Montrail Torre GTX

Owner Review

October 19, 2005

Name: Kevin Pferdner
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 11” (1.8 m)
Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
Email address: kpferdner@yahoo.com
City, State, Country: Cottonwood Heights, Utah, USA

Backpacking Background:

I have been backpacking for nearly 20 years. Most of my experience has been in Utah with exception to one trip in the Wind Rivers in Wyoming. My trips cover from one to six days in the backcountry and can cover terrain from a few to over 50 miles (81 km) in one trip. I usually cover higher elevations of 8,000’ (2,500 m) to 13,500’ (4,000 m).  My experience has been limited to 3 seasons as I usually take the time in the winter to backcountry ski instead of taking multi-day backpacking trips. I consider my backpacking style to be moderate in weight.

Manufacturer: Montrail

Year of manufacture: 2003

URL: http://www.montrail.com

Type: Moderate Hiking/Backpacking

Weight: 1 lb 11 oz (.78 kg)

Construction: Leather with Gore-Tex lining and Vibram Sole

Shank: Nylon Board/Steel

Men’s US Size Availability: 7-12 including half sizes, 13-15 in whole sizes, also comes in wide.

Size tested: 10.5 US Mens

Color: Bark/Sand

MSRP: $160

    I have been an avid hiker for a long time and have tried boots from Vasque, Raichle, Salomon and even Hi-Tech. By far, my favorite boot has been Montrail’s Torre GTX hiking boot. I have logged close to 200 miles (300 km) of terrain with these boots on my feet. Here is a list of a few places where I have taken the Torre GTX:

• My first real test was down in Escalante State Park (southern Utah) hiking from Brown’s Point (11,000 ft or 3,353 m) towards the Escalante River (approx 5,800 ft or 1,768 m) on a 6 day backpacking excursion that covered over 50 miles (81 km) with a 50 lb (22.7 kg) pack on my back. Escalante is an amazing place with varied terrain of high alpine double track rocky trails to sandy river washes and slick rock. The temperature averaged around 85 F (29 C) which is about the temperature where most of my hiking occurred.
• Mount Timpanogos, Utah. This was a one day 20 mile (32 km) hike. Terrain was semi-wet dirt & rock with a slide down a 1 mile (1.6 km) long glacier to Emerald Lake. Elevations covered 7,322 ft (2,232 m) to 11,752 ft (3,582 m). Temperatures averaged 70 F (21 C). This trail is well maintained and is mostly smooth with little rock.
• King’s Peak, Utah. This is Utah’s tallest peak located in the Uinta Mountains. I encountered dry to wet trail conditions mixed with mud and sleet/hail. This was a 3 day tour with a 40 lb (18 kg) pack. Trail time temps averaged 60 F (15 C) with exception of my decent from the peak where I had a nasty storm that blew in with freezing (30 F or –1 C) temperatures and fierce winds mixed with hail and rain. This trip was approx 30 miles (48 km) in length. The trail is varied with well maintained smooth dirt to rocky and some boulder scrambling towards the top of the peak.

Fit & Comfort:

I think one of the most important qualities of a boot is it’s comfort and fit. I have feet that I consider to be normal in width with a high arch and instep. FYI, for you hikers with a wide foot, Montrail makes this boot in a wide size. On both of my heels I also have a bone that protrudes somewhat that has caused me grief with blisters in my past boots. Now I am not saying that I never get blisters with these boots, but, my blisters have been very minor on the longest of hikes compared to the multiple death blisters of past boots. I also usually wear a 9.5 US mens shoe but went up a full size on this boot to give me the extra room for thicker socks.

The first thing I noticed with this boot was that the foot bed seemed to give plenty of arch support with a decent heel pocket that fit nice and snug when laced. I am still using the original foot bed and it shows no significant wear with exception to the fading Montrail logo. The tongue is sewn into the boot and is fairly padded. There are 4 eyelets and 3 quick hooks on each side of the boot to give me plenty of tension options of where I need the fit the most. The boot rises around my ankle and provides me with adequate support. I love the toe box on this boot. It is super roomy for my toes to wiggle. All of my past boots have had little to no room in the toe box and now I am in hiking heaven.  I wear the Torre GTX with a polypro sock liner combined with a Smartwool sock. I find these boots to breathe adequately although I have never used a hiking boot that has kept my feet bone dry due to foot perspiration. However, I have been impressed with the Gore-Tex liners as I have sloshed around on trails that better resemble streams and my feet have stayed pretty dry. The Vibram soles grip rock and dirt well and mud tends not stick to the bottom all that much. I have found that the tread design does not grip as well in snow. Due to the construction of the shank, I think the Torre GTX provides the right support for moderate hiking and backpacking as my feet do not get as tired as they used to with other boots I have had. Depending on snow conditions, I have used these boots with gators for winter camping which has worked out very nicely. The weight of the boots have not affected me much and I think they are of comparable weight to other boots in the same price range and category.

Appearance & Construction:

Although appearance and design are purely subjective, I like the look of this boot. This boot comes in one color which is Bark/Sand. It has a two-tone leather look. The lower leather is dark brown or “bark.” The top leather is lighter in color than the lower but still brown or “sand” color. There is also grey leather around the ankle. The back of the boot has a thin strip of webbing with a gear loop towards the top of the boot. The outsole of the boot is thick black rubber that fully wraps around the bottom of the boot and appears to be well sealed to the leather. The toe of the boot has a black rubber cap that also appears to be well sealed to the leather.

Even with the excessive mileage put on my boots thus far, I think they have held up remarkably well. I have a few scuffmarks on the leather but no tears and the stitching looks like the day I bought the boots. This boot comes complete with a Vibram outer sole. The Vibram soles are still in great shape since I only wear the boots on the trail and not to the grocery store. I always keep them dry and stored in my dark storage closet when not in use. I also make sure they are semi-clean between hikes by removing any dirt with a damp sponge. These boots are constructed of 2.0 mm waterproof Nubuck leather. The lining is made out of 3-bar knit Gore-Tex to keep the water out and help aid breathability.  The shank is full-length molded nylon with a ½ length of steel.

Even though this boot is very well constructed, I was extremely pleased with the fact that there was little break in required. I have noticed that the tongue and leather above the toes have softened a bit to provide more comfort. Out of the box they seem to work just as well as they do 200 miles (322 km) later.

Summary: