Third Time's The Charm

Remember the hiking boots I showed you when I went to Merry Lea? They were not water-proof, and the dew from the grass soaked through them.

They were about 12 years old. I bought them in a northern suburb of Dallas at an outlet mall. I wore them very little until we moved to Indiana; then I found them a good choice for walking on snowy or slick surfaces because of the good tread. I had repaired the left shoe 1 1/2 years ago where the toe connected to the "rubber" tip. The cobbler did a fine job. I planned to take the boots with me to Williamsburg for all the walking. They were comfortable. About 3 weeks before our trip, I noticed the side of the right shoe had separated from the sole. This was irreparable.

I looked at stores locally and finally in Fort Wayne. The selection of women's hiking boots was laughable. I wanted water-proof ones and could find only two different hiking boots to try on after searching half a dozen stores including sports stores. None of them were water-proof.  
I finally searched Zappos and Amazon (which does not necessarily carry the same shoes as Zappos even though they bought Zappos). A good number of choices and reviews were helpful. I had ordered from Zappos maybe 9 years ago; my husband had used my account a few times since. 

Though I really liked the fit of my old Timberland boots, I decided to order the Ahnu Montara boots after reading the reviews. They arrived two days later. The shoe part of the boot was so comfortable, and the boots were light-weight and didn't look clunky. However, the part that came up around the ankle rubbed that protruding bone on the outside. It was easy to return them. I have a UPS agent in the Staples near my home. I received email permission from Zappos to return, printed the return label, and they were shipped free for me back to Zappos.

For the second try, I ordered Timberland Chocorua Trail boots. Determining the right size to order is apparently a big deal for hikers. I ordered the size I wore in my old boots. Maybe if you were backpacking and wearing heavy socks, you would go up half a size. The fit was fine for me. The part up around the ankle rubbed slightly but would have been tolerable. However, one of the reviews mentioned how this boot showed creases when flexing the foot. Indeed it did. I didn't like the material very well anyway, but after walking thru my house with the boots on, a crease formed above the tongue and the color of the crease was different from the original color. It was ugly. So back they went.

By now, it was too late to order boots for the trip. I took my Nike walking shoes. However, I did an internet search for a REI store and found one in Columbus, Ohio, near to our route to Williamsburg. I wanted to look at a boot by Vasque. I tried them on in this REI store, and the boots were uncomfortable. I had already decided that I probably didn't need a boot with ankle support and could get by with hiking shoes rather than boots. Since the Ahnu boots had been comfortable except for the ankle rubbing, I chose the Montara hiking shoe. REI had them, but not in my size. But at least I had eliminated the Vasque so the stop was worthwhile. REI has lots of hiking boots/shoes for women in its stores.

After we came home, I ordered from Zappos the Ahnu Montara hiking/trail shoes. This time I kept my ordered shoes. 

Since we have a wintery precipitation mix tomorrow and snow Sunday, I will have a chance to see if these are truly water-proof and if the tread works well.

My experience with Zappos was positive. Free shipping and free return shipping if needed. I would recommend them especially if you have trouble finding your size in stores or for specialty shoes like these hiking ones. There is a long return period so I could send these back if they don't perform as described, but I'm pretty sure they are keepers.