Salewa boots reviews

Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX boots.

Review: Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX Boots

Backpacking and Trekking Boots
Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX
$230, 2 lbs. 5 oz./1.05 kg (men’s US 9/Euro 42)
Sizes: US men’s 7-14, women’s 6-10.5
backcountry.com

Eight days of hiking in Iceland, including two dayhikes totaling nearly 10 miles of the peaks Blahnukur and Brennisteinsalda in the Fjallabak Nature Preserve and six days trekking nearly 49 miles on the world-class Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls trails, presented the full range of conditions that will test any boots: rain falling at times on most days, temperatures from the 30s to 50s Fahrenheit, and hiking on often-wet dirt, pebbles, rocks, mud, and slick, wet snow. I chose Salewa’s Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX precisely for dealing with those conditions and they truly passed every test with flying colors.

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Backpackers hiking past a tarn off the Highline Trail (CDT) in Wyoming's Wind River Range.

The Best Backpacking Gear of 2024

By Michael Lanza

Glacier National Park. The Wind River Range. The Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. Iceland. The John Muir Trail, Wonderland Trail, and Teton Crest Trail. Yosemite. The Grand Canyon. Yellowstone. Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains. Southern Utah’s Escalante canyons. The North Cascades and Pasayten Wilderness. The High Uintas Wilderness. The Tour du Mont Blanc. These are just some of the numerous places where I’ve tested the backpacking gear and apparel reviewed at The Big Outside—so that I can give you honest and thorough, field-tested opinions that help you find the best gear for your adventures.

And that’s exactly how I came up with these picks for today’s best backpacking gear.

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Gear Review: Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX Boots

Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX
Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX

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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Stong, Iceland.

Ask Me: How Do I Find Waterproof Boots That Won’t Leak on Rugged, Wet Hikes?

Michael,

I am an active backpacker and trekker. I have become disappointed in the use of Gore-Tex in hiking boots. I know you test many boots, but I wonder if you use many of those you test to experience the durability of the Gore-Tex and other waterproof-breathable linings. In addition to the extra warmth and the longer drying time of Gore-Tex-lined boots, my experience in the past year has me thinking I will be better off going back to a heavier, quality leather boot such as a La Sportiva Karakoram (the non-Gore-Tex version).

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