INOV8 Roclite 286 GTX

A light, grippy, load bearing, excellent hiking boot. I can't imagine going back to heavy hot leather over engineered boots.

Fit was perfect out of the box. Didn't bother breaking them in. I took them on a weekend tramp to the Chatham Islands to walk the backcountry. No tracks and lots of native bush and wetlands and peatlands. Walked around 40km in one day in them. I suppose I walked about 70km in total.

The days were around 26 degrees Celsius or 78.8 Fahrenheit for those who don't like logical measuring systems. I weigh 110kg or 242lbs and was carrying 17kg or 37lb on my back.

These boots held up brilliantly. They were extremely comfortable and held the ground like glue. Lots of scrambling up steep gullys on rocks and the like across 200m drop cliffs. They were completely waterproof and more importantly my feet never got overheated. The Goretex membrane did its job. My old leather boots would feel like there was fire in them from hour 2 onwards.

In terms of load bearing they were spot on. It's simply not true you need hard soled boots for heavy loads. These boots were far more surefooted with both my load and weight. My poor new boots were carrying 280lbs all up.

The fact the boots are so light is a major plus. I walk long and hard. These boots are like running shoes to wear and I was able to cover far more distance than with my more conventional harder soled leather boots.

A small gripe is the boot was cut slightly low. Across the peatlands I used gaiters and they tended to ride up over the top of the boot. I got a very mild case of water leaking in over the top which doesn't happen with my more traditional leather walking boots. Again though they dried within the hour so the goretex did its job.

Another small gripe is the lacing sitting too high on the foot.  Limits the type of gaiters you can use with them.  Have to say though, both gripes are very minor.

Can't recommend them enough. A real pleasure to tramp in.

EXCEEDINGLY lightweight, GoreTex-lined, light duty hiking boots. These actually weigh less and performed the same as my old Lowa light hikers, with less ankle support.

I have used them daily now for two weeks, doing everything from running errands in the rain to some light hikes with about 15-20 lbs of gear. They perform better than advertised; my first pair of truly ultralight hiking boots.

I was looking for a true ultralight pair of light duty hiking boots, with Gore Tex coverage. These have fit the bill, and then some. These have now become my daily wear this spring, which, here in New England runs the gamut from cold and rainy, to hot and 94 degrees last week.

They are most certainly waterproof and they breathe quite well. The outsole isn't as aggressive as my other Inov 8s, but, certainly has enough grip for most conditions on the trail.

The only demerit I could see is the fit, which is for a narrower foot, and, low ankle support. Otherwise, zero break in. I wore them right out of the box with zero issues.

I just purchased these boots a month ago for coaching soccer in rain and sunshine. Perfect grip on grass and dirt. Very light, almost undetectable on my feet, never got sore or tired feet or legs. A real find; highly recommended.

I wear normally size 11.5, but the store (Threads and Treads in Greenwich, CT) only had 12s, and they fit perfectly. So I'd suggest that you buy a half size larger than you usually wear.