Tester
Bio |
Name: |
Bob Dorenfeld
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I'm an active hiker,
snowshoer, skier, and of course
backpacker. Home base is the Southern
Colorado Rockies, ranging from alpine
tundra to piņon-juniper scrub and desert
at lower altitudes. Many of my backpack
trips are two or three nights (sometimes
longer), and I usually shoulder about 30
lb (14 kg). My style is
lightweight but not at the expense of
enjoyment, comfort or safety - basic
survival gear plus extras like a camera
and air mattress make my trips safer and
more pleasurable.
My shoe size is US Men's 8.5 (EUR 42).
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Email: |
geartest(at)sageandspruce(dot)net
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Age: |
56
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Location: |
Central Colorado, USA
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Gender: |
M
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Height: |
5' 6" (1.68 m) |
Weight: |
140 lb (64 kg) |
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Product Overview
Manufacturer:
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Website:
www.wolverine.com
MSRP: US$120.00
Listed Weight:
Not available Measured Weight:
34 oz (960g) (pair) Tested Size: US
Men's 8.5 Medium Sizes
Available: US Men's
7-14 (by half size), Wide & Extra Wide
Color: Dark
brown
body and brown & tan camouflage fabric
Materials:
Full-grain leather and diesel mesh
upper, PC dry silver waterproof membrane
lining, rubber lug outsole, nylon shank,
EVA midsole
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These Sightline mid-height boots by
Wolverine are aimed toward the hunter,
but may also be used for other kinds of hiking. The camouflage-patterned fabric
side panels and orange highlights are
distinctive. The smooth leather
uppers are of medium stiffness with
good flexibility out of the box, and both toe
and heel are more stiffly reinforced. The tongue is
gusseted for water resistance, and the boots are
stated to be
waterproof by virtue of Wolverine's own
equivalent of Gore-Tex, called
"PC dry". There is a
removable cushioned insole pad, and
fabric-lined padding throughout the
inside of the boot. The Sightline
welting type (where the insole meets the
midsole) is cemented.
However, there is a protective rand
around the entire welt to keep water
from penetrating inside the boot.
It looks to me like the outsoles are
replicable, but a professional cobbler
would know for sure.
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Definitely lightweight at 17 oz (480 g) each, the
boots are as light as a pair of sturdy low-cut
hiking shoes. The Sightlines are low-cut
for boots,
rising to only about 1.5 in (3 cm) above my
ankle. They were comfortable for me right
away while wearing my
usual hiking socks (thin liner underneath a
medium wool blend). The top lace brackets
are thread-through and do not let the laces free
when untied, so it's just a bit harder to slip
my feet in and out of the boots. But they're solid while walking
around the house and yard, and the sizing for me
feels right so far. The tongue seems
nicely padded and also was snug on the tops of my feet.
I like the solid leather toe box where a
boot absorbs a lot of impact on the trail.
I'm a little concerned about the durability of
the fabric side panels, but we'll see how they
perform in the field. Along with the
ankle-height fabric panels, they provide
ventilation for the PC dry inner membrane.
The rubber lug outsoles have a
pattern I've not used before on a hiking boot:
I'm curious to see how they grip on the trail.
Fortunately the camouflage pattern is subdued
(as I would expect), and its browns and tans
match the greenish-brown leather quite well.
I'm not crazy about the blaze orange highlights
but I can live with that color feature; I hunt
only mushrooms, trees, rocks, great scenery and
peaceful times in the backcountry.
OK,
just back from a quick 3 mi (5 km) inaugural
hike on a groomed trail and found no obvious
problems with fit or comfort, with perhaps one
exception: the tongue seems too short.
Notice in the photo at left that the
upper lace and knot fall just at the top edge
of, or
even above, the tongue. That
means the knot tends to lay hard with little
padding against the top
of my foot, at least on this
first walkthrough. Maybe I can
adjust the lacing to compensate, or
perhaps this initial issue will prove not be one
after all.
During the next two months I'm
going to look for comfort and durability:
insole and interior side padding, midsole protection from rocks and trees, enough
upper stiffness to keep me from rolling my
ankles too much, water resistance and waterproof
ability in snow, rain, and creek crossings.
One particular area I'll pay attention to is the
welt at
the instep (where the boot upper joins the
midsole), since this is sometimes a weak point
in welded/glued boot construction where the
upper can separate prematurely.
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- Field Report -
Field Conditions
In the two months
following my Initial Report (above) I've
hiked about 70 mi (113 km) in my Sightlines
over trails that I rate as easy to moderate, and
a short distance off-trail.
In my system easy trails are flat or
gently rising/falling, usually groomed, with a
mostly smooth dirt, duff, or sandy surface. Moderate
trails feature more demanding elevation gains
and losses of up to 500 ft/mi (250 m/km), less
grooming, and rougher, more unstable surfaces
with rocks and other foot impediments.
Here's the breakdown of what I hiked:
Easy Trail |
14 mi (23 km) |
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Moderate Trail |
51 mi (82 km) |
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Off-Trail |
3 mi (5 km) |
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So far all of my hikes have been day trips
averaging about 6 mi (10 km) per trip, with a
daypack weight of 16 lb (7 kg). Outdoor
temperatures have varied from about 20 to 70 F
(-7 to 21 C). It's not the rainy season
now where I've been hiking, so most hikes have been during dry
days with a couple of treks with snow on the
trail and/or falling.
In the following sections I'll summarize my
field experiences so far with these boots.
As a general comment I'd like to note that the
Sightlines are very light for an all-leather
boot (just over two pounds (900 g) per pair); so
light, in fact, that I often thought I was
wearing
shoes instead.
Comfort & Fit
Overall I found the Sightlines fairly
comfortable. There was no break-in period
since they fit my feet right from the first step
on the trail, and I haven't noticed any change
in the way they fit after the 70 mi (113 km)
I've hiked in them so far. Most of the
time I wore my usual two-sock combination (thin
liner underneath thicker wool), although on
several shorter hikes I tried just the
medium-weight sock. I've had no blisters, hot spots, or any foot soreness that I could attribute to the boots.
Padding around the ankle and foot is comfortable
and feels about right for this style of light
boot. Since these are low-cut boots (the collar just
barely covers my ankle), and I'm rather used to
higher-cut boots, I do tend to notice the collar contacting my leg just
above the ankle - not enough to cause any
discomfort, but just enough to let me know that
the boot top ends there.
I've
been monitoring two issues that are ongoing (also described
in my Initial Report, above), and both are what
I consider to be design flaws. First, the tongue
is definitely too short. In my opinion,
all shoe and boot tongues should extend at least
to above the top of the tied laces. This not only adds
additional
protection from dirt and water, but more
importantly gives a needed cushion against
tightly-tied laces. Unfortunately whenever
I needed to tighten my boots (e.g. on downhills)
I could feel that knot pressing against my foot.
The second design flaw is that the top two lace eyelets are thread-through
and not wrap-around. Therefore each time I put
the Sightlines on or take them off I need to spend
time tightening or loosening all of the top half of lacing
(especially when wearing double socks).
Both of these issues could have been easily
remedied by small design changes.
Although there are no intended loops on the
tongue to help keep it in place on top of the
foot, I found that the tongue hardly moved at
all from side to side, even when I had the
Sightlines loosely tied. While I did
discover a loop at the top of the tongue (it's
the Wolverine brand tag) and I tried it briefly
as a tongue-retainer by threading the laces
through it for about 10 mi (16 km) of hiking,
this option didn't in fact add any functionality
but only made it harder to get the boots on and
off. Furthermore, the brand tag wasn't designed for
lacing and started to pull off.
One other
small issue is the noticeable curvature of the
heel from front to back (photo, below): walking
on hard flat surfaces feels a bit odd, as if a
pebble is lodged in the tread.
All of my
other medium or heavy boots have flat or nearly
flat heel profiles (something that up until now
I've never noticed). It seems as if this heel was designed to make
for a more comfortable gait as the foot rolls
forward on each step, but it doesn't work for me
on the street or hard-packed trails.
However, as soon as I move to uneven/soft trails the curved heel
doesn't bother me.
More importantly, a curved heel would have less
ground contact while walking, so for the balance
of this Test I'll be checking to see if this is
indeed the case when I need good traction.
Negotiating the Trail
The Sightlines' light weight was definitely
a benefit on smoother and flatter trail sections where
footing is good and obstacles few.
However, as trail difficulty and obstacles
increased I found the boots' "airy" feeling a
detriment: this is because for most hiking I
prefer heavier boots weighing around 3.5 lb (1.6
kg) per pair. Sometimes I'm an
"ankle-roller", especially when dealing with
larger rocks, holes in the trail and branches
in the path, so I found the low collars a
disadvantage because they didn't provide enough
stiffness for me in such situations. The
Sightlines' relatively thin leather uppers also
don't provide as much protection as I would have
liked when banging against rocks and tree
branches. I suppose being aware of the
boots' collar and stiffness limitations did help
me avoid potentially hazardous footing, but at
the expense of being able to track rougher
off-trail terrain and poorly-maintained trail.
So far in this test I rate the outsole tread
pattern as excellent. The lugs tended not
to retain the dirt and small pebbles that boots
normally pick up on trails (I attribute this to
the larger spacing between lugs than is found on
some other outsole patterns), and they were
easily cleaned by either picking out with a
stick, or lightly banging the boots against a
rock or tree. The rubber outsoles gave me
good resistance on steep slopes and
large flat rocks.
I am not so impressed with the
midsole, however. I find it to be too soft
and flexible. Even for a light boot like
this one, I expected more stiffness and
protection from feeling sharp rocks under my
feet. This is part of the reason, as
I pointed out earlier, that while wearing the
Sightlines I often feel as if I'm wearing a shoe
instead of a boot. Up to this point in the
Field Test my longest single hike in the Sightlines has
been 9 mi (14.5 km) on moderate trail in dry
weather, and while my feet were not sore at the
end of the hike, I could feel the trail tread
more than I like.
Water
Resistance
The Wolverine Sightlines' leather uppers come
with a factor DWR (Durable Water Resistant)
coating, and so far I've not added my own
treatment to any part of the boots. While
walking through small streams and shallow snow I found
water resistance to be excellent - no
penetration into my socks that I could detect.
I conducted two tests: one where I stood in a
gentle creek about 3 in (8 cm) deep for five minutes,
another where I walked in that creek about a
quarter mile (0.4 km). Both times
after stepping out of the water my feet were high and dry.
Warmth
I've found that the boots keep my feet
moderately warm during the coldest temperatures
in which I've taken them out.
This was while wearing my normal thin-thick sock
combination. Since the Sightlines have the
"PC dry" water barrier I expect to feel
somewhat warmer than in a similar uninsulated
boot, but at the same time I didn't feel any
undue dampness. I normally don't have a
problem with too-sweaty feet in boots anyway,
but I do appreciate any extra warmth that the
boot insulation provides.
Wear & Durability
At
this point in the test, I would say that wear
and durability are two of the Sightlines'
strongest points. The outsole rubber is
looking very good with 70 mi (113 km) on them,
and there are no signs of any separating or
splitting lugs. Likewise with the welt area: all edges look
strong with no evidence of separation at the
glue joint with the outsole. The stitching
also looks good so far, and the fabric panels
along the sides, tongue, and heel seem just like
new and able to take whatever I've
given them up to now. The laces have held
up well and don't show any significant abrasion or
weak points. Finally, the leather uppers are
looking fine despite showing the usual dings and
scratches that come with trail use (see
photo).
Additional
Usage Notes
I recently had a nice opportunity to test using
trail crampons with the Sightlines. This
was on a sunny calm day just below freezing with
about 3 in (7.5 cm) of packed and unpacked
moderately dry snow on the ground and trail
(with deeper snow in the hollows). With a
pair of Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultras, I found
that the Wolverine boots performed quite well in
these conditions. However, the size range
of the Hillsound Medium crampons I was using is intended for US Men's
8-10 (EUR 40.5-43), and is probably one size too big for these
boots. On occasion the rear elastic band
of the crampon slipped down, causing the crampon
points to become loose and misaligned with the
boot bottom.
Summary of Field Test
So far here's
how I judge the Wolverine Sightlines, using a rating scale
of poor/fair/good/excellent:
- overall
comfort: fair to good
- tread:
excellent
- midsole
stiffness: fair
- stability for
foot & ankle: fair to good
- wear &
durability: excellent
- Long Term Report
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After an additional two months of use I can do
no better than agree with my Field Test
comments. I put on an additional 30 mi (43
km) of easy to moderate trail, mostly dry, but
also occasional light snow or mud conditions.
The boots' appearance and condition is pretty
much the same as the photo (above) "Condition
after 70 mi (113 km)".
As in my Field
Test summary, I still rate the Sightlines'
overall comfort as good. I found that the
Sightlines do best for me on groomed trails and
easy footing. The outsole tread is very
good for these trails, as is the adequate
midsole stiffness. Since the boot ankle
height is low, on easy trails that's enough for
me to feel confident in them.
In my Field
Test I noted the curved heel that seemed to lead
to less ground contact and how that might be a
problem for me. However, since I've stayed
on easier trails it hasn't been an issue.
For level or almost level trails with ice or snow,
the heel was OK.
The factory DWR
finish has held up very well - water rolls right
off with no sign of wetting out. Likewise
the stitching on the upper (and there's a lot of
it): no sign of loose threads or separating
layers. Interior padding has also proven
durable. I have noticed a slight squeak
when I walk, but in my experience with leather boots
that's a normal side effect, and I don't count
it against these boots.
(In any case, given my long experience with leather boots, I
expect that squeak to probably change
or go away with use.)
The breathable
water barrier in the boot uppers seems to be
working, because I didn't get sweaty feet.
However, since I didn't conduct controlled tests this is
anecdotal evidence only. On the several
times I walked across or in shallow streams my
socks and feet stayed dry, as they did while
walking through shallow snow (lower than the
boot tops).
Overall, I rate the
Wolverine Sightline boots as good to excellent
for light-duty use on groomed, easy-to-moderate
trails. They provided adequate support for
my ankles and soles. Right out of the box
they were very comfortable, and the boot last that
Wolverine uses seems to be the right one for my
foot: good fit for toe and heel, and for my foot
width as well. Fortunately I have an easy
foot to fit, and most boots I wear (provided I
get the correct size) give me no lasting issues
like blisters or sore arches. Because they are very
lightweight, the Sightlines are not my first
choice for backpacking when I have an extra 30
lb (14 kg) of weight on them and need to count
on extra foot support. Their best use for
me is on day hikes, when I carry only 10-16 lb
(5-7 kg), and when I expect easy
trail conditions.
Summary
Pros -
lightweight - comfortable
- excellent water repellency and quick drying
uppers - very good
traction on easy to moderate groomed trails
- good boot for day hikes with light pack
Cons - tongue not
quite long enough, does not give padding for
tightly knotted laces at boot top
- upper sets of lace brackets are lace-through
instead of slide-around, preventing easy
loosening and tightening of laces
- too lightweight for backpacking: not enough
upper and midsole support
This
concludes my test report on the Sightline boots.
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Acknowledgments
A big thanks
to BackpackGearTest.org and to Wolverine World
Wide Inc. for the
chance to test the Sightline Hunting Boots.
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‹
Reviewed By ›
Bob Dorenfeld Central
Colorado Mountains
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