Straight out of the box, I put these shoes on and went for an aggressive, 6 mile mountain hike ... a rocky, steep trail with a 1500 foot elevation gain. I was skeptical, since these are very light and the bottoms seem the same (except that these are a little higher)as the TrekSta trail running shoes I recently bought (which I only use for city walking).

My feet are very sensitive and I need a heavy boot (like my Keens) to protect them. I did the 6 mile hike in record time and felt very spry. These are much lighter than my clunky Keens and I have to admit that my feet felt wonderful. I don't know how Treksta does it, but my feet are well protected in this lightweight boot. For once, a product meets the hype.

I only gave 4 stars because I haven't had these for very long. My only complaint is that I would prefer the boots to be a little higher to keep skree out...they are barely higher than the base trail shoe.