Patagonia Footwear Men's Nomad GTX Hiking Boot

Fantastic
I just got these 2 weeks ago and put about 10 easy miles on them before today. Today though I had planned on meeting some friends for a long weekend hike. Things fell apart and they never showed so I walked on out the way I came. I put 19 miles on these boots today. I was carrying a 40+lb pack(bear cans aren't light but, they are necessary.) The terrain was very muddy, snowspines 18" high in spots, several stream crossings where I was 3-4" deep in fast moving water, and very rocky(I was wearing good gaiters so no water came in from the top of my boot). Overall I have to say these are the best hiking boots I have ever owned!! Pretty true to size, I have a foot that falls between a 9 and a 9.5. Most 9's are tight, most 9.5's are a little loose. These fit almost perfectly. Grip was good, very stable both for your ankle and through the sole, they are extremely comfortable. I would recommend these to anyone looking for a lightweight hiking boot!

Fashion Trumps Function
After a four-day backpacking trip, I'd have to say these boots fall a bit short when it comes to multi-day trip capabilities. They'd probably work great for a day-trip, but anything more and I think they're a little out of their league. Out-of-the-box fit was good, but one of the first things I noticed was the lack of any sort of shank to control how the sole bends; you can bend the sole right at the arch, which under pack loads can fatigue your foot faster than a "stiffer" boot. There is also no forefoot plate to help reduce the "feel" of rocks underfoot. Out on the trail I was pretty happy on day one, but by day two two details started causing my feet issues. One has to do with a seam inside the boot that is rather poorly placed right across the back of the heel. (Note to boot designers: inside seams are bad; inside seams placed at contact points are very bad.) I didn't develop a blister, but the "high-spot" put enough pressure on the back of my heel to make it very sore. I'm not sure I could have made it a fifth day. The second issue was a hard, pointy protrusion on the top outside corner of the boot tongue. Either one of the materials was cut a bit long or there was a bit of extra stitching where the outside/inside tongue materials were joined. Either way, this little hard spot jabbed my ankle just right, leading to pain. Because I only experienced this issue in only one boot, this was probably a quality issue, not a design issue. To sum up: good boots for foul weather around town or for day hikes. More serious backpacking will likely require a more serious boot.