Montrail Stratos XCR

[Caleab Spencer]

17 oz. gore-tex is very waterproof. only a little wet-out after time. these things have a solid heel box. cons- they wear a bit around the edges of the soles.

[Mitchell Keil]

I know…I know. Everyone thinks the world of these lightweight trail boots. Not me. Wore them once on a 4 day trail trek in the Emigrant Wilderness and returned them as soon as I got back. The reason? The concept of exposing the XCR gore material to the wear and tear of trail conditions just does not work in practice. Within 15 miles the fore foot flex area had worn a crease into the XCR that proceeded to wet out with every stream crossing. The black synthetic fiber that comprises the rand separated from the XCR fabric matrix at this crease line as well and that permitted more water to enter the boot. They are a comfortable shoe and handle the rocks on most trail surfaces well. I did not find myself in any particular hurry to yank them off at the end of the day. BUT the purpose of a Gore XCR boot is to provide waterproof breathable protection. IMHO these failed the test miserably and it appears to be a concept failure not an individual shoe issue. So be warned — buy them for comfort and not waterproofness. But under that rubric one could buy any number of other boots that would be better and less expensive.

[Stuart Burke]

I like mine quite a bit. They fit well and are reasonably light. My only complaint after hiking 40 miles with them is that the padding around the ankle soaks up a lot of water and takes a long time (several days) to dry out. They are very nice if you want boots and not a pair of trail runners to hike in. Although in wet weather a gaiter would be necessasary to keep the top of the boot dry. I have not noticed any durability issues with the goretex membrane on the outside of the boot but all the hiking I have done with these boots has been on trail.

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