Long Term Report

La Sportiva Venture Mid XCR
(hiking boots)
Long Term Report
March 11, 2006
Venture Mid XCR boots

Venture Mid XCRs still looking good after some hard wear

Tester: Coy Starnes
Gender:   Male
Age:   44
Weight:   230 lb (104 kg)
Height: 6 ft (1.8 m)
Shoe Size: Testing 45.5 EUR (US 12)
E-Mail: starnescr@yahoo.com
Location:   Grant, Alabama

Tester Bio
I live outside a small town in northeast Alabama. I enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing and most other outdoor activities. Backpacking is my favorite pastime. I enjoy hiking with my friends and family or solo. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However, I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3 season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length.

Product Information
Item: Venture Mid XCR
Manufacturer: LaSportiva
Year of Manufacture: 2005
Manufacturer URL: http://www.sportiva.com/
Color: Olive
Upper: Nubuck Leather/AirMesh/Rubber coated rands
Midsole: Trailon with polypropylene shank
Sole: FriXion® AT/Trail Sport
Lining: Gore-Tex® XCR
Stated Weight: 2 lb 8 oz (1.13 kg) for an unspecified size
Weight for size 45.5/US 12: 3 lb 0 oz (1.36 kg)
MSRP: $125 US

Product Description
I see these type boots in general as all around boots. They look like they are suited for most trail work with a pack. They should work for my type of hiking as I am not into serious mountain climbing or trail running. The boots are fairly lightweight compared to full leather boots. The sole is a lot thicker than most trail running type shoes but not as thick or as stiff as heavy duty hiking boots. If you would like to read more about the construction and features of this boot, please see my Initial Report. For performance in cold weather see my Field Report

Testing Locations and Conditions
During the past few months I have used the Venture Mid XCR boots on a 3-day hike as well as several more overnight hikes, both here in North East Alabama and Southern Tennessee. While hiking I have been rained on a few times and the temperatures have ranged from around 70 F (21 C) to a cool 17 F (-8 C). Trail conditions have varied from fairly mild to pretty wild (rocks moving underfoot, steep dissents, blowdowns etc), and with rain, some have been muddy and slick.

Long Term Test Results
As I reported earlier, these boots have performed admirably and I have had good experiences while wearing them. They are also still ready for many more trail miles.   I have not developed any blisters and other than tired feet have not had any footwear related problems. Now, with several more miles of hiking under heavier winter loads, my opinion is the same. And despite showing some wear, as my photos below will show, I want to stress that these boots are still in great shape. I have put them through some serious hiking with quite a bit of off trail use. It is just about impossible to wear boots as I do and not damage them a little. Even my casual hikes down in the woods behind the house are over steep terrain and I always do a lot of rock hoping when I go up or down the creek.

I have made several short overnight hikes while testing some other gear. While these hikes were on some fairly steep trials they were short trips and did not really test the long distance comfort of the boots. For this reason, I won’t go into the details but will instead just concentrate on my last long hike.

My last hike was 22 miles (35.4 km). I was on a 3-day hike at Savage Gulf in Tennessee. It involved several stream crossings, some with bridges but many without. The trail was also muddy in places, traversing down some very steep inclines and across slick rocks. In many places the trail was not only muddy; it occasionally had a small stream of water flowing down it. I only avoided the water if it was deep enough to go over my boot tops. It was very warm on this hike but there was even a little snow left over from a snow a few days earlier.   However, none remained on the trail.

I weighed my pack with all my gear and food and it was 27 lbs (12 kg). I ended up with about 27 lb (12 kg) on my back and another 3 lbs (1.4 kg) in my fanny pack (camera, water, and snacks). We hiked 9 miles (14.5 km) on the first day and I found my feet felt fine, though I was starting to tire a little towards the end.

The next day was a lot tougher on me but the boots did fine. I forgot my hiking poles and had to be very careful on the steep downhill sections because it was slick in places from recent rains and in other places the rocks would move as I placed my foot on them. It was during this steep section that my socks bunched a little under my feet. I stopped and retightened my socks and had no more trouble this day. In fact this was the only time I had any sock slippage issues with these boots. At the end of the 11 mile (18 km) day I was tired but I don’t think any of this was really the boot's fault (nor the pack's) but more from my not being able to hike much for the previous month (I hurt my knee in mid December and only made a few short hikes for about 1 month) and being out of shape.

The last day was only a 2 mile (3 km) hike and the boots performed fine. I should note that I wore the same pair of socks on all three days on this hike. Since this hike I have worn the Venture Mid XCR boots several more times on day hikes and on 2 more overnight hikes close to home.

Wear and Tear
loose thread on toe rand

I guess it was bound to happen (all my other boots and shoes eventually get scrapes and tears) torn leather

sooner or later, but I now have one small tear in the leather and one loose thread on the toe rand. Neither one is major but do show that footwear for hiking sees rougher treatment than most normal footwear. It is my opinion that these small wear issues are nothing to write home about but I am duty bound to report all my findings. The picture on the left shows the loose thread on the toe rand while the one on the right shows the small tear in the leather.

Summary
I have already stated most of this either above or in my Field Report. However, at the end of the test period it is good to know it remains true.

The Venture Mid XCR boots were very comfortable right out of the box and did not require any break in. They are still comfortable, only more so, as they have adapted to the shape of my feet.
The boots have remained waterproof despite literally thousands of flexes. I found they kept my feet dry even when I intentionally walked in stream beds as long as I stayed out of water deeper than the top of the boots.
The boots have proven to work well on all sorts of terrain. They helped keep me firmly planted on slick rocks and while they did slide a little on some of the muddier sections, they gave good traction overall.
The boots offered excellent support to my feet and ankles. I hiked over lot's of uneven terrain and often took miscalculated steps. The support from these boots made up for my clumsiness.
I was especially pleased with the versatility of the boots in both cold and warm weather. In my Field Report I documented my night hike in 17 F (-8 C) weather. On my last few hikes here around home it has been very spring like. While not hot, it was actually 72 F (22 C) the other day when I went for a short hike to the holler. The Venture Mid XCR boots have worked well at all temperatures I have encountered.
And last, the Venture Mid XCRs have proven to be very durable. By durable, I mean that despite some wear, they are still in excellent shape and are still waterproof in spite of the fact that I have worn them on and off trail, scraped them over rocks and roots and crashed through brush. They have gone through many wet/dry cycles. Through it all they still feel almost like new and I expect to wear these boots for many more miles, especially in cooler weather when waterprooffness is very important to me.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank BGT and La Sportiva for allowing me to test the Venture Mid XCR boots. Not only was it fun, I really have come to respect these boots.

Read more reviews of La Sportiva gear
Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes

Reviews > Footwear > Boots > La Sportiva Venture Mid XCR > Coy Starnes > Long Term Report

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