Comfort-Tec Altitude IV WP

Travel Boots – Bought a pair of these in late September 2015 , in the shop they felt great. So I bought them and put them away till March 2016. Wore them from day 1 of a three month tour of Japan. They were advertised and branded as waterproof but in reality they leaked ,from the first rainy day, through every stitching hole. My feet were in agony especially the right foot that developed huge blisters. The boots themselves quickly fell apart, leather body looked ok when I used Dubbin to waterproof, but the soles wore out at an incredible rate and then leaked through the soles. Anaconda and the local distributor refunded my money which I used to buy another newer model with Vibram soles. Even the fit is better the tongue isn't as invasive, the inner sole needs some changes to warrant the high price and be a better fit.

Design flaw lets down a great boot – Perhaps this was a bad batch, but the Hi-Tec / Comfort-Tec Altitude IV boots I purchased had a design problem. Let me say that my first pair of Hi-Tec boots purchased 15 years ago were one of the best buys of my life. They faithfully took me around the world then on to some rugged and remote parts of Australia. The shape, weight and tough sole were perfect.

When Hi-Tec announced the waterproof version of this boot I thought it would be ideal for my next Tasmania multi-day hike. Unfortunately I was wrong. In the store the boots felt OK with some minor pressure on the front of my ankle. Back home I put the boots on and wore them that evening. After 15 minutes I felt pain at the front of both ankles. Pain increased when I walked up or down stairs. Examination showed my skin was red and inflamed on two sites of both ankles. Just in front of both maleoli's (ankle bones). The cause was immediately obvious. Instead of the tongue tapering off at the edges it was actually twice as thick here. Downward pressure from lacing up the boots had pushed the thick edges into the ankle. Even lacing up to the 2nd row caused pressure. I have never suffered from boot pressure in this region before whether hiking, skiing or my time in the services.

I toyed with the idea of placing the tongue in a vice and crushing them flat for a few days but in reality the product has a major design flaw and sending them back was the best message. I really hope this was just a bad batch (Feb 2014) and quality control improves as Hi-Tec footwear has impressed me in the past and have some great design ideas. Try them for yourself but if you feel a hot spot after five minutes you can be guaranteed of blisters after one hour.

4-5 stars when the tongue issue is resolved.

Thank you Anaconda for offering a refund. Well designed forefoot and sole. Light weight. Waterproof above the ankle line. Thick edges of the tongue causes excessive pressure and pain. (Feb 2014 batch). Unable to wear for more than 20 minutes. Would have lead to blisters on two locations at the front of the ankle. This is an unusual location to have a design flaw.