I hate wearing and hiking in boots, but for my job I'm required to, I work on a NPS trails crew. The boots I have used in past seasons have been a couple different models of Alicos. I like their overall durability, width, and how water resistant they can be when treated well (leather, few seams), but they're still quite heavy. I'm trying to find a pair of boots that are lighter and more flexible. I do have wide feet so I need something wide. It would be awesome if I could find something that is almost as light as my trail runners, very unlikely. Right now I'm more interested in boots being lightweight than their durability, as long as they don't cost a few hundred dollars and only last one season, maybe that isn't realistic.
I recently tried a pair of Hi-Tec Altitudes (which are the park issue), they're cheap and light but weren't wide enough in the toe box. I'd like to try a pair of the New Balance Bushmaster. Amazon is still selling them but they're not carrying my size, 12 wide. Lately I've been perusing the internet looking at military boots that tend to be fairly light. I've also considered getting a pair of custom boots from Nicks, a plus being that I could use them on fire but they'd be pretty heavy. I was thinking of their low heel fire boot (fire trooper) with a lighter weight sole, the height is a little appealing to keep chainsaw chips and debris out of my boots, but yeah with the lighter sole I'm sure they'd still be heavy. Other boots I've read about and have heard things from other trails and fire folks are the Lowa Baffin Pro (heavy, can be used on fire) and the Danner Crater Rim.
Any suggestions?
