La Sportiva M-Hiker Review

"I purchased a pair of these 2 years ago. The first year they were great. However, after sitting a season (yes, they were conditioned) the leather shrunk significantly. This resulted in very bad toe-jam.

I ended up having to get rid of them - I'm quite disappointed with them - especially at the cost."

"The M-Hiker from La Sportiva is an interesting Hybred of their Heavy mountaineering boot,the Makula and an heavy Hiker. You get the best of both. It has the same upper parts as the Makula but with a more flexible sole and foot bed of a long distance hiker. It has great support, protection,as well as great comfort and an easy stride. Its lighter than the Makula but still with great traction. I'm not a mountaineer but I want top quality and support. This boot has it. It is easily the best Packbacker out there in my experience. I have tried Garmont, Vasque, Nike, and
Montrail."

"After my old boots had given out I ended up making an "emergancy" purchase of this boot the day before a week long backpacking trip. I had some concern about break-in but it did a great job and I came home with a minimum of blisters. The boot now fits me like a glove.

I have found the boot to be very rugged, excellent traction & ankle support, good space in the toe box (always a problem for me) and not too high volume. (It could stand to be a little lower volume in the mid foot region.) Additionally, the boot resists water well (especially with Nik Wax protection.)

I would strongly recomend this boot to anyone who wants to do medium to heavy backpacking. (I would also use SuperFeet insoles with it.)"

"Wow. Scramble, backpack, dayhike, approach. These shoes do it all. They are sized very small. Normally a women's 10, I needed a men's 10! But the fit was superb, even for my low-volume, narrow feet. Great cushioning, effective lacing system, terrific ankle and lateral support. There is a nice toe-cap for skree-skeeing as well. Too bad La Sportiva doesn't make these any more."