Reviewer Information

• Name: Cora Shea
• Age: 24
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
• Weight: 150 lb (70 kg)
• Email address: cahhmc "at" yahoo "dot" com
• Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
• Date: September 14, 2004

Basic Product Information

• Year of Manufacture: 2004
• URL: http://www.dunhambootmakers.com/
• Listed weight: 1 lb 10 oz (0.75 kg)
• Weight as delivered: 1 lb 12 oz (0.8 kg) per boot, with laces
• Size: 9.5 D US Mens (43 EU)

The Paramounts are advertised as all-leather backpacking boots. They have ankle support, they sport unique Waffle Stomper Vibram soles, and they come with a spare pair of laces.

This report covers long term use, care, and maintenance from May to September 2004. For field testing performed during March to May, 2004, please see my Field Report. For more general product information, more visual details, more reporting on appearance, structure, and items that can be tested and commented on without field testing, please see my Initial Report.

Long Term Testing

I carried up to 40 lbs (18 kg) with the boots, and they felt very supportive at that weight. I am certainly someone who enjoys ankle support. I do not worry too much about pack weight, and I tend to travel on rough off-trail terrain. However, I found the boots a bit clunky for day excursions where I carried less weight. Although they have been comfortable for heavy trail-pounding, my feet just feel overly heavy when using the Paramounts on day hikes when my body and pack felt lighter.

The traction remained moderately good. The best part about the Waffle Stomper sole continued to be that it stuck to loose and sandy trail coverage better than just about any other backpacking boot I've worn. The slab performance of the Paramounts unfortunately did not improve much over time, but the sole still remained stiff enough to protect the bottom of my feet from hopping on sharp rocks.

The lacing system continued to be a source of frustration. The leather tongue which runs under the laces stayed stiff throughout the entire test. This made it quite hard to cinch the laces down, especially when the leather was cold. I came to be more at peace with the futzy leather flap over the ankle part of the tongue, and just came to naturally tuck it in place before cinching down on the laces.

The leather remained river-proof over the course of the test despite the scuffing that occurred as normal wear. I sloshed through shallow rivers, and as long as they did not come over my ankle, the gaiters helped keep the ankle sealed and everything stayed dry. The Paramounts also continued to breathe as well as any other leather boot I've worn (which, in my opinion, is not very well, but that is another story). The lining dried from sweat each night except in the cold when it would freeze and stay until the morning thaw.

The remainder of the testing was in warmer summer climes. I wore the boots in temperatures up to 90 F (32 C), which was a bit too warm for the all-leather design. In addition, I got the opportunity to step-kick in some harder summer snow, and the Paramounts performed quite well for kicking, sliding, and playing around. The snow showed me that the Paramounts are the stiffest boots I've worn out of the category of boots which do not have a supportive shank. Even after being broken in and comfortable, the Vibram remained quite stiff.

Long Term Use Comments

Durability

I wore gaiters over the boots on just about every trip, so I incidentally ended up with very clean uppers as an experimental control to compare against the dirty and scuffed lowers. Overall, the boots fared quite well. The toes of the boots took what was perhaps the worst beating. I am a chronic toe basher, and these boots bore the abuse fairly well. There are scrapes and scratches, but no real gouges or tears.

The softer midsole fared surprisingly well, in my opinion. The soles are still firmly attached all the way around the boots, and the midsoles have no gouges whatsoever. Dirt has certainly been ground into the midsole, sole, and plastic heel piece, but everything is flexible, broken in, relatively clean, and in excellent working order. You can see this in the picture above. I wiped down the leather outers of the Paramounts so that the only dirt left was the dirt which was heavily ground in. The gray midsole is miraculously untouched, and only the toe is obviously scraped up. This is pretty impressive for the amount of use I've given them -- they are still solid.

Care and Maintenance

I maintained the Paramounts as I would any other boot. I removed the insoles to help them dry when they were especially wet, but other than that I was simply sure not to store my socks in them and to bang the dirt out of them after each trip. The boots needed little maintenance, and are still working well. For more information on the break-in period, please see my field report. One additional thing I will do in the future is replace the insoles -- the simple foam soles crunched down to nothing by the end of the first two months, and I believe that the flat, clunky feeling was due in a large part to having no insole support. I tried one hike with an alternate after-market insole, and found the feel to be much improved.

Summary

Overall, the Paramounts have been great boots. They have been stiff, supportive, and durable. In addition, despite being a bit clunky, they are surprisingly comfortable for long hiking days. I will continue to use these by choice for heavier backpacking purposes.

• Upsides for me:
  
  • Durable
  • Comfortable
  • Supportive

• Downsides for me:
  
  • A bit stiff and clunky
  • Factory insoles are pretty useless
  • Difficult to cinch down despite wide lacing

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Reviews > Footwear > Boots > Dunham Waffle Stomper Paramount Boots > Cora Hussey > Long Term Report