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Gear Review: Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX Boots

October 9, 2015 by Michael Lanza

Backpacking Boots
Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX
$239, 2 lbs. 9 oz. (US men’s 9)
Sizes: US men’s 7-13, women’s 5-11
backcountry.com

In a continuing quest to find boots that handle any kind of terrain and conditions without baking my feet, I took the Alp Flow Mid GTX—which sport Gore’s newest, most-breathable technology, Surround—on a pair of hikes that push footwear to extremes: a mostly off-trail, two-day backpacking trip in early October in Idaho’s White Cloud Mountains, and a late-May dayhike up Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park, slogging through a lot of soft, wet snow.

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Gear Review: Scarpa R-evolution GTX Boots

July 17, 2015 by Michael Lanza

Backpacking Boots
Scarpa R-evolution GTX
$239, 2 lb. 14 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 40-47, 48, women’s 37-42
backcountry.com

Boot makers are trying harder to design footwear that bridges the divide between lightweight, nimble shoes and heavier boots that have traditionally delivered more support and protection, but have also been stiffer and less sensitive. I personally applaud that trend, and based on what I hear from readers, I suspect consumers will like it, too. Scarpa’s new R-evolution GTX represents a step in this direction. Curious about how well they achieve this lofty goal, I wore them on a four-day, 86-mile backpacking trip in northern Yosemite National Park last September, and for three days on the 37-mile Kepler Track in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park in March.

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Gear Review: Arc’teryx Acrux2 FL GTX and Acrux FL Hiking Shoes

June 19, 2015 by Michael Lanza

Hiking/Approach Shoes
Arc’teryx Acrux2 FL GTX Approach Shoe
$280, 2 lbs. 3 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s (Acrux FL GTX, $230) 5-12
moosejaw.com

Arc’teryx Acrux FL
$200, 1 lb. 14 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s 5-12
moosejaw.com

Is it possible for a shoe to be everything you need in backcountry footwear—and if so, what’s that worth? Those are the questions raised by Arc’teryx’s new Acrux2 FL GTX Approach Shoe and Acrux FL—both very “Arc’teryx” in their shoot-for-the-moon design and price. In pursuit of answers to those questions, I took both out on hikes intended to put the claims about these shoes to the test: ultralight backpacking the very rugged Royal Arch Loop in the Grand Canyon in the Acrux2 FL GTX, and dayhiking 17 miles through New Hampshire’s Northern Presidential Range, and Zion’s steep and scrambly Angels Landing, in the Acrux FL.

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Gear Review: La Sportiva Core High GTX Boots

May 8, 2015 by Michael Lanza

Lightweight Hiking Boots
La Sportiva Core High GTX
$200, 1 lb. 13 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: Euro men’s 38-47.5, women’s 36-43
sportiva.com

Whenever a new boot comes along that’s mid-cut and under two pounds per pair, I want to try it out—that’s my preferred type of footwear for many hikes, from dayhikes of any distance, including ultra-hiking, to light backpacking. So I took Sportiva’s new Core High GTX on a very rugged, 20-mile dayhike in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and backpacking for three days in Idaho’s Sawtooths, and found them ideal for light hiking and super breathable.

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Gear Review: Asolo Triumph Gv GTX and Tacoma Gv Boots

April 10, 2015 by Michael Lanza

Boots
Asolo Triumph Gv GTX and Tacoma Gv
$230, 2 lbs. 6 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 39-47/US 6.5-13, women’s Euro 36-43/US 5-11
backcountry.com

You want to test boots, take them on a trek in New Zealand. You want to really test boots, take them on the Dusky Track in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park, quite possibly the wettest, muddiest, most arduous footpath in a country known for its wet, rugged mountain tracks. I wore the Triumph Gv GTX in March on a four-day, hut-to-hut hike on the Dusky, from Lake Roe to Wilmot Pass Road, in a typical mix of Fiordland conditions—rain, wind, impressively deep mud, and occasional, brief flirtations with sunshine—and the boots shined much more brightly than the meteorological conditions.

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