We’re starting the very first edition of Products with a new product that’s been one of the most interesting I’ve ever reviewed, the Para boots from Hi-Tec. I had the opportunity to test out the Hi-Tec’s newest invention and I was impressed. Let’s get into what these wild new boots are all about.

The Para boots are not like any other boots you’ve seen before, I can guarantee you that. Hi-Tec has taken a brand new approach to making a rubber boot.

Basically, if a rubber boot sacked up with a hiking boot, you’d end up with the Para boot. All the advantages of hiking boots and rubber boots are mushed into one comfortable, easy to put on, very waterproof hiking boot.

As with any boot, there are pros and cons. For what this boot is trying to do, namely be a replacement for a rubber boot, there are a lot of pros.

Pros

Very waterproof

With all the rubber and neoprene on the boot, I can’t imagine there being a way for water to get in. I’ve stood in many puddles with these boots. I’ve stood in surf and mud and snow and nothing has got through yet. I’m still testing but I’m sure they will hold up for a long time to come.

Warm

I found the boots quite warm. I spent a few weekends at Mount Cain and these were my primary boots when I didn’t have my ski boots on. I can’t recall even a second where I felt like my feet were cold. A lot of that time was spent standing in the snow.

High Traction

The lugs on the soles of these boots are huge. They have bigger, more aggressive tread than most hiking boots I’ve seen. That means awesome traction in mud and dirty trails. They may not fair so well on slick rock but I think they would hold their own because of the density of the rubber. It’s not super hard like some hiking boots are. That usually means stickier rubber.

Easy to put on and take off

There isn’t anything easier to slide on and off your foot. There is a small loop on the back of the boot to pull on quickly and the foot opening is big enough that you probably won’t even have to use the strap. There are small rubber kick-offs on the back of the boots to catch when you are pulling the boot off with your other foot, great for when they are covered in mud and soaking wet and you don’t really want to touch them to get them off.

Bright color

A couple of the colours like army green and navy blue are more subdued but I got the bright yellow ones. Not going to miss those ones in the woods! They’re certainly an eye catcher in a group of people too. I can’t count the number of people that I’ve had ask me what I’m wearing on my feet.

Way more comfortable than rubber bootsI’ve spent a considerable amount of time in rubber boots and they’re not very comfortable. Every weekend that we sail that’s not bright sunshine, I’m in my rubber boots. Because of how wet and slippery sailing gets, that’s about all I can wear. Anywhere on land that, I will be in my Para boots instead because they’re much more comfortable.

Great dancing shoes

One of the highlights at the second Backcountry Festival at Mount Cain this year, and maybe THE highlight of the festival, was an epic dance party in the woods with power generators, big speakers, flashy lights and 4 DJs. I’m pretty sure I danced on the snowy dance floor for close to 6 hours. Not only were the Para boots comfortable, those big, rubber lugs kept me upright while others were sliding around and flailing (and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just dancing).

Cons

Not very adjustable

One of the few things I wish I could change is the strap adjustments. Like a rubber boot there isn’t much to adjust. There is a small pull at the top of the boot with 2 eyelets that you can tighten a bit. It doesn’t offer much to adjust. Having a bit more would offer more flexibility when you have bigger or smaller socks on during different times of the year. The current configuration does help the water tightness though. There are no seams below the adjustment which means absolutely no way for water to get in.

Summary

What started out as a fun test for these crazy new boots actually turned into a great adventure with effective new gear. I wouldn’t take these boots on a 7 day hike with me but as replacements for rubber boots, they’re a huge upgrade. You won’t get the height from these that traditional rubber boots attain but if dancing through 4 DJs on a sloped icy dance floor says anything, they’re very stable and comfortable!

The post Dancing in Hi-Tec Para Boots first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Or something like that.

Hiking boots are such a personal thing that I’m not going to say this boot is perfect for everyone. If it fits you, awesome. If not, then you’ll have to find a different boot. For me this boot fit great. I’ve been having issues trying to find a great lightweight boot that fits and won’t fall apart and so far this boot has been ideal for me.

I’ve been on some great snowshoes and day hikes with the Sierra Lite and I’ve been comfortable and dry the whole way. The last 2 pairs of boots I’ve had have had Gore-Tex waterproof liners so I was a little worried with these boots not having them. After jumping into puddles and spending days in wet snow, I’m convinced they’re perfectly waterproof without having a Gore liner. The nubuck leather and ion-mask treatment keep your feet nice and dry. They felt fairly breathable as well and my feet never got too hot in them, even on good uphill grunts on my hikes. It sounds like I might have the insoles and ion-mask to thank in part for that breathability.

Big, heavy boots have never really had a big place in my heart. I haven’t yet found one that I really like wearing. Even if I do find one that fits, I’ll probably end up wearing the lightest boot I can for my trips. If Andrew Skurka can do his big trips in trail runners, I think I can go lighter too.

Cool features

The Sierra Lite’s use some of Hi-Tec’s newest technology to do the things they do. Here’s a quick run down of the neat stuff they’ve been up to.

V-Lite

The reason the Sierra Lite’s are actually so lite, err light, is their V-Lite technology. V-Lite is not really one technology, it’s a bunch of things combined to make the boots strong while shaving off a lot of weight. A bunch of different pieces go into making the boots and every piece has had some weight reduction.

The uppers on the boots (material that goes around the boot) is lightweight and has non-metallic hardware on it. It will be interesting to see how this hardware holds up. I saw a lot of broken eyelets with some brands of boots when I used to work at Valhalla Pure Outfitters.

The insole is an important part of the boots and they’ve been made lighter as well. Bigger boots tend to have bigger insoles but these are still light and comfortable.One of the main reasons larger, stiffer boots tend to be heavier is because of the shank they have in them. These are basically metal roads in the base of the boot that helps keep it’s stiffness and rotational rigidity. Their goal is to make a boot stiff so you’re feet don’t have to work as hard but not too stiff that it’s awkward and uncomfortable to walk in them. The Sierra Lite’s us a Stabila Flex Plus Lasting Board instead of a steel shank so you get the stiffness without the weight.

A lightweight EVA midsole absorbs hard impacts before pound your feet and a Vibram carbon rubber outsole gives you good traction without the heavy lugs that larger boots have. In some situations those big lugs are nice to have but for a lot of hiking, they’re just extra weight. On longer trips, the weight savings is pretty nice.

OrthoLite

I touched on the Sierra Lite’s insoles up above in the V-Lite section and it’s come up again because they’re using more cool technology in the insoles themselves aside from just making them lighter. They help keep air circulating in and around the insole, keeping your feet cooler. My feet get crazy hot in any kind of boot, especially in the summer. The Comfort-Tec insoles in these boots helped cool them down a bit. They’re not a magic bullet for cooling down your feet by any means but I’m not going to turn down any help I can get!

They’ve added a patented biocide to the insoles to cut down on the bacteria and fungus that give your boots that lovely scent. Sorry, you can’t hide it. And when science can’t even help your insoles smell decent, you can throw them in the wash and they’ll come out ready for a hiking trip.

Vibram

The Sierra Lite’s use light-weight outsoles from Vibram. If you haven’t heard of Vibram before, you probably haven’t spent much time around hiking boots or trail runners. They’re on a huge number of boots and shoes these days including the Vibram Five Fingers. The lugs on the soles aren’t that big so that might pose a problem in really wet conditions but I have yet to have an issue with sliding around in them. Next time it pours rain here, I’m going to head out and find a muddy hill to boot-ski down. If that actually happens, I’ll be sure to post photos of me careening down the hill into a mud-lake at the bottom.

ion-mask

Reading up on the boots before I got them, I was especially interested in Hi-Tec’s new ion-mask technology. They had a couple of videos on their ion-mask page about what this stuff actually is. I’ll see if I can whip up some science skills and explain why this stuff is cool.

The ion-mask gets applied to the material that makes up the boot. This forms a very, very thin protective, hydrophobic layer around the molecules of the fabric. Wow complicated. Basically it’s making the fabric water resistant down it’s very basic structure. After it’s got it’s ion-mask jacket on, the fabric actively resists any water it comes in contact with.

In the video with the guy from the Gadget show, he puts a piece of paper coated with ion-mask into a tank of water. When he pulls it out, it’s pretty much dry. I thought that was cool but he didn’t really leave it in the water very long. Then he pulls out a paper towel and puts it in the water. Something that’s built to be as absorbent as possible is sitting in a tank of water. He pulls it out and it’s try, the water beading on the towel. Cool.

A few other cool points to ion-mask. It’s only nanometers thick so it doesn’t really add any weight to the fabric it’s on. The fabric doesn’t lose any breathability after it’s been coated. You can build boots and shoes any way you want after the fabrics have been coated. They don’t have to be built around a waterproof fabric like a Gore liner.

Final Thoughts

So far I’ve been very happy with the Sierra Lite’s. I don’t think they’ll be replacing my heavier mountaineering boots but because they’re so light and comfortable, I will be wearing them a lot more.

The post Floating over the Mud: Hi-Tec’s Sierra Lite I WP Hiking Boot Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Hi-Tec has an awesome new ad campaign out about the benefits of using the Infinity HPi’s. If you want to run on water, then you should wear these shoes. I know you can’t really do that but I was honestly blown away when I saw the video the first time.Want to learn how to walk on water with the Infinity HPI shoes?

This video shows you how.There are a couple other videos on the page with goodies about the shoes as well as a game that lets you run on water.

Ok, let’s stop trolling the internet for cool videos and get back to the point of this post, nice shoes.

The first thing I noticed about the Infinity’s was their weight. When they said you could walk on water, they weren’t kidding. They were lighter than my CrossMax’s by a bit and much more comfortable. They felt smooth. I didn’t mind how they looked either. Silver with a bit of bright green is the colour scheme on mine. Some of the trail runners these days look pretty hideous but I feel good in silver and green.

The big thing behind the new Infinity line is that have this Ion-Mask technology. Some of the shoes are actually waterproof because of it but the Infinity HPi’s are just hydrophobic. They are just mesh trail runners that have been treated with the ion-mask technology. Because of that they “hate water”, leaving you with dry shoes faster after you step in a huge puddle or come home from a wet run. Definitely a nice feature for staying more dry on the very wet trails around where I live. I’m going to have to keep them in good shape and give them the final test on a Gutbuster Half-Marathon next year that features a ginormous puddle a good 30 feet long. You could swim the damn thing.

So far my running on the Infinity’s have been half trail and half road. I thought they might be more geared to the trail crew after watching the videos but I love running in the road on them. I’ve been working on minimizing my heel strike when using them though so that might be why it feels so good.

The longest run I’ve done so far in them has been around 10k. I have yet to take them on a 20 or 30 km slog to really get to know them but they’ve been fantastic so far. No rubbing or hot spots whatsoever. My heels have been happy at the back and my toes will say the same thing at the front.

There is one thing that I do miss from the Salomon shoes. I got so used to the cable ties on the Salomon’s that it’s hard to go back to regular laces. Mine wore out on the first pair though, and that’s when you wish you just hard regular laces. The replacement cables are 5 times the price of regular laces and don’t fit the same way when you replace them. They’re nice, just don’t break them.

I’m no where near wearing the Infinity’s out yet so that’s this winter’s project. Run as much as possible and really see how much they can take. My next pair of trail runners will likely be a nice light pair of Infinity’s though. The only reason I wouldn’t get a pair is if they came out with some new ones that let you walk on air.

The post Running on Water: Hi-Tec Infinity HPi Trail Runner Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.