Hi-Tec Women's Bandera Mid-Rise Waterproof Hiking Boot

The regular inserts that come with these boots are just not enough to give me enough arch support, but having VERY high arches, it goes without saying that I have to replace all factory included inserts with better support. They are taking a bit to break in, but I expect that with all hiking boots as well. Most of the problems that people have in some of the reviews seem to be things that can easily be remedied by knowing how to properly break in hiking boots/shoes and how to lace them to help with certain foot issues. Having flat feet, high arches, and other problems can be helped with buying inserts that address any kind of foot types. Lacing in a way to make sure your feet don't slide, have more room at the toe, or to lace up more securely for narrow feet can also make any hiking boot more comfortable. A quick search for "hiking boot lacing techniques" can show you how. Breaking them in does not happen over night. Start slow and wear them for a few hours, then take short hikes and slowly build up from there. Everyone's feet are different, and no matter what there are liable to be places that rub. Wear for sort periods of time and find out where they are rubbing, and tape or add moleskin to all hot spots before they turn into blisters. Eventually that will not be a problem as the boots conform to your feet. That being said, don't buy these and expect to go on a 10 mile hike the next day. Break them in just like the majority of mid-range hiking boots and you will be glad you bought them. UPDATE: I have been wearing these boots almost every day for 2 and a half years and they have just now started to show some wear. Hooks haven't broken, they are still comfortable, and the only real issue is that the rubber is just now starting to pull away from the toe. I would definitely buy again.

I have a narrow foot, so it is difficult to find a shoe that fits perfectly. To adjust for this I place insoles in my shoes that feel a bit wide to snug them up so that my foot doesn't slide in the shoe while walking. These hiking boots also fit a bit wide on my feet so I inserted an arch support type of insole. It made them feel even more comfortable and cushioned on the bottom of my feet. I wore them for about 8 hours to give them a good try, and they felt great. Besides feeling good on my feet, they are very attractive. My daughter even commented on how cute the boots were. I plan to wear them for more than just hiking and camping, as I had planned. These are so cute I want to wear them for all sorts of occasions. Thanks to Hi-Tec for making a woman's boot that doesn't look so manly and ugly.

Do not think you can just pop these boots on and hit the trails. They 100% need to be broken in, and they also need extra insoles. I also recommend wicking socks because these boots are HOT. I ordered a 7.5 and they are true to size, however, if laces loosen slightly, my feet slip forward and my toes get crowded. So far, waterproof is accurate. I ordered these to replace a discontinued timberland hiker that I wore until basically disintegrated. I use them for hard walking on concrete in a dirty/damp warehouse setting, 10-15 miles, 7 hours per day. First day worn was rough. Second day was better with new insoles. Hoping the third day will be better yet. So far, okay for the price. **2 week update**: After breaking these size 7.5 boots in for a couple weeks and adding a plush memory foam insert, they are great. They are still very warm, but with winter approaching here in the north east, I don't mind too much. They don't allow my feet to breath so I must remove the inserts after each use and I sprinkle a little powder in them each morning. I am comfortable walking on concrete all day and they still seem to keep water out.

I'm a long time Hi-Tec wearer - I ordered 3 pairs of various Hi-Tec models, had to send them all back because they were too small - so I re-ordered in a half-size larger & they're great! I have issues with my toes, so I need a lot of room in the toe box but going up a half size tends to make the overall boot too large - I counter this by wearing shoe inserts & heavy socks (I have foot problems anyway). So these now fit great - super comfy inner soles, your feet just 'smoosh' into them!! And I love the color mixes - grey & pink, taupe & pinky-purples - so cool, so glad we've gotten away from brown-tan only! I must note, too, that the negative reviews tended to be women wearing these for daily use on the farm and/or landscaping, and then complaining because the boots started to separate/tear after 6 months. These are $45 dollar hiking boots!!! They are not going to stand up to rough wear, wet conditions...I don't mean to sound arrogant, but if you need a heavy duty boot you have to shell out a couple hundred bucks for them. I buy these Hi-Tec for my office-type job or tooling around on weekends, I have a well worn pair of $250 boots for heavy duty hiking (and when they start getting beat, I migrate them down to garden work until I wear them out completely!) My point being that I don't expect $45 boots to last me for more than a couple years of light-moderate use and they're still a great bargain at $22.50/year - less than $2,00 per month for comfortable, stylish, weekend warrior boots!! Gotta love Hi-Tec!!

I purchased these as I needed a hiking boot and the price was right, except the right price was only in 'pink'. I wasn't thrilled about the color, but once I received them they were actually nicer in person and grew on me. The first time I wore them was for a 4 mile walk. The only problem I had was rubbing on my outside ankle. I managed to push my pants down in, adjust the lace and I was ok. The second time I had the same issue, but not as bad. The third time and since I've not had an issue with rubbing on the inside of my ankle. I do tuck my pants inside them, which may have helped. My biggest annoyance is all the little pebbles and dirt that kicks up and goes into my boot. I usually have to take them off once to empty them. I have worn them in below freezing temps, in snow and rain, my feet never got wet. I have not actually put my feet in water above the lace line to see if they leak. I did order a size up as I have wide feet, I have plenty of room in the toe box so I can wear heavier socks if necessary without feeling tight, but they are not so big that they feel loose.

Now, I wore these shoes right out of the box, with no breaking in time. They were used for a weekend camping trip and were worn for approx. 16 hours each day. the only time that they weren't worn was while I was sleeping. I read the reviews and ordered 1/2 a size up and the boot itself fit perfectly. Unfortunately, the toe box on the boot is very narrow and put a lot of pressure on the inner corners of both of my big toes. They became very sore after a couple of hours. The interesting part about this boot is that I didn't get any blisters from it what so ever, even though I wore them directly out of the box with low profile socks. However, the ankle part on the boot puts A LOT of pressure on the Achilles heel and made it very sore. For about a week afterwards, the area around my ankle was still very tender like it had been bruised. The first night was met by heavy rain and my feet stayed comfortably dry. Although my feet did get a little warm from wearing them (again I was in them for 16 hours straight) they did stay really dry and hardly sweat at all (which is a HUGE plus for me). As for the appearance, it's pretty much spot on with the picture although the main color is tinted more on the pink side than the brown it appears to be.

I got these shoes 3 years ago for a winter backpacking trip. Right away I put them through the paces, I took them through swamp land, rocks, steep hills, ice and snow. They held up amazingly well! I soaked them and then let them freeze overnight I had to defrost them next to the fire. They are warm and fit well. I got a half size bigger than I usually wear since I wear thick wool socks with them. Since that first trip I have taken these shoes rock climbing, caving, tree climbing, and hiking in all weather. They are water proof. Last winter they became my shoe of choice for wearing on winter EMS calls (I'm a volunteer EMT). Their superb grips helped me keep my footing on ice while pulling a stretcher. It was only on my last camping trip after I had been climbing on loose shale for a long time that I finally cut the black strip of cloth at the front. I haven't noticed them letting in water though. Other than that they are still intact and working great. I did put in a shoe inset to help with arch support. I do that with most shoes as I have high arches. These are sturdy shoes, great in almost all weather. I definitely recommend them.

I don't think waterproof means what they think it means. Unfortunately I purchased late last fall and didn't get around to wearing them as hiking boots until the weather began to warm. Too late to return them. The first time I wore them I walked through wet morning dew grass and water began seeping in. It wasn't too bad, but my socks and feet were damp. I had some waterproofing for nubuck and thought I would spray them to shore up the waterproofing. Several days later I wore them on a proper hike. We had no rain, so the path was dry. There were no puddles, streams, creeks, or rivers. There was no standing water of any kind. By the time I finished my mile hike, my feet were soaking wet. Not just damp, but soaked. The only water I came in contact with was the moring dew from the grass along side the dry path. The boots acted like a sponge and sucked up every drop of water they brushed up against. I would have been better off with no shoes. My feet would have been dry by the time I got home. To add insult to injury, it took two days for the boots to dry. So now I only wear them on an afternoon when there is little chance of coming in contact with a wet blade of grass. As far a sizing goes, I ordered my regular size of 6.5 and they fit perfect. I can comfortably wear thick wool socks or thinner cotton socks. As far as comfort goes, they're o.k. Not quite sneaker comfort, but comfortable enough to wear for a couple of hours. Oh, and if it's hot outside and it's not damp, my feet still get wet because they make my feet sweat. The picture I've attached is a glass containing some of the water I squeezed out of one of my socks when I got home from my hiking trek.

I unfortunately got a shoe too small for me even though i used the sizing charts. Therefore i had very bad bruising on my toes from going down hill on a trek. So much so that i had to forfeit completing it. The shoe was very comfortable and minimal days required to wearing it in. It was also water proof so that helped when it rained for stood in a puddle. However i did notice that one of the seams on the top of one shoe was coming undone. Not sure why that would have happened as the conditions of the trek i went on was not that brutal. Nice colour of shoe too. Pity i have to get a new pair, as they are not cheap.

Pedí estas botas para mi madre que recién empieza a hacer senderismo y me comenta que le quedaron super bien y muy cómodas :) Tal cual el número que indica es correcto.

These boots appear to be of good quality, certainly fits well and true to size.

I think these run a teeny bit small. I wear an exact 8 but always buy any boots in a full size bigger (I like to wear really thick socks). I ordered a 9 and found them to fit just right - so no thick socks with these I'm afraid. Not sure if a 10 would have been too big so sticking with the 9. I literally put these on and went on a hike. Absolutely no rubbing anywhere. Was good to go at the start and still uber comfortable. Great hiking boots. Haven't lept in any puddles yet and don't intend to so not sure if they are waterproof. : )

Perfect fit , true to size . Very comfortable and super grip . Highly recommend .