I bought a pair of Raichle Boots, a few years ago. I used them lightly for the time I had them, and recent was forced to call Mammut to resole them – the soles were wearing unevenly, not having been installed properly from the beginning.
Mammut told me to send the boots to Rocky Mountain Resole for a resole under warranty. I don't know if anyone has had experience with RMR, but they wound up butchering my boots. They came back with marks of abrasion on the toe so severe that they almost perforated the full leather boot. Also, a puncture mark was found on top of the front of the boot tearing the leather, careless stabbing with the tool while trying to remove old rand and sole.
The icing on the cake, and reason, above all, that I was forced to send them to RMR a second time, was the fact that they neglected to install a rand when resoling the boots!
So now after sending them back a second time, to be resoled and have a rand installed, they came back with a nice slice in the leather, (…of course!) Right at the junction where the two ends of the rand meet. Again, someone was just plain careless with a knife.
I must say, though, these boots (not a US model, but close to the peak, or mtn trail xt gtx), were phenomenal boots. When I bought them, Raichle had offered two versions both identical from the outside, one lined with gore-tex, and one not. Because they were used as a second pair of boots for a military service (only on long treks and special missions) and in a mostly desert environment – albeit one that did include snow in the winter months, the ability to wear them year round was an integral part of my decision not to get the gore-tex. I had been extremely happy with this decision.
*As a minor caveat, I have just purchased a pair of north face light hiking/trail running shoes from REI, to use everyday, both on and off pavement, and mostly in urban settings. I purchased them because they were the only shoe of their type and in that price range with a vibram sole. I am extremely happy with them, but my feet sweat in them like crazy, and I think it's because of the gore-tex.
Now, I'm at a loss for what to do, I can chose a pair of Mammut shoes to replace the ones I had before. The only two comparable boots Mammut currently makes are the Appalachian 3S GTX and the MTN trail xt gtx, both of which are found on their web site.
The MTN Trail is most like the ones I had before, (looks like the old Raichle's did) and therefore I like it the best – full leather boot, minimalist, sturdy, bulletproof tried and true design.
Does anyone have experience with either of these two boots? There is no info on their site as to how they compare… Will I find myself terribly uncomfortable wearing gore-tex lined boots, if my feet already feel pretty hot in my gore-tex lined shoes? What do you all suggest I do at this point?
I want to take advantage of the fact that I can get new boots, as the integrity of my old ones is seriously compromised and I can't rely on them anymore, but I don't want to wind up with something that I can't use comfortably. Is it reasonable to use a goretex lined boot in 100+ degree weather? Or will this mean that my new boots will be a winter only purpose boot?
Any suggestions, questions, answers, and all are welcome. Thanks in advance. I should mention that through this entire process Mammut has been nothing short of EXCEPTIONAL, and from my above experiences, I wouldn't hesitate to buy and own one of their products. RMR is a bit of a different story though…
Looking forward to what people have to say.
