I ordered and received a pair of Topo Athletics Trailventure WP 2 hiking/hunting boots, and did a bunch of weighted backpack hikes with th, so figured I would share my initial observations/impressions.
https://www.topoathletic.ca/products/trailventure-wp-2-mgc
Why I bought these: I wanted lighter weight mid-height boots to replace the ones I wore out. The colour and look was attractive, waterproofness, wider toe box (!!! I have some Merrel trail glove zero-drop for trail running with wide toe box and love ‘em). Good tread and rock plate means they can handle rougher terrain. But a key factor was that Steve and Mark from EXO packs wore these on their most recent Death Hike, on way more technical terrain than I’m ever likely to encounter, and spoke very highly of them. Price was very reasonable for the feature set and they have a Canadian presence/ordering.
Now that I’ve worn them on some hikes: I did about a 4 km weighted backpack hike on forest trails with my husky (40 lbs of sandbags in the EXO K4 pack), with some modest hills. Fit is true to size and excellent. No heel lift or slop at all…..really nice and firm control of the heel. Arch support was good…..didn’t feel any strain which I have felt in some of my other light hikers I’ve been wearing. The wider toe box was extremely comfortable, no cramming/cramping of the toes which is really sweet. No pressure points or hot spots at all, didn’t need any “break in” that I could tell. Decent trail feel despite the rock plate, but also protection if you walk on rougher terrain with rocks/branches, so a good compromise there. Felt very light on the feet, which you would expect given the materials are all synthetic. Lace system works well and on their web site they show different lacing variants if you want to customize the fit to address various scenarios. These boots have a metal loop on the tongues for gaiter hooks which I’ll test out when my Peax gaiters arrive. Ankle support was good, without being overly restrictive.
What I couldn’t test on a most hike: Waterproofness, since trails were dry. Traction was good, but again, with dry trails that weren’t technical, can’t really comment on how they would perform in tougher conditions. Won’t be able to comment on longer term durability till after the Fall hunting season.
Initial impressions: