Michael Wheiler
2010-07-20 13:37:24 UTC
James:
The following is my FR on the Feather Peak boots. The html version can be found at http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/FR%20Montrail%20Feather%20Peak%20GTX%20Boots--Wheiler/ . I will be out playing in the woods until Saturday so no rush on the edits. Thank you.
Mike
FIELD REPORT
July 19, 2010
SUMMARY:
So far, with the exception of the leather around the top of the boots squeaking (which may now have resolved), I have really enjoyed using the Feather Peak GTX boots. They have provided me with excellent support and traction over difficult terrain and in challenging weather conditions. My feet have not experienced any blisters. Although the boots have gotten seriously wet on the exterior, my feet have remained dry except for some perspiration. When the boots did get a little wet on the inside while I was hiking down a creek, they dried quickly and were only damp to the touch upon arriving back at home later the same day. In my opinion the boots look nice and have retained that their good looks despite some abuse by me. Clean up has been as easy as wiping the dried mud off with a dry cloth. The laces are starting to show a bit of wear but are still usable. After hiking down the creek during my Alaska Basin backpack trip, the boots no longer squeaked. I am wondering if it was because they were completely soaked on the outside and a little wet on the inside. I have not yet used the boots since that outing but plan to spend most of next week in them when I take my Venture Scouts into the Teton Range for some hiking and climbing for four days. I will report on whether the squeaking issue has been resolved in my Long Term Report which will be posted in a couple of months.
DETAILS:
On each of the following trips, I used a polypro liner sock with a wool or wool blend hiking sock.
My first experience with the Feather Peaks was at the Jamboral held in Blackfoot, Idaho (elevation 4,498 ft/1,371 m) on May 7-8. We had nice weather but cold temperatures--it got down to at least freezing overnight because my water froze. I had to make multiple trips from the parking area to carry gear into the campsite including carrying my pack weighing 42 lbs/17 kg. I did some hiking on pavement, gravel, dirt and grass. I estimate that I hiked around the fair grounds approximately 3 mi/5 km. My feet hurt a little bit at end of day and I noticed that the boots were still a little stiff and squeaky.
I then used the boots during a survival training campout with my Venture Scouts on May 21-22. We camped approximately 1 mi/2 km north of the Warm River Campground (near Ashton, Idaho)(elevation 5,212 ft/1,589 m). I hiked approximately 1/4 mi/0.4 km one way to campsite with a 46 lb/21 kg pack. We experienced rain and cool temperatures during the entire outing. The exterior of the boots were wet but my feet were dry. My feet did not get cold. The boots cleaned off by wiping the dried mud with dry cloth off later at home. I had no issues with the boots except the squeak. Despite the fact that the boots got wet and a bit muddy, after wiping of the dried mud, they still looked nearly new.
The boots were next used on an overnight Wilderness First Aid Certification Course at Krupp Scout Hollow near Rigby, Idaho (elevation 4,864 ft/1,483 m) on May 28-29. We experienced rain and cool temperatures during this outing. The boots got lots of use in mud and on grass. I walked from the parking lot to the training center and carried pack to my campsite a short distance from the training center. I also walked around outside while responding to training scenarios. I believed I walked approximately 2 mi/3 km on this outing. The boots got wet on the outside but my feet were dry and did not get cold. The mud cleaned off on the grass. Again, I had no issues with the boots except the continued squeak.
I used the boots on an overnight Lead Climber Certification Course at Island Park Scout Camp June 3-5 near Island Park, Idaho (elevation 6,293 ft/1,918 m). There was a lot of rain and cool temperatures. I had to hike from the parking area to the camp area with my 52 lb/24 kg pack (I carried most of my winter and climbing gear) and then hiked around camp during the training. The boots got pretty wet but my feet stayed dry. I did not experience cold feet. During this outing, I had no issues with the boots but they continued squeak.
I next wore the boots during Cedar Badge training June 19-26 at Treasure Mountain Scout Camp (elevation 6,500 ft/1,981 m) near Alta, Wyoming. Great but cool weather. Walked around camp and hiked up and down rappelling hill while setting up and running the rappel. Setting up and running the rappel entailed hiking up a fairly steep trail and then climbing and scrambling over granite. In total during the week I believe I wore the Feather Peaks over approximately 15 mi/24 km. I had no issues with the boots but they continued to squeak.
During our family reunion, my family and I hiked up to the Alaska Basin Trail in the Teton Range near Alta, Wyoming on July 2. We hiked up to where the trail intersections with the Devil's Stair Case Trail. This was a 5.4 mile/9 km round trip hike using day packs. The trail was dry to muddy with several shallow creek crossings. The boots got wet and muddy but my feet remained dry. I had no issues with the boots except for the continued squeak.
I drew a permit to climb Mt. Whitney and we planned to make the summit bid on July 6-7. However, due to snow conditions on the mountain and the lack of snow climbing experience on the part of two members of our group, we decided to postpone the trip. However, since I already had the week off work, my brother, youngest daughter and I decided to tale a backpack trip into Alaska Basin (elevation 10,200 ft/3,108 m) on July 7-8. The weather was spectacular. I was carrying a 43 lb/19.5 kg pack. The trail had dried out up to the point that we took the Devil's Stair Case trail. Once on top of the Devil's Stair Case, we had a nice trail for about 1/4 mi/0,4 km and then we hit snow. This snow was stable in places and soft in other places to the point that we had to posthole in snow up past my knees in places. After approximately 5 1/2 mi/9 km, we reached the snow filled Alaska Basin and then decided to work our way back out of the basin to a snowless ridge where we made camp for the night. Although the ridge lacked snow, it was very muddy and the boots got fairly muddy. The temperature was comfortable but we suffered through a significant wind storm that night. The boots remained damp to the touch the next morning.
After the Hike Into Alaska Basin
We planned to go out the Alaska Basin Trail but could not find the trail under the snow and we did not want to hike back up the Devil's Stair Case Trail in the snow so we decided to "Lewis and Clark it" cross country to where we thought the Alaska Basin Trail should be. Ultimately this entailed hiking down a creek to the trail. The boots were soaked on the exterior and were damp on the interior--but they were no longer muddy! The round trip was approximately 17 mi/27 km over two days. The Feather Peaks were really put to the test on this outing and in my opinion, they held up to the challenge. The boots provided good support and traction over dry trail, while postholing through thigh deep snow, while traversing and sidehilling on hard pack snow, and while bushwhacking our way back to the trail including a hike down a creek. I experienced no blisters or hot spots during this outing and while my feet were tired at the end of each day, they were comfortable while housed in the Feather Peak boots.
This concludes my Field Report on the Montrail Feather Peak GTX Boots. Please check back in approximately two months for the report on my continued field use of the boots. My thanks to Montrail and backpackgeartest.org for allowing me the opportunity to test these boots.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ยน For those who don't know, a durometer is a gage that can be used to check the density or hardness of a given material. There are various scales but with each scale the higher values indicate a harder material. The Asker C scale is commonly used to check the hardness of rubber used in shoes with the scale ranging from 0 to 100.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
The following is my FR on the Feather Peak boots. The html version can be found at http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/FR%20Montrail%20Feather%20Peak%20GTX%20Boots--Wheiler/ . I will be out playing in the woods until Saturday so no rush on the edits. Thank you.
Mike
FIELD REPORT
July 19, 2010
SUMMARY:
So far, with the exception of the leather around the top of the boots squeaking (which may now have resolved), I have really enjoyed using the Feather Peak GTX boots. They have provided me with excellent support and traction over difficult terrain and in challenging weather conditions. My feet have not experienced any blisters. Although the boots have gotten seriously wet on the exterior, my feet have remained dry except for some perspiration. When the boots did get a little wet on the inside while I was hiking down a creek, they dried quickly and were only damp to the touch upon arriving back at home later the same day. In my opinion the boots look nice and have retained that their good looks despite some abuse by me. Clean up has been as easy as wiping the dried mud off with a dry cloth. The laces are starting to show a bit of wear but are still usable. After hiking down the creek during my Alaska Basin backpack trip, the boots no longer squeaked. I am wondering if it was because they were completely soaked on the outside and a little wet on the inside. I have not yet used the boots since that outing but plan to spend most of next week in them when I take my Venture Scouts into the Teton Range for some hiking and climbing for four days. I will report on whether the squeaking issue has been resolved in my Long Term Report which will be posted in a couple of months.
DETAILS:
On each of the following trips, I used a polypro liner sock with a wool or wool blend hiking sock.
My first experience with the Feather Peaks was at the Jamboral held in Blackfoot, Idaho (elevation 4,498 ft/1,371 m) on May 7-8. We had nice weather but cold temperatures--it got down to at least freezing overnight because my water froze. I had to make multiple trips from the parking area to carry gear into the campsite including carrying my pack weighing 42 lbs/17 kg. I did some hiking on pavement, gravel, dirt and grass. I estimate that I hiked around the fair grounds approximately 3 mi/5 km. My feet hurt a little bit at end of day and I noticed that the boots were still a little stiff and squeaky.
I then used the boots during a survival training campout with my Venture Scouts on May 21-22. We camped approximately 1 mi/2 km north of the Warm River Campground (near Ashton, Idaho)(elevation 5,212 ft/1,589 m). I hiked approximately 1/4 mi/0.4 km one way to campsite with a 46 lb/21 kg pack. We experienced rain and cool temperatures during the entire outing. The exterior of the boots were wet but my feet were dry. My feet did not get cold. The boots cleaned off by wiping the dried mud with dry cloth off later at home. I had no issues with the boots except the squeak. Despite the fact that the boots got wet and a bit muddy, after wiping of the dried mud, they still looked nearly new.
The boots were next used on an overnight Wilderness First Aid Certification Course at Krupp Scout Hollow near Rigby, Idaho (elevation 4,864 ft/1,483 m) on May 28-29. We experienced rain and cool temperatures during this outing. The boots got lots of use in mud and on grass. I walked from the parking lot to the training center and carried pack to my campsite a short distance from the training center. I also walked around outside while responding to training scenarios. I believed I walked approximately 2 mi/3 km on this outing. The boots got wet on the outside but my feet were dry and did not get cold. The mud cleaned off on the grass. Again, I had no issues with the boots except the continued squeak.
I used the boots on an overnight Lead Climber Certification Course at Island Park Scout Camp June 3-5 near Island Park, Idaho (elevation 6,293 ft/1,918 m). There was a lot of rain and cool temperatures. I had to hike from the parking area to the camp area with my 52 lb/24 kg pack (I carried most of my winter and climbing gear) and then hiked around camp during the training. The boots got pretty wet but my feet stayed dry. I did not experience cold feet. During this outing, I had no issues with the boots but they continued squeak.
I next wore the boots during Cedar Badge training June 19-26 at Treasure Mountain Scout Camp (elevation 6,500 ft/1,981 m) near Alta, Wyoming. Great but cool weather. Walked around camp and hiked up and down rappelling hill while setting up and running the rappel. Setting up and running the rappel entailed hiking up a fairly steep trail and then climbing and scrambling over granite. In total during the week I believe I wore the Feather Peaks over approximately 15 mi/24 km. I had no issues with the boots but they continued to squeak.
During our family reunion, my family and I hiked up to the Alaska Basin Trail in the Teton Range near Alta, Wyoming on July 2. We hiked up to where the trail intersections with the Devil's Stair Case Trail. This was a 5.4 mile/9 km round trip hike using day packs. The trail was dry to muddy with several shallow creek crossings. The boots got wet and muddy but my feet remained dry. I had no issues with the boots except for the continued squeak.
I drew a permit to climb Mt. Whitney and we planned to make the summit bid on July 6-7. However, due to snow conditions on the mountain and the lack of snow climbing experience on the part of two members of our group, we decided to postpone the trip. However, since I already had the week off work, my brother, youngest daughter and I decided to tale a backpack trip into Alaska Basin (elevation 10,200 ft/3,108 m) on July 7-8. The weather was spectacular. I was carrying a 43 lb/19.5 kg pack. The trail had dried out up to the point that we took the Devil's Stair Case trail. Once on top of the Devil's Stair Case, we had a nice trail for about 1/4 mi/0,4 km and then we hit snow. This snow was stable in places and soft in other places to the point that we had to posthole in snow up past my knees in places. After approximately 5 1/2 mi/9 km, we reached the snow filled Alaska Basin and then decided to work our way back out of the basin to a snowless ridge where we made camp for the night. Although the ridge lacked snow, it was very muddy and the boots got fairly muddy. The temperature was comfortable but we suffered through a significant wind storm that night. The boots remained damp to the touch the next morning.
After the Hike Into Alaska Basin
We planned to go out the Alaska Basin Trail but could not find the trail under the snow and we did not want to hike back up the Devil's Stair Case Trail in the snow so we decided to "Lewis and Clark it" cross country to where we thought the Alaska Basin Trail should be. Ultimately this entailed hiking down a creek to the trail. The boots were soaked on the exterior and were damp on the interior--but they were no longer muddy! The round trip was approximately 17 mi/27 km over two days. The Feather Peaks were really put to the test on this outing and in my opinion, they held up to the challenge. The boots provided good support and traction over dry trail, while postholing through thigh deep snow, while traversing and sidehilling on hard pack snow, and while bushwhacking our way back to the trail including a hike down a creek. I experienced no blisters or hot spots during this outing and while my feet were tired at the end of each day, they were comfortable while housed in the Feather Peak boots.
This concludes my Field Report on the Montrail Feather Peak GTX Boots. Please check back in approximately two months for the report on my continued field use of the boots. My thanks to Montrail and backpackgeartest.org for allowing me the opportunity to test these boots.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ยน For those who don't know, a durometer is a gage that can be used to check the density or hardness of a given material. There are various scales but with each scale the higher values indicate a harder material. The Asker C scale is commonly used to check the hardness of rubber used in shoes with the scale ranging from 0 to 100.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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