dirtpig67
New member
I am new to the "Views From the Top" forum so I thought I would introduce myself via this review. I found a lot of valuable info on this forum regarding these boots back when I was researching them, so I thought I would add to that info for anyone else that may need info in the future.
Back in the fall of 2008, it came time to retire my old hiking boots so the search began for a replacement. I am a big fan of welted boot construction due to my experiences wearing wildland firefighting boots (White's and Nick's Boots). I decided to go with something similar in construction. Soon my search led me to Limmer and the offerings he had. Based on much research on the web, I decided to go ahead and purchase a pair of off-the-shelf Limmers via the mail and see how they fit. I figured if they did not fit or I did not like them I could always return them as long as I didn't wear them outside.
My purchasing experience with Limmer was excellent. I mailed in an order form and foot tracings and originally ordered the mid-weights. Soon after mailing the order form, I received a phone call from Limmer boots (can't remember the individual) and we had a lengthy discussion about my tracings, planned activities with them, and the fit of the different models they offered. Based on my foot-tracings, he felt the standard model would fit better and I ended up changing the order to those. Needless to say, I was rather impressed with the level of customer service and attention I received as an individual. Most stores or companies would have simply filled the order but I felt that Limmer was really trying to fit me with the best possible option for me. A few weeks later (it took a while as I lived in remote Alaska at the time), I got a big box in the mail. I do not have any pictures of them new, but brand-new they were beautifully constructed in that old-school type of style.
Now came the fun of breaking them in. Brand-new they are very stiff. I had worn welted boots before but these were on a whole new level of stiffness. About the only way to break them in is to use them a lot, so that is what I did along with using the Limmer boot grease as recommended. I pretty much wore them every day for about 7 months just as everyday shoes (I can get away with that with my job in Alaska
). That helped considerably with the break-in process but it was not until I started wearing them on longer actual hikes did they truly break-in completely. To say that this process was fun and painless would be a slight lie. Up until the middle of last summer, they were not much fun to wear but I can say that they never did give me a blister on any occasion (my wife also has a pair and had numerous blisters until her's broke-in properly). This was most likely to them fitting perfectly. At some point last summer, they basically "turned the corner" so to speak and literally feel like they have molded to my feet and flex in all the locations that they should flex to get proper foot motion while walking.
At present time, I would estimate I have around 300 miles or so on them. I have worn them on very rough, rocky terrain hiking in Alaska, on wildland fires, and now in the demanding bush of New Zealand (currently splitting my time between here and AK while the wife is in school in NZ) so they have seen a lot of different conditions.
In rough rocky terrain, they simply cannot be beat. I have a weak ankle from a previous injury, and have had problems in the past with rolling that same ankle due to its permanent weakness. Due to the height and construction of the boot, there is literally now way I can roll that ankle now in rough terrain. The construction is probably a bit overkill for most people's needs, but I feel a lot safer out on trail now with the confidence that it is nearly impossible to hurt my ankle again.
The toe box is stiff enough that there is no risk of stubbing a toe or otherwise hurting your toes by hitting or tripping over things. In my case also, the toe box was large enough to allow for the slight swelling of the feet that naturally occurs while hiking longer distances.
While not completely waterproof, if you treat the leather with the Limmer grease it does remain rather water repellent for quite some time. My feet sweat a lot so I really gain little with Gore-tex boots. The Limmers seem to feel less hot and breath better than the water-proof boots I have used in the past. It is rather subjective, but my feet feel less "clammy" when wet from sweat in them than in past waterproof boots.
The Vibram outsole unit is very resistant to abrasion. I have worn them in a lot of rocky conditions and the rubber is holding up nicely and is not excessively wearing away. They seem to grip rocky surfaces well.
Since they have broke-in and molded to my feet, they have proven to be extremely comfortable. I often wear them as everyday shoes now simply due to the comfort level. I had read other people's experiences of this on the web, but I was somewhat skeptical. However, I am now a believer
Well those are a lot of things I like about them here are some negatives in my opinion.
They do not have a lot of padding in them like you would find in mass-produced boots today. While they can be ordered to allow for aftermarket insoles, they are really not designed for them. I really do not notice this much unless I am hiking more than 8 miles with some weight or going continuously downhill for long periods of time (2+ hrs). The end result is mainly just slightly sore feet, but nothing severe or more than normal.
Being all leather, they take longer to dry out. Here in NZ, you often hike in wet conditions so they have been completely soaked a couple of times. It often takes a couple of days to completely dry out after they have been completely saturated. I know this is not good for the boots and try to minimize this by wearing leg gators and switching to tevas for stream-crossings.
They do take more maintenance and care than most mass-produced boots. If you are someone, who doesn't clean or grease your boots much then these are not likely the boot for you. After every hike, it is necessary to clean them up, dry them out, and grease them if the leather is getting dry.
Again, if you want a boot that you can buy in the morning and wear on a long hike that afternoon, then they are most definitely not for you. I did not attempt to do this, but the outcome would not have been pretty if I had. I should also note, that until the boot breaks in there will be a little bit of heel slippage as you walk. This is due to the boot still being very stiff and not flexing properly. The result is your heel slipping a little. Most of my wife's initial blister problems were due to this (it was not as big an issue for me) and does go away once they are broken in.
Well that is about all I can say about them. I attached a few pics of them from today after a short hike up a local mountain. If you have any specific question regarding my experiences with them, feel free to ask.
Back in the fall of 2008, it came time to retire my old hiking boots so the search began for a replacement. I am a big fan of welted boot construction due to my experiences wearing wildland firefighting boots (White's and Nick's Boots). I decided to go with something similar in construction. Soon my search led me to Limmer and the offerings he had. Based on much research on the web, I decided to go ahead and purchase a pair of off-the-shelf Limmers via the mail and see how they fit. I figured if they did not fit or I did not like them I could always return them as long as I didn't wear them outside.
My purchasing experience with Limmer was excellent. I mailed in an order form and foot tracings and originally ordered the mid-weights. Soon after mailing the order form, I received a phone call from Limmer boots (can't remember the individual) and we had a lengthy discussion about my tracings, planned activities with them, and the fit of the different models they offered. Based on my foot-tracings, he felt the standard model would fit better and I ended up changing the order to those. Needless to say, I was rather impressed with the level of customer service and attention I received as an individual. Most stores or companies would have simply filled the order but I felt that Limmer was really trying to fit me with the best possible option for me. A few weeks later (it took a while as I lived in remote Alaska at the time), I got a big box in the mail. I do not have any pictures of them new, but brand-new they were beautifully constructed in that old-school type of style.
Now came the fun of breaking them in. Brand-new they are very stiff. I had worn welted boots before but these were on a whole new level of stiffness. About the only way to break them in is to use them a lot, so that is what I did along with using the Limmer boot grease as recommended. I pretty much wore them every day for about 7 months just as everyday shoes (I can get away with that with my job in Alaska
). That helped considerably with the break-in process but it was not until I started wearing them on longer actual hikes did they truly break-in completely. To say that this process was fun and painless would be a slight lie. Up until the middle of last summer, they were not much fun to wear but I can say that they never did give me a blister on any occasion (my wife also has a pair and had numerous blisters until her's broke-in properly). This was most likely to them fitting perfectly. At some point last summer, they basically "turned the corner" so to speak and literally feel like they have molded to my feet and flex in all the locations that they should flex to get proper foot motion while walking.At present time, I would estimate I have around 300 miles or so on them. I have worn them on very rough, rocky terrain hiking in Alaska, on wildland fires, and now in the demanding bush of New Zealand (currently splitting my time between here and AK while the wife is in school in NZ) so they have seen a lot of different conditions.
In rough rocky terrain, they simply cannot be beat. I have a weak ankle from a previous injury, and have had problems in the past with rolling that same ankle due to its permanent weakness. Due to the height and construction of the boot, there is literally now way I can roll that ankle now in rough terrain. The construction is probably a bit overkill for most people's needs, but I feel a lot safer out on trail now with the confidence that it is nearly impossible to hurt my ankle again.
The toe box is stiff enough that there is no risk of stubbing a toe or otherwise hurting your toes by hitting or tripping over things. In my case also, the toe box was large enough to allow for the slight swelling of the feet that naturally occurs while hiking longer distances.
While not completely waterproof, if you treat the leather with the Limmer grease it does remain rather water repellent for quite some time. My feet sweat a lot so I really gain little with Gore-tex boots. The Limmers seem to feel less hot and breath better than the water-proof boots I have used in the past. It is rather subjective, but my feet feel less "clammy" when wet from sweat in them than in past waterproof boots.
The Vibram outsole unit is very resistant to abrasion. I have worn them in a lot of rocky conditions and the rubber is holding up nicely and is not excessively wearing away. They seem to grip rocky surfaces well.
Since they have broke-in and molded to my feet, they have proven to be extremely comfortable. I often wear them as everyday shoes now simply due to the comfort level. I had read other people's experiences of this on the web, but I was somewhat skeptical. However, I am now a believer
Well those are a lot of things I like about them here are some negatives in my opinion.
They do not have a lot of padding in them like you would find in mass-produced boots today. While they can be ordered to allow for aftermarket insoles, they are really not designed for them. I really do not notice this much unless I am hiking more than 8 miles with some weight or going continuously downhill for long periods of time (2+ hrs). The end result is mainly just slightly sore feet, but nothing severe or more than normal.
Being all leather, they take longer to dry out. Here in NZ, you often hike in wet conditions so they have been completely soaked a couple of times. It often takes a couple of days to completely dry out after they have been completely saturated. I know this is not good for the boots and try to minimize this by wearing leg gators and switching to tevas for stream-crossings.
They do take more maintenance and care than most mass-produced boots. If you are someone, who doesn't clean or grease your boots much then these are not likely the boot for you. After every hike, it is necessary to clean them up, dry them out, and grease them if the leather is getting dry.
Again, if you want a boot that you can buy in the morning and wear on a long hike that afternoon, then they are most definitely not for you. I did not attempt to do this, but the outcome would not have been pretty if I had. I should also note, that until the boot breaks in there will be a little bit of heel slippage as you walk. This is due to the boot still being very stiff and not flexing properly. The result is your heel slipping a little. Most of my wife's initial blister problems were due to this (it was not as big an issue for me) and does go away once they are broken in.
Well that is about all I can say about them. I attached a few pics of them from today after a short hike up a local mountain. If you have any specific question regarding my experiences with them, feel free to ask.
