La Sportiva Thunder GTX - Men's - 2006 BCS

I bought these shoes in June 2009. I used these for hiking in the wood , approaches for climbing ,back packing and surviving two North Dakota winters.
They are a simple and highly reliable piece gear. I never had to worry about my foot wear these got my by 12 months a year and through Georgia summer and North Dakota winter. Wearing them while hiking and every day to school and office.
Couldn't have been better

In terms of fit and feel, I give these La Sportivas a 5. They felt great right out of the box and required no breaking in time. I have normal to narrow feet and there was no heel slip and my toes had plenty of room to wiggle without getting crushed at the front. I wear a US8 1/2 and I got a 42 and they fit like a glove. However, in respect to durability I give the Thunder GTX's a 3. I tend to knock my ankles together when I hike and this has resulted in major tears. I've worn them on only 3 trips and the ankles are already thrashed. Rather disappointing. The rest of the boot looks great - just the ankles are ripped. If you hike properly, you won't have any problems. My chicken bowlegs are probably the culprit.

These are terrific boots. Overall probably the most comfortable, durable, all weather, supportive boots I ever tried on. O love it. At first I thought that I need a bigger size since the toe was narrow. But I was wrong. The engineering of these boots is at its best...Highly recomend them. Also, they are light for the kind of the boots that has leather, durable Vibram...Get it, no regrets.

no break-in required.very comfortable.only used three times so far on med hikes in rough terrain,durable,breathable.

I was very pleased with these boots. With the stiff sole, I wasn't worried about where I placed my foot. The rubber rand and heel also meant that I wasn't worried about putting my toes into anything hard either. Being used to wearing combat boots, these were a comfortable change. I have shallow arches, and these boots provided decent support.

I took these boots on a 25 mile hike a couple of weeks ago, and they worked very well, but did have a couple problems. Although it was my fault to not have broken the boots in, there is a spot on the heel that is very irritating, and gave me matching blister on both heels. Besides that one complaint, the boots were very comfortable and stable. They're the best boots that I've owned so far.