[at-l] Gore-Tex ???

[jmayer@rochester.rr.com (Jim Mayer)]

Like almost everyone else I have my own opinion about GoreTex boots.  I've
owned them (a pair of LL Bean Cresta Hikers.... nice boots actually), have
owned non-GoreTex boots (custom leather), and currently use trail runners in
warmish weather.  For winter camping/climbing I have a pair of plastic
mountain boots (Scarpa Invernos).

Anyway, here's my opinion:

(1) GoreTex boots will keep water from coming through the boot until the
bootie rips, which it will.  Mine went after about a season and half of
hiking, and I don't hike as much as I'd like to.

(2) Leather doesn't breath well, and nothing that's been waterproofed
breathes at all.  Supposedly, some of the spray on products are really more
of a DWR (durable water repellant) and may not block breathability as much.
The short answer (IMHO) is that nothing other than a fabric boot or running
shoe breathes anyway, so don't worry about it.

(3) In very cold, winter, conditions I use vapor barrier socks.  This is
equivalent to putting on a pair of poly-pro liner socks and covering them
with a  plastic bag.  Then I put on a pair of heavy socks and stick the
whole thing into a inner boot (with closed cell foam insulation).  Then the
inner boot goes into a plastic shell.  Needless to say, the only breathing
going on is with my lungs.  However, I can hike all day in that getup (if my
legs are in shape... it isn't light) and my feet end up damp but hardly
unbearable.

(4) When it rains in the summer, water always comes in over the tops of my
boots anyway (at least when I'm walking through ferns, blueberries, or other
underbrush).

So..... what do I think about GoreTex boots?

(A) GoreTex boots will do a good job of keeping water from coming through
the boot.

(B) GoreTex boots require a lot less maintenance than trying to keep a pair
of full leather, one piece upper, boots actually waterproof.

(C) GoreTex boots breath just as well as other waterproof boots, which is
another way of saying they don't really breathe.

(D) The fact that they don't breath isn't necessarily a problem, except that
you have to pay for the fancy fabric.

(E) In warm weather my feet get wet anyway from the underbrush, so I prefer
footwear that dries quickly to footwear that tries to be waterproof.  I
remember hiking in GoreTex boots and having to stop, take them off, and pour
out the water.

(F) A corallary to (E) is that wet socks in a GoreTex boot will never, ever,
dry.  Carry spares and let the wet socks dry on your pack.

(G) Whatever you decide, make sure the boots are really, really comfortable.
I would pick a more comfortable GoreTex boot over a less comfortable
non-GoreTex boot any day of the week.  And visa-versa.

Have fun!

-- Jim