Salewa Vultur Vertical GTX

Support “These Salewa Vultur Vertical GTX boots let you carry as much weight as your back can handle,” says our Adirondack tester. The stiff nylon-and-fiberglass insole and Pebax midsole offer rigid support for heavy loads and crampon use on technical terrain (they’re compatible with automatic crampons). Plus, the tough microfiber upper and high-cut cuff enhance stability. “I felt like I was wearing ankle braces,” he says.

Durability After months of testing, testers said these are some of the toughest boots they’ve tried. Credit the armor-like “Superfabric” and wraparound rubber rand. One tired tester, hiking clumsily in brand-new, super-sharp crampons, did no damage when he accidentally kicked the boot’s upper.

Fit The lacing system has a locking cam, so you can independently dial in fit on the boot’s upper and lower sections (but it still fits narrower feet best). And the Vultur comes with two interchangeable footbeds so you can fine-tune volume for a more precise fit. Only drawback: You’ll want to invest about 30 miles of break-in time before taking these monsters out on a big trip. m’s 6-12 (UK)