Owner Review by Laurie Corbin

Montrail Excellerace XCR Hiking Boots

Name: Laurie Corbin
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 6" (1.69 m)
Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg)
Email: mslimpsalot@yahoo.com
City, State, Country: Cumming, GA USA
Date: September 16, 2004

Backpacking Background: In the last 4 years, I have returned to backpacking and hiking.
Although I took 18 years off, the woods kept calling. My three season pack weight is about 25 pounds total (11.34 kg) but I am really trying to lighten up. I have an old ankle injury that causes pain and swelling after a long day of hiking so lightening up has become a priority.

Product Information:

Montrail Excellerace XCR Hiking Boots
Manufacturer: Montrail
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Manufacturer's URL: http://www.montrail.com
Listed Weight: 13 oz (369 g)
Delivered Weight: 13 oz (369 g)
Size: Womens 9.5
Price: $120


Product Description:

The manufacturer claims these lightweight boots are a marriage between day hikers and backpacking boots. The uppers are made of a hydrophobic microfiber that feels suede-like to the touch. They are lined with Gore-Tex XCR and Stretch Gore-Tex. The wrap-around tongue stretches to allow the foot entry. An ankle strap wraps around the top of the boot from the inside of the ankle, through a snap pulley-type fastener on the outside of the ankle and secures with hook and loop tape again on the inside of the ankle. The sole is a proprietary IntegraRide II which includes an EVA midsole with stiffened sidewalls, an underfoot protection plate and sawtooth lug design. The toe cap is a stiffened plastic compound that extends about an inch (3 cm) above the sole and wraps around the toe area from the ball of the foot on the inside to the little toe area on the outside.   The same material is wrapped around the heel area to stiffen it and add support. The loops holding the laces are fabric sewn into the upper. The insole is removable for inserting custom orthotics or other insoles. The tongue is not a separate piece like other boots. Rather, it is built into the shoe as a single piece that wraps around the foot. It is made of a Stretch Gore-Tex material that is supposed to keep out trail debris.

Field Information:

I hiked and backpacked in these boots for almost a year and will state up front that I no longer use these boots. They have been used on trips in Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas in winter, spring and summer of 2004. I quit hiking in these boots because I have an old ankle injury that causes my left ankle to swell after a day of hiking. The stretch tongue did not stretch enough to allow me to get my ankle back into the boot comfortably. This problem provided my hiking companions with quite a few comedy routines as I hopped, stumbled and twisted in an attempt to get my left boot on. I was never able to get either boot on while sitting. I had to stand to get enough leverage to wedge my foot into the boots.

The boots are marketed as a cross between day hikers and backpacking boots. They did live up to this claim for me. As long as my pack weight was lower than 30 lbs (13.6 kg), they felt wonderful and supportive. They did bottom out for me at higher pack weights. The boots were incredibly light and felt like I was wearing socks. They also seemed to me to have a very large toe box and I wore thicker socks than usual to compensate. The heel cup fit snugly and kept my heel from swimming around in the boot. I had no blister problems while wearing them.

The boots were very waterproof and kept my feet dry on numerous occasions when the trail became a small stream. Even after many miles, no leaks developed in the uppers or along the seam of the sole. The toe rand is still firmly attached and the stitching has held up. I used them for hiking and for trail maintenance work so they have been used in some very wet areas.

The boots breathe well and I have had no problems with soggy, Gore-Tex feet but, for me, they were only a three season boot. I wore them for a winter trip in North Georgia where day temperatures were in the 30's F (around 0 C) and the feet were very cold. Even thick winter hiking socks didn’t help warm the frozen toes. If the temperature stayed in the 40's F (4+ C) or above, I was usually very comfortable. However, I will state for the record that I am very cold natured and have to keep moving to stay warm.

I did not like the strap that wrapped around the ankle. The strap itself did stabilize my ankle and did not rub or slip but I found the design flawed. The strap is attached to the boot on the inside, passes through a plastic pulley type fastener on the outside of the boot and attaches again to the inside of the boot with hook and loop tape. The problem is that the strap can be pulled loose when the opposite boot rubs/bangs into it. I have not figured out why it could not have been attached to the outside of the boot. The problem was solved for me by low gaiters that covered the offending strap.

The stretch tongue and the strap are supposed to make the boot fit closely around the ankle and keep out trail debris. This did not happen for me. I still had to wear gaiters to keep out the sticks and pebbles. The trail debris problem is compounded by the fact that the boots are hard to get off and on so I was likely to keep walking with the junk in the boot for quite a while.

Summary:

I do like these boots. I could live with the unique tongue if ankle swelling had not been a problem. I usually wore gaiters anyway so the trail debris wasn’t really an issue. I liked the light weight and the support. If they made these boots with a regular tongue, I would probably still be hiking in them.

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