Hi-Tec Ice Breaker

Absolute waste of money.

They are very nice looking sort of Pac boots. I bought a pair at least four years ago. I kept em in their original box inside a nice closet until the winter of 2009. That's when I started wearing them in long snow treks, not in mountaineering though, they were not designed for that kind of activity anyway.

The boots performed amazingly well, cozy and waterproof even after an 18 hour survival kind of snow trek. I was very happy with performance of the boot until three weeks ago, I discovered tears on both of the boots rubber outer coverings. The tears were right where the boots were bending during my walking.

I would have accepted such a tear and wear, had I used the boots in such ventures for couples of years, but this damn tears occurred only after I wore em 5 or 6 times. The rubber material used in randing was so inflexible and not suitable to be used in such boots that they gave way. The underlying liner is even appearing if one looks closely.  Now the waterproofing is jeopardized. However the boots still look brand new, what a dilemma.

I am wondering how Hi-Tec people sleep at nights after manufacturing nice looking but useless gear. I was a Hi-Tec user for over 15 years, I tolerated small mishaps over the years but this is it. I will no longer spend a penny on Hi-Tec products and tell everybody about this. 

These boots were used for hunting in New Zealand. They are the most comfortable boots I have owned. The rubber rand front and rear provided good protection against cuts and scrapes to the leather. The 200gram Thinsulate insulation meant my feet NEVER got cold, and they were definitely waterproof. If I could find another pair I would buy them.