glacier in the Sierra Nevada (Mt. Lyell). I have no doubt they would work great on the easier routes on Mt. Shasta in the summertime.

Most of the Kayland boots I've tried on or tried wearing have given me heel blisters or have been too narrow in the toebox. These seem to have lots of toe room fit my narrow, bony heels well.

Sizing: my feet measure 9.5 US, and often I wear size 10 boots. These seem to fit me well in size 10 US.

1 year update: I've been wearing these on various hiking / snowshoeing / scrambling / backpacking / mountaineering trips and am mostly pretty satisfied. In wet snow conditions the leather is going to get pretty soaked, but I'm just too lazy to nikwax them :) Also, the rear seams are vulnerable to sharp scree / talus, so applying some Seam Grip to protect them might be smart. All in all, still loving these boots !

I rather liked the boots. I wore them sporadically over 3 years, either for backpacking with some snow, or for the occasional light crampon climb.

My problems were with the eVent liner system. The throat of the boot is rather narrow, and you have to push your foot in with some force. Eventually the eVent liner on one side ripped out from the top of the boot and became displaced. The very inner liner was not ripped, just the waterproof part; since the displaced portion was between intact fabic and leather, I couldn't repair it.

I found these boots sweated a little too much (that's a problem with my feet), and were cold on snow, when cramponing for more than an hour. The midsoles are not meant to insulate very well, so don't think these will be a great choice as mountaineering-boot substitutes.