Customer Reviews

Columbia Sportswear Men's BM3579 San Gil Omni-Tech Hiking Boot,Stout/Burnt Orange,9.5 M

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When the San Gil Omni-Tech hiking boots arrived I was impressed by the quality of the materials and the good looks of the boot. When I slipped them on I was glad I had taken the advice of another review I had read that said the boots ran a little narrow and to buy a 1/2 or full size bigger then usual if you had wider feet.

I went a half size larger because my feet are just a bit wider then most and the boots fit securely. I can identify with the review complaining about the bite around the ankle you get from the boot. I got that at first and it was a little uncomfortable. But after switching from my gym socks to my heavier hiking socks I use whenever I go out on the trails the discomfort disappeared. I'm guessing after a break-in period for the padding on the tongue and front ankle the material will become more supple.

I took these boots on a nice hike trough the Flatirons of Boulder, CO, and they performed excellently. It was early March so I got to put them trough everything short of a shallow water crossing. Groomed trail, mud, snow, rocks and even some hard ice; I felt as sure footed and comfortable as I could have hoped.

I'm looking forward to putting a few hundred miles of hiking and backpacking on these boots all across Colorado.

Pros: Columbia brand, Good looking hiking boots, quality materials, good price, ....
Cons: Padded tongues and collars are thoughtful design, but they are not soft enough to protect my ankle and skin from hurt. I got a lots of pain around my ankles. The tongues even caused more pains than the collars because they are not long enough so that the hard edges of the tongues hurt my skin all the time, especially when the laces are tightened. To test this boots I walked on beach less than 2 miles, then I gave up because too much pains. If the tongues and collars are very soft, San Gil could have been excellent hiking boots. Unfortunately, the designers overlooked this potential problem. This kind of problems should be able to avoid if Columbia did test it in field and trails. I returned it to Backcountry.com - excellent customer services

This by far is the most comfortable, good looking, easy to put on and off, shoe or boot I've ever had. I feel like I could hike for 1,000 miles with these babies. No kidding either. They get so many compliments by people. They look awesome (both colors). I'm about to order another pair just so I have them when my current pair wears out. And that will be along time. But atleast I'll have another pair when it does happen. Just incase they aren't available when that time comes. Anyway, I seriously can't say enough good things about them. And of couse the shipping is lightning speed. If I could give it 10 stars I wouldn't hesitate.