Vasque Breeze XCR Hiking Boots

The Vasque Breeze XCR hiking boots are for a mid-rise hiking boot for year-round hiking. With Vibram soles, Gore-Tex water-proofing, and synthetic covering, these boots are excellent for all types of hiking in wet or dry conditions. Normally, a decent pair of hiking boots are going to run you around $125-$200. These typically run $150 and sometimes you can find them for 20% off (at REI normally during their member sales). So far, I have used these for winter and summer hiking on mountainous rocky terrain as well as muddy rivers and have no complaints. They come in both men's and women's. (The men's are pictured on the left).

The Good
• Water-proof
• Vibram life-time soles
• The mid-rise cut gives great ankle support without being too over-bearing on your calf
• The soles have an excellent design for gripping all types of surfaces, wet and dry
• They are very light weight and airy to keep your feet cool in the summer

The Bad
• There is a little bit of a break in period (like most good boots), so don't pick these up new and go straight on a long hike or multi-day adventure, break them in on some shorter trails first.
• The soles are pretty stiff which is great for the boot's integrity, but makes you walk flat-footed until broken in.

Overall
I tried on a bunch of boots before I eventually settled on these. Everyone's foot and shoe preference is a little different, but these for me were above anything else out there, even the pricier boots (over $200). They give excellent support can handle any outdoor ruggedness you throw at them.