Oboz Wind River Women’s Hiking Boot
Retail price: $165
Specs per manufacturer: The Wind River is a lightweight and agile backpacking boot for men and women with signature Oboz features – including a three-dimensionally molded external heel counter and a high quality triple-density footbed. Its waterproof/breathable BDRY material lines the Nubuck leather and textile upper, which is protected with a full rubber toe.The Wind River has a four part platform. Its high friction rubber outsole – which sports a topographic map of the Wind River range – features two different heights of lugs to save weight and keep mud and dirt from clogging. A full-width polyurethane heel piece is placed under the heel to provide durable cushioning. The EVA midsole has three different densities to optimize cushioning underneath the heel, midfoot and forefoot. A nylon shank finishes the package, providing a medium flex to the boot. For the Wind River, the Oboz team designed a new high-quality, three-layer insole engineered for exceptional support and comfort for backpacking.
Findings: Truth be told, I’m not a big boot person. I wear my Five Finger shoes to work everyday. And I usually hike in not much more than tennis shoes. I have a few reasons for this, but the main one has been that boots hurt my feet and my ankles. This winter however, I came to the realization that hiking in boots in the snow is far preferable to hiking in Sorels. So I hit the internet to find me a pair of boots. I wanted something that came up a fair distance on my calf for soft snow and had a stiff enough toe to not collapse when I was wearing my ice grippers. They needed to be waterproof and most of all, not hurt. I ordered the Wind River sight unseen–never even tried them on. A gamble I know! What’s worse, they arrived a day before I was leaving on a 3 day winter backpacking trip. So much “always work your boots in before a trip”. I wasn’t worried though because I brought along my sorels as backup. The trail was light snow over a seemingly endless sheet of ice so I wore my ice grippers the whole time. Wind River passed test #1–the stiff toe held up perfectly to the ice grippers, no pinched toes. Waterproof? no problem there either. Tons of snow on them and not one drop came inside. Granted, this was just a winter test, I’ll see how they do this summer. For hiking, these boots are plenty warm enough for winter hikes. On below zero days, I sometimes use a toe warmer, but usually I don’t even need that. The final test was comfort and I’m pleased to report Wind River filled the bill there as well. The cut in the back prevents that awful achilles tendon tension that so many boots produce. I wore the boots yesterday on a steep hill and appreciated the added support and traction on the soles. Thirty or so miles into my test, I’m loving these boots. They have really made me rethink my footwear. Well done Oboz!