Danner has some pretty good ones, but they’re not my personal favorite. They’re great for a lot of people though.

r/hikinggear will have lots of thoughts on this.

I personally have Lowa Renegade GTX and I like them. I’ve treated them per Lowa’s instructions, hiked in downpours, and they’ve held up.

I had a pair of Asolo 95 GTX (gore tex) for about 15 years. Still had plenty of life before I donated them to a local clothing drive. But who knows how Asolo quality is now.

Hiking boots are inherently a high wear item, you will likely not own a pair for life. There are some brands like danner and other more expensive brands that if you are really attached you can send your boot in and they will replace the worn out parts with new ones so you can keep some of your original boot. This often isn’t cost effective though, for instance I wanted to get my danner boots from the military resoled and shanked, and after shipping it was only going to be $10 less than buying a new pair of boots. So it didn’t really make much since unless I really cared about the nostalgia.

If you have narrow feet La Sportiva boots are pretty good, they tend to use vibram soles and gortex waterproofing. They don’t fit me well though. Another brand that’s still somewhat affordable but makes great boots is Oboz. If you happen to be a woman, then Ahnu makes really cool boots but they don’t make any men’s boots.

Rossi Mulga Boots, mine are 25 years old and still going strong.

If one uses a quality leather wax/grease, nearly any sewn on sole boot is water proof to a point. I put obenaufs boot wax on my redwings and have yet to have a wet foot from the exterior.

Hoka has an awesome pair but they’re around $250 USD

I second the Lowes, they lasted me over 8 years. I’m currently considering Mammut as a replacement for them.

‘Waterproof’ is a term that has to be qualified. Usually it means that there is a plastic bag incorporated into the boot, which will break down over time with wear. Leather boots, good quality, with minimal stitching will stay water-resistant for much longer than busy fabric mixed boots. Rubber leather mixes can be very waterproof and durable. Look for the build quality before worrying about whether they are ‘waterproof’.

Merrell Moab or Scarpa GTXs!

I bought Asolo boots over 25 years ago. They're on their 5th or 6th new sole (and the last one says my shoemaker). He's also sewn the upper a few times. I keep them clean and snowsealed. It will be a sad day when I need a new pair.

Anything made of polyurethane (most hiking shoe soles) will likely break down in a few years because of hydrolysis fyi
https://stories.hanwag.com/en/hiking-boots-sole-coming-off-what-to-do/

Buy a pair of Danner Mountain Lights. Mink oil will seal the seams and you can resole them for the rest of your backpacking life. I've had mine for 25 years.

Goretex or other membrane based waterproofing can take a lot longer to dry out if wet and the material will eventually fail. Remember, they are only waterproof to the top of the boot.

I've had two pairs of these and both lasted around 4 years of heavy use. Was a bit disappointed with how they lasted, but they were extremely comfortable and fit very well.

After those, I switched to a pair of Meindl's (looked very sturdy, thick leather all round, easy to replace the outsoles when needed). They were much less comfortable than the Lowa, and the inner lining around the heel ripped from both shoes in just a few months.

seconding LOWA

Pay attention to where the Mammut boots are made. Most (if not all) are made in Vietnam now. Lowa still makes theirs in Germany or Slovakia.

My Lowa renegades are easily the most comfortable hiking shoe I've ever worn, however I struggle to recommend then on a buy it for life sub. The sole compound is rather soft and I wear down the tread in about 2 years of near daily wear. The cemented construction makes them non-resolable to the best of my knowledge.

Although, to be fair to the boot, I wear through the heels of almost all my shoes extremely fast, and the waterproofness always holds up until replacement. They'll likely remain my go to hiking boot until I find an option I can resole.

How many layers are in the sole of your mulgas? I suspect that the older mulgas have a simpler yet stronger construction.

My 6 month old pair seem to have a felt foot bed layer that has been stitched/cemented down between the leather upper and the lasting board. It is much weaker than the layers above and below it, so it has disintegrated at the ball of the foot. I think that I'll struggle to get another month of use out of them before the felt drops out and leaves gaping holes.

Do you have the Rossi Mulga Bushwalking boot? It is leather lined and doesn't have a felt layer.

Yeah that's the exact boot I have. Rossi didn't make them regularly for a while, then when RB sellars bought out rossi they started regularly producing them again.

I bought them direct off rossi in one of this year's first production runs. Its unlined however there's a layer of felt in the footbed.

My question should have been, is this course felt layer present in your older mulga boots and do you have issues with stitched/cemented edge comming loose as a result of it?

Rossi was very interested in taking my boot back for inspection so I suspect they've altered the original design.

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