[Mark Howard]

I hiked the AT in a pair of Asolo GTX boots. Found them to be extremely stiff and required a lengthy break in. For the first 4 weeks they rubbed a huge blister on the inside of my heel. No matter what I did (sock liners, different socks, etc.) could not get relief until my foot just turned to leather in that spot. After about 8 weeks the rubber toe could not take the rock impacts and came loose from the sole. I glued it back, but the boots were never the same. On the up side, they had great ankle support, the sole was tough enough that you could not feel the rock through them all the time, laces were top quality. Mine were Gortex lined which was another mistake, made the boot heavier and was really unnecessary since I rarely hiked through any water, and if I did, I normally took them off. Goretex is worthless in the rain unless you have gators. Unless you have alot of time for break in, are carrying a heavy load and want a very stiff boot, I'd look elsewhere.

Just my experience with Asolo products.