Kopec Mid GTX Waterproof Hiking Shoe (Men)

What happened, I thought I was replacing my waterproof hiking boots. I wear them everyday for city hiking to work and back in San Francisco. I bought two pairs, because a switch off every day helps extend life of boots. These are very uncomfortable not near the padding of the old model. Feet and ankles and knees hurt after wearing them. The older models were almost a high top and went further up past ankle. Thought maybe these would at least break in, but they haven’t. I’m still using my old boots with very little tread left instead of these new boots. Because they are so uncomfortable and painful. I absolutely loved the old model, have owned at least twenty pair. (I burn through boots because I hike mostly on cement). Please bring back the old model. These are horrible.

These were my first decent summer/transition season hiking boots. I was willing to pay more to reduce my textile waste, but these boots are not measuring up to their promise or their price. In 16 months, several leaks in waterproofing have developed where the boot articulates at the ball of the foot. In heavy rain, no submersion, I end up with wet socks. Further, the heel of the vibram sole is almost worn flat, which is unexpected given the durability of vibram I’ve seen in my winter boots. I make a point of being careful never to shuffle or drag my feet, but somehow they’ve worn through about as fast as the foam soles Call it Spring uses. The fit was questionable from the beginning, though I thought it would improve after breaking in. But surely roughly a year of daily wear is well beyond that point, no? The wide toe box only appears wide compared to the non-anatomically narrow bridge of the foot. I tried helping this with a half-insole to provide any arch support, but the boot is too narrow to fit them. The narrowness of the toe box for my regular-width feet results in friction at the big and pinky toes. On top of this, the inside near the pinky toe has a sharp edge that causes blistering. The boots are remarkably breathable — i can sometimes practically feel a breeze through them on warm summer days. i was convinced to look past the other problems for the combination of breathable and waterproof, until the waterproofness failed. While the sole is wearing through remarkably quickly, it has always provided great traction and mud/snow clearance. The midsole absorbs shock well. Largely, these boots seem to be made of individually great components that have been mismatched, and assembled poorly. I’m hopeful these were just defective, and not reflective of the overall quality of Arc’teryx products. I hoped to be a long term Arc’teryx customer, but this first experience will make me think twice about buying their products in the future.

Very disappointing. The shoe is extremely stiff and uncomfortable, even during a short walk. Breathability is also very poor; my feet felt hot and trapped while wearing them. More importantly, the shoe does not perform as advertised in wet conditions. During a 15-minute walk on a lightly snowy path, melted snow penetrated the toe box area on both shoes. By the end of the walk my toes and socks were soaked. For a product marketed as waterproof, this level of water penetration is unacceptable.