Reviews > Footwear > Boots > Mountain Designs Tasman GTX boots > Owner Review by Ralph Ditton

Manufacturer: Mountain Designs
URL: http://www.mountaindesigns.com/
Product type: Backcountry leather hiking boot
Year of Manufacturer: 2006
Made in: Thailand
Size: AUS 10, US 11, UK 10, European 44½
Size Range: AUS 8-13, US 9-14, UK 8-13, European 42-48
Manufacturer's stated weight: Not stated
Measured weight without insole: 1.5 kg (3.31 lb)
Maximum boot height (measured at side, by tongue) for size AUS 10: 18.5 cm (7¼ in)
Material: Full grain leather 2.2 mm (0.09 in) thick
Collar: Calf skin
Toe and heel bumper: Rubber
Outsole: Vibram
Lining: Gore-Tex
Optional Bootie inserts: Gore-Tex top and polystyrene base. (Not used)
Colour: Cocoa
MSRP: AUS $299-95

Introduction
When selecting my new boots, I was looking for four things.
They needed to be able to accommodate my biolab orthoses which meant a deep heel seat.
They needed to be able to stand up to a lot of water splashing on them through my work because they were also to be my work boots.
They needed to be comfortable when carrying a backpack over uneven ground on multi-day trips and hiking long distances in them without causing blisters and sore ends of toes when going down hills.
I needed very good ankle support and foot protection.  Every time I hiked I always bend an ankle slightly due to uneven ground and tripping over branches laying on the ground. The high sides prevent me from really twisting an ankle due to the support I receive.
The majority of boots that I looked at in camping/backpacking shops were of the fabric variety with inadequate ankle support. Full grain leather boots were very scarce.
Features
Lacing
The bootlace passes through four lacing eyelets and three hooks. The first eyelet immediately after the last lacing channel is offset to its two companions by 30 mm (1.2 in) and is double studded to the boot. The above photo shows this feature.
This eyelet gives me the option to tie off at this point and not worry about the other two eyelets. I sometimes use this facility in my daily work when I am climbing ladders and walking on roof tiles. This gives my shin more freedom to flex. I have to wrap the lace around behind the boot to take up the slack before tying a knot otherwise I would have an excess of lace dragging in the ground.
When bushwalking with a pack, I use all of the eyelets for good ankle support.

side on view of lacing brackets

Collar
The inside of the collar is calf skin and the outside is suede. The padding inside is soft.
The photo above shows the outside of the collar.
By being soft and flexible, there is no stiffness at the top of the boot to cut into my leg when walking.

Heel and Toe
The heel and toe have a rubber bumper to absorb some of the shock when stubbing against a rock and thorny creepers that whip the back of my feet such as blackberry vines.
In addition, the rubber bumper has protected the boots from damage.

rear view showing rubber heel

Rear loops
As can be seen in the above photo, the boots have a loop to assist in pulling on and removing the boots.
In all of the time that I have worn them, some one hundred and thirty times, I have never used the loops, so in my opinion they are a bit superfluous.

Lining
The boots are lined with Gore-tex fabric which absorbs sweat and transfers moisture away from my skin. To date there is no odour from my feet nor is there any sign of mildew. Behind the fabric with Gore-tex stamped all over it, is a Gore-tex membrane laminated to the boot lining. This membrane is according to the manufacturer, designed for 100% waterproofness while still allowing water vapor molecules to pass through.
I must say that with copious amounts of water spilt over my boots in my line of work, no moisture has penetrated to the inside of the boot and wet my socks. The boots are wet on a daily basis.

Outsole
The outsole is  made by Vibram an Italian company.
The manufacturer labels the outsole as an "aggressive Vibram outsole for durable grip".
Vibram call it a "Monster trekking sole".
This style of sole was introduced to the market place by Vibram in 2001 as a bio mechanical engineered sole with directional lugs and contact points positioned to guide the foot through a more balanced and efficient natural walking gait.
The black part of the outsole is of a softer compound than the two grey parts.
It appears that both compounds are wearing at an even rate and I am not wearing the heel down to one side as I normally do in shoes and boots.

outsoles showing the tread and lugs

Material
Due to a personal preference I wanted a leather boot and the Tasman GTX is a full-grain leather. This is cut from the complete cowhide because it retains the hide's tough outer surface. It is denser and therefore much more water resistant and supportive. These were the very qualities that I wanted in my trekking/work boots.
Construction
I wanted a boot with a minimum of seams as these are points at which there is a risk of leaks or blowouts of the stitching due to general wear through repeated flexing. When there is a blowout and the stitching breaks, the panels separate. I have had this happen to another pair of hiking boots that had a number of panels stitched together.
The rule of thumb is that the more panels stitched together, the cheaper the boot.
The Tasmax GTX, excluding the tongue, is made up of one panel that covers approximately 90% of the boot with another two very small pieces making up about 2%. The balance is the rubber strips and collar.

The soles are bonded/cemented to the rest of the boot.
To date there has been no separation at any point on either boot.

The tongue has calf leather on the inside on the top part of the tongue. Calf leather is also used as a gusset with a Gore-tex backing. This is stitched to the boot on both sides to prevent water from entering through the tongue area.

I suspect that the shank in the midsole is a piece of molded plastic judging by the manufacturer of the outsole.  It appears to be a half-length shank judging by how much I can twist the sole in opposite directions and bend upwards from the toe end. The shank is from where I receive the lateral support for my foot.
Performance
The bulk of my use of these boots is as a work boot since I purchased them in March 2006. I have worn them on an average ten hours a day for around seventy days and in the field for fifteen days for an average of eight hours a day. I change into camp shoes at my destination.
I found that it took about five days of continuous wear at work before the boots were broken in. The leather softened and moulded to my feet.

There was one design flaw that I became aware of from day one. It only became apparent after about four hours of continuous wear.
At each of the corners, in each boot, on the inside of the tongue where the calf leather and Gore-tex were stitched together, there is a little knot. These knots are hidden behind the materials but can be felt when pressing my fingers against the stitching.
Only one of the knots on a  corner on each boot caused a pressure point against my legs just in front of my ankle bone. This pressure point on my leg became very sore. I continued to wear the boots with thick socks without any relief. The sore spots on my legs just got very tender.
I contacted the Mountain Designs store where I purchased them and the Manager and I checked out the stock of Tasmans GTX and they all had the knots.
The Manager contacted the design person of their company and explained the problem of the design. As all of the boots had this flaw, the company offered to send the boots to a boot repairer at their cost to remedy the situation. I agreed to this.  
The boot repairer did an excellent job in removing the knots and now I do not any problems of developing sore pressure points on my leg.

inside of tongue
The slight red dot on the left of the photo on the calf leather of the tongue indicates the corner where the troublesome knot was. The red spot was put there by the store for the boot maker.
Out in the field the boot has performed very well without the usual slipping on pea gravel that I have experienced in other footwear.
Due to the very unseasonal dry conditions, I have not had to wade through any water so the gusseted tongue has not been fully field tested.
In my work environment a lot of water from hoses and buckets have spilt onto my boots without any water gaining entry through the leather or through the tongue area.
I have found that the tread grips very well on rocks, especially the exposed curved granite rock face of small hills along the Bibbulmun Track.
In sand along the Coastal Plain Trail the boot performs well. It does however leave a deep toe print in the sand when walking along the track. Initially when returning along the track, I thought that someone had ridden a horse along the track going by the toe print until I took a closer look and saw the tread pattern on some harder sand.
In my work environment the boot works well on tiled roofs but is a disaster on sloping tin roofs. I found this out when I got up onto a tin roof with a gradient of approximately thirty five degrees. I took a number of steps up to the ridge line and then I started to slide back down backwards. I quickly grabbed the gutter above me and after regaining my composure sat down and used my bottom, hands and heels to get back down to the ladder.

On our very hot days from 30 C + (86 F) when my feet normally start to sweat and puff up in other boots, I have only noticed a slight sweating into the socks and no puffiness in the feet. Perhaps the Gore-tex membrane also acts as a heat barrier to the sun's energy.
To date, no body salt stains have come through the leather and form on the outside of the boots as has happened with other boots that I have owned.

My biolab orthoses fit very well inside the boot and my heel fits nicely into the heel cup of the boot, giving a nice snug feel. It did take a little while for the biolab orthoses to slightly mould into the midsole of the boot.

biolab orthoses
Whilst geocaching in remote areas, the boots are excellent in off track conditions dealing with small knee high grass trees that have sharp pointy fronds, thorny bushes, long matted grass and stepping onto moss covered logs without slipping. The boots have not been pierced or damaged by any vegetation or dead sticks.

Cleaning
All I do from time to time is damp a cloth with warm water only and wipe over the boots a number of times. The grooves of the rubber bumper need a bit of attention as dirt tends to collect in the small grooves. I have not had to treat the leather with any compound.

Summary
As the boots are predominately my work boot which are used when I go out into the field backpacking they fit the bill admirably. I am happy wearing them walking with a backpack and climbing ladders, off track geocaching, walking through a customers garden bed and bushes, climbing gently sloping rocky hills and walking around on a tiled roof, but I draw the line at tin roofs.
The Tasman GTX is an excellent general-purpose backpacking boot that can be used in our part  of the world throughout the year as we do not get snow.
The manufacturer offered prompt support when I discovered a design flaw and hopefully the problem has been designed out. I have not followed up with the manufacturer on this point.

Pro
Soles provide a good grip on most surfaces.
Deep heel seat to accommodate biolab orthoses.
Lightweight compared to my other boots.
Toe bumper has proved invaluable when stubbing against rocks.
Good ankle support.

Con
Dangerous on tin roofs.
Design flaw with knot causing a pressure sore. (Since remedied) 

Reviews > Footwear > Boots > Mountain Designs Tasman GTX boots > Owner Review by Ralph Ditton