I bought my Zamberlan Ouray boots at the REI store in Northville, MI. I think I tried on nearly every waterproof hiking boot they had in the store. I have worn my Zamberlan boots on week long backpack trips in Maine, Pennsylvania and Canada. On all three of these trips the terrain alternated between a path in the forest and rocks. 

The Maine trip was one of the few we have done in August but that was when the youngest son could get off work. I bought the boots 2 months before our trip and wore them on walks from 4 mi (6.4 km) after work to 12 mi (19.3 km) long day hikes on weekends. This trail was about equally spruce forests and very rocky nearly open hills. It was hot with lots of mosquitoes and a few black flies. We only had one day of rain so the new boots had a fairly easy trip. I had no blisters and no sore feet. 

My last backpacking trip with the Zamberlans was in Pukasqua National Park in Canada. This is about 100 miles (161 km) west of Sault Ste Marie on the north shore of Lake Superior. We went the third week in October, much later in the year than I wanted to be in Canada. Our tent had been over-used and should have been replaced before the trip. Other than that we thought we were prepared for fall weather. The trail we followed was not marked in the forest at all. It was just a path. Out on the rocks along the shore of Lake Superior the  route was marked with rock cairns. Sometimes we could see from cairn to cairn and sometimes we had to search for the next one. We were having a good time with a great hike. The third night away from the car started with an incredible experience. We stood on a rock (bigger than my car) and watched the northern lights for over an hour, until my feet got too cold. Went to bed to get warm. We had seen northern lights before but never a display that covered nearly half the sky and lasted so long.

My son woke me hours later. It had been snowing and our tent was starting to sag from the weight. We got up to clean the snow off the tent and then had to shake it off again about every hour until dawn. The tent zipper failed during the night. We were able to make it work part time, not good for when it was snowing. We were well prepared for cold and rainy weather - not snow! We woke to over a foot (30 cm) of snow and a cold morning. Had to put on all the clothes we had to keep warm enough to fix breakfast and pack up. While doing this we discussed what to do. My son really wanted to keep going. I did too but finally decided going back was more sensible because our equipment just wasn't good enough for winter. I was worried about two things, getting more snow and the hazards of following the trail on the rocks along the lake.  It did continue to snow until about noon. We made the hike out in two days instead of three. 

I decided the Zamberlan boots were worth more than I had paid for them. Hiking in snow is truly a test for leather boots. My feet did not get wet, just damp from sweat. High water proof gaiters kept and wet snow out of the tops of the boots.  

The next trip I started getting my pack weight lower and switched to trail runners for backpacking and most day hikes. For the last eight years I have  used the Zamberlans for day hikes in wet sloppy snow or for bush whacking in rough terrain and heavy undergrowth.