The North Face Ultra Gore-Tex Surround Mid

Our take A quick glimpse at our tester notes for this boot says a lot. We wore it on dayhikes and weeklong missions with 35-pound packs. We wore it in August heat and January snow. We wore it on Moab slickrock and the spongy tundra of Colombia. We even wore it to the office (hey, this is Boulder). The Ultra Mids use Gore-Tex Surround, a waterproof/breathable tech that works by using foot pressure to pump sweat vapor out through the sides of the shoe. In addition, mesh keeps the air flowing through the upper—but not at the expense of durability. PU-coated leather overlays add structure and a burly toecap was enough for us to kick steps into snowy slopes in the Front Range.

The details The Vibram Megagrip rubber is good enough for scrambling, but some testers felt the lugs were too shallow for loose dirt and snow.

Trail cred “On a shoulder-season hike by Boulder’s Flatirons, these boots sealed out moisture like a submarine,” one tester says. “But when temps heated up, it vented better than any other boot I’ve tried in the category.”