Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Mishmi Takin Jampui Trail Shoe > Test Report by jerry adams

MISHMI TAKIN BOOTS
TEST SERIES BY JERRY ADAMS
LONG-TERM REPORT
November 27, 2017

CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE FIELD REPORT
CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE LONG-TERM REPORT

TESTER INFORMATION

I started hiking about 50 years ago. My first backpacking trip was about 45 years ago. I currently try to do one backpack trip of 1 to 5 nights every month (which can be tricky in the winter). Mostly I stay in the Western half of Oregon and Washington. In recent years I have shifted to lightweight - my pack weight without food and water is about 12 lb (6 kg). I make a lot of my own gear - silnylon tarp-tent, bivy, down bag, simple bag style pack.

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Mishmi Takin
Year of Manufacture: 2017
Manufacturer's Website: http://mishmitakin.com
MSRP: US$135
Listed Weight: 430 gm (15 oz) for size 42 EU (US Mens 9.5)
Measured Weight: 541 g (19 oz) for size 46 EU (US Mens12.5)
Other details:
The Mishmi Takin Jampui are mid eVent waterproof lightweight hiking shoes. I would call them boots, because they're mid height and the soles are stiff. They are lighter weight than other mid height boots I've worn.

The uppers are made of suede leather and Cordura Nylon on the outside. There's a black rubber strip (rand) to protect the toes. Inside is a mesh/foam material like 3D mesh. In between is an eVent waterproof breathable membrane. I got the birch green color. They also have three other colors - blue jean, light grey, and black ash. There's a (Nylon?) webbing loop at the heel to help me to get the shoes on.

The laces are a round, stretchy, synthetic material, typical of other laces I've used. At the bottom the laces go through three rows of a loop made with the suede outer fabric. Then there are four rows of eyelets. At the top is an open eyelet. Typically, I don't use the upper eyelet.

There's something weird about the eyelets - they're spaced at about 0.75 inch (2 cm) except the top (open) eyelet is about 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) above the next eyelet, a little more than twice the other spacings. It's like the 2nd to the top eyelet is missing. This normally wouldn't be a problem, except I normally leave the lacing off the top eyelet so it's more comfortable to flex my foot forward. But now I have to go down two eyelet spaces. I will have to decide whether to use this top eyelet or not. Testing will determine if this is important. Maybe it's unusual for someone to not generally use the top eyelet.

The soles are a black rubber material made by Vibram. It's called "Megagrip" and is supposed to give a good grip when wet. The lugs are about 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep. The soles seem a little stiffer than other mid height boots I've used.

The tongue is gusseted, meaning it's connected to the shoes on each side. Stuff can not get into the shoes at the sides of the tongue. The tongue is Cordura at the bottom, and suede at the top. The inside of the tongue is the same eVent and mesh as the rest of the shoe.

The shoes are 6.75 inches (17 cm) high (from the ground) at the highest point. They're 5 inches (13 cm) high at the rear where they're not quite as high. The soles are 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick at the heel. The soles are about 0.75 inches (2 cm) thick at the ball of the foot.

There are a number of logos:
* "Mishmi Takin" on the outside at the heel
* "Mishmi Takin" on the tongue
* "Vibram" on the outside, rear, down low
* "Megagrip compound" label on the inside, rear, down low
* "eVent" outside at ankle

There is a red thread in the Cordura part of the upper. This matches a red color in the laces, the webbing at the heel, and the logo on the side. It does not match the red of the logo on the tongue which is a dull red.

The insole is made of a foam material with holes in it, and a mesh layer on top. Other insoles I've used don't have the holes in the foam. Maybe this means they'll be more breathable? Maybe they'll be more likely to wear out? Testing will tell. The insole has a deep cup for my heel.

Inside of left shoe and outside of right shoe:


Rear of left shoe and front of right shoe:


Sole of left shoe and bottom rear of right shoe. The top side and bottom side of the insole:


Mishmi is an area in the Himilayas. Takin is a goat that lives in alpine areas in Mishmi. Jampui are some hills in Mishmi. Kapil Dev, who grew up in that area, founded the company to create products for humid wet areas of the world, like Mishmi. The company is located in Florida and the shoes are manufactured in Europe.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Everything looks good. All the stitches are well done. No glue blobs around.

I tried them on and walked around a little, they seem fine.

SUMMARY

The Mishmi Takin Jampui Shoes are Mid eVent Waterproof Lightweight Hiking Shoes. They look good initially, ready to do some testing.

I'll be using them on a couple car camps with day hikes and several backpacking trips. I should be getting some good summer conditions to test breathability and some fall trips to test waterproofness.

FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

August 1, 2017 - 5 night car camp at the southwest Washington coast. 25 miles (40 km), 58 to 75 F (14 to 24 C).

August 18, 2017 - 4 night backpack and 1 night car camp in the Ochoco Mountains in central Oregon. 20 miles (32 km), 1150 feet (350 m) elevation gain, 40 to 80 F (4 to 27 C).

August 24, 2017 - 4 night car camp on the Olympic coast in northwest Washington. 37 miles (60 km), 50 to 70 F (10 to 21 C).

September 9, 2017 - 5 night backpack and 1 night car camp on Mount Hood in north central Oregon. 54 miles (87 km), 10000 feet (3000 m) elevation gain, 40 to 80 F (4 to 27 C).

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

I used the Mishmi Takin Jampui trail shoes on 9 nights of backpacking and 11 nights of car camping. I hiked 136 miles (220 km) and 11000 feet (3400 m) of elevation gain.

On the Ochoco trip and the first day of the Mount Hood trip it was quite hot, up to about 80 F (27 C), plus there was no shade and I did some uphill backpacking. This was a good test of warm weather performance. At the end of the day, my socks were fairly damp from sweat, more so than other boots I've used.

When it was cooler, like 40 or 50 F (4 or 10 C), my socks were less sweaty at the end of the day. I think this shows that the boots are breathable enough, but the liner has some insulation so they're warmer than other boots I've used. My conclusion is they're not so good at warmer temperatures, like 80 F (27 C), but better at lower temperatures like 40 F (4 C). For the long term test I should get some cold weather testing like below freezing which should be interesting.

On the Ochoco trip I did a lot of cross country hiking. There was a lot of putting my feet at weird angles, stepping on rocks, and steep uphill and downhill. The Jampuis handled this well.

I did a lot of mileage on the Mount Hood trip, and lots of elevation gain and loss. I didn't get any blisters, but my longest toe's nail was a little colored and felt bruised. My feet felt fine - I could have done more mileage.

I wore lightweight gaiters with the Jampuis to keep dirt and stuff out:



It's just a little difficult to tighten the laces. On some boots, I can pull on the laces and they slides up from the lower eyelets. On these, as shown in the above picture, I first have to pull on the laces at the third lower eyelet, then the second lower eyelet, then the top. This isn't a big deal, but it's better when they're more slippery.

For my testing, I did not use the highest eyelet, the open one, which seemed more comfortable and breathable. I like the mid height because it keeps the dirt out better and it's easier to cross streams without water getting into my boots. On the Mount Hood trip there were some difficult crossings where I temporarily fastened the top eyelet which kept the water out even though water splashed above the top of the boots.

On the last day of the last trip I got some rain. The boots worked fine. My socks stayed dry. I need to do better testing of this in the Long Term Test.

I didn't get very good testing of the grip of the soles because it was mostly dry for my testing. I should test this better during the Long Term Test period because it will be rainy, muddy, slippery, snowy, and icy.

SUMMARY

I am really liking the Mishmi Takin Jampui boots. So far I like these as much as the best boots I've used in the past.

They were very comfortable even over fairly long distances and difficult terrain.

They were breathable enough but my socks were more damp than I would like after warm days - I think these boots are better suited to cooler weather.

There were waterproof enough but I did little testing of this - look forward to the Long Term Report.

The laces had a lot of friction so it was difficult to tighten, but this was minor.

The top eyelet spacing is twice the other spacings - they ought to have another eyelet between the top and second to top eyelets, again, not a big deal.

LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

October 17, 2017 - 4 night backpack and 2 night car camp on the Metolius River in central Oregon. 45 miles (72 km), 1200 feet (400 m) elevation gain, 35 to 60 F (2 to 16 C)

November 17, 2017 - 6 night car camp on the Metolius river in central Oregon. 41 miles (66 km), 2800 feet (850 m) elevation gain, 27 to 55 F (-3 to 13 C)

Along the Metolius River. Wearing lightweight gaiters like I did for the entire test:

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

During the Field Report and Long Term Report periods I used the Mishmi Takin Jampui boots for 19 nights of car camping and 13 nights of backpacking. I hiked 222 miles (357 km).

During the Long Term Test period I did some wet and cold testing.

On my last trip it got down to 27 F (-3 F). I wore medium heavy Merino wool socks. My feet stayed plenty warm. I think the mesh/foam lining of the Jampuis helped keep my feet warm. It seemed like they were actually too warm in warmer weather resulting in my socks being wetter from sweat at the end of the day than with other boots I've used.

Also, on my last trip, it rained quite a bit. Plus I walked about 6 miles (10 km) through wet brush, which is the best way to test boot waterproofness. At the end of the day, my feet were still fairly dry. My socks were just a little damp from sweat, about the same as if it hadn't been rainy.

I wore lightweight gaiters on all my testing, but on one of the wet days, the gaiter for one foot slipped up and a lot of water got in over the tops of the boots. My socks were so wet that I squeezed a bunch of water out of them. Then, it took forever for the boots to dry out, as I have found to be typical of boots, especially waterproof breathable boots like the Jampuis. At the end of the day the sock was still quite wet. I put on my 2nd pair of socks and by the end of the 2nd day, the boots had dried quite a bit - the socks were just normally damp at the end of that day.

I walked through some slippery mud and the lug soles gripped good enough. I didn't really get a lot of testing of this though.

As in the Field Report period, the Jampuis were quite comfortable. I never got any blisters. I did more testing including uphill, downhill, and cross country.

After testing I carefully examined the Jampuis. There were a few scuffs and the sole was worn a little - not bad for the amount of testing I did. I'm sure I'll be able to get another 400 miles out of them before end of life.

SUMMARY

I really liked the Jampui boots.

They were really comfortable in a wide range of conditions. I never got any blisters.

They were quite waterproof.

The lugs soles provided good traction.

They showed little wear during my testing period.

Since the lining was fairly thick, they were warmer which is good in cold weather but not so good in hot weather.

Since they are mid height, and waterproof breathable, they are a little heavier than some boots/shoes I've used.

Like I said in the Field Report, the laces have a lot of friction so it's a little difficult to tighten and the top eyelet spacing was about twice the other eyelet spacings but that's fairly minor.

I think I'll continue to use the Jampuis during cold weather and use a lighter boot/shoe during warmer weather.

Thanks to Mishmi Takin and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me test these.

Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Mishmi Takin Jampui Trail Shoe > Test Report by jerry adams