 Well, I have the Altitude Ultra and as I have already said they are not waterproof at least one of them isn't. My right boot started letting in water within a short space of time walking in the rain along a roadside pavement and my right foot was wet after 45 minutes. They were new, had hardly been worn and were unscuffed. The ingress was through the seam between the fabric tongue and the leather which seems to be the fault common to all those who have had a problem. Either you are just lucky or because your boots are of the fabric variety reinforced with suede leather, Hit Tech may have paid more attention to waterproof seam construction.
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I purchased some Hi-Tec Ion mask leather boots in Jan this year. To start with they were fine and repelled dirt and water when walking muddy and grassy coastal tracks. After a few outings I noticed that the creases were getting damp (darker colour). Recently I walked in the rain for a few hours and apart from wet socks and feet and feet I could pour water out of the boots. The supplier changed them for a new pair but having read the postings so far I have little confidence they will be satisfactory. I used the Hi-Tec Sympatex boots for many years until the soles wore out in the same sort of conditions with no leaks, and my wife who accompanies me on all my walks has had no leaks from two pails of Brasher light weight boots.
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I have the Ion Mask Vlite Boots and at first they were amazing! i could walk across shallow streams a nd puddles and they stayed amazingly dry! but then i decided to hike in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska as my first real back country test on these boots. Sadly after only a two day hike in these boots across the tussex with light rain and they were soaked. By the time i got back home to camp my boots were water logged and sloushing. I also noticed before that trip that the boots would get dark spots after a few hours of walking from sweat bleeding through the material on a dry day. Is there a way to get the water proofing back or do I have send the boots back to the company?
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 Well you could always treat them as unlined leather boots with whatever form of wax you like to use etc. Likely won't get as good but maybe do OK. The ion mask treatment itself really not something you can reapply youself though (unless you happen to have a handy vaculmn chamber etc lying around  ). Also not meant to wear out and certainly not quickly. So may well be worth sending them back.
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Another design fault is that the tongue gusset is too short. All in all, a comfortable boot for low trails and dry days. But then high top trainers will do that job.
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I have just returned my hi tek ion mask boots, firstly the side bages fell off within 3 days and when walking on "short" wet grass you can feel the water coming through...there a rip off. I called the hi tek tech dept with a simple question ...what polish can I use ? they had no idea and also added that they do not require polishing so when they are scuffed you have to live with it. Total rubbish thankfully I have now got my money back...never again
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I've decided to keep mine. I have been using Meindl waterptoofing wax on them, tongue and all and so far, it seems to work.
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I have recently bought a pair of these ion mask boots in the hope that, at last, my feet would remain dry when walking in wet grass. On the first outing in damp conditions both feet became wet - socks seemed to indicate that water ingress was through the seams so I have used some dubbin-type material in the hope that this will do the trick! Otherwise, they are incredibly comfortable to walk distances in, light and just the right shape for my feet and they do not clog up with mud very easily. Watch this space for news of wet socks....!
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Fashion Week for Spring 2010, on Day 2, featured looks from Yigal Azrouel, Charlotte Ronson and Jason Wu. www.gobrandmall.com
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These stories of leaking boots remind me of a pair of Zamberlan Trek Lites that I got in the early 1990's: One tongue wasn't sealed at all (I don't know if it was stitched properly or what, but the first real test (18-miles on Cross Fell) water started pouring in the first puddle that I stepped in. I got a replacement pair, but they weren't too good either. I suspect that they must have been having quality problems around that time because about five of my friends also had various problems with Trek Lites and Alpenlites. I moved to Scarpa mantas which were a lot heavier, but didn't (still don't) leak and provide some grip on wet grass going downhill. I last wore the mantas on Sunday going up Castle Naze/ Coombs Edge near my house. Not my photo (it was a blizzard then) but the results of a googling* for a suitable image and the snow was waist high on Sunday: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronlayters/3340268173/ I am using their recommended HS12 proofing cream and it seems to work very nicely thank you. (the HS12 leather technology is very similar to the Zamberlan hydrobloc technology) both of which are supposed** to be a more surface treatment compared to the later impregnated leather technologies. *and I do go up there in those conditions too as it is 30mins walk from my house **I haven't looked this up since buying the boots so might have misremembered but don't think so
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Recently bought a pair of hi-tec cascada boots and they seem fine. They are very comfortable and totally waterproof, (it does exactly what it says on the tin),
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My Hi-Tek boots with ion-mask are beginning to show signs of cracking and leaking in the cracks after less than a year. I only wear them to walk the dogs for 1 hour per day. I am not impressed.
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My Hi-Tek boots with ion-mask are beginning to show signs of cracking and leaking in the cracks after less than a year. I only wear them to walk the dogs for 1 hour per day. I am not impressed.
Update: I have had the boots 11 months, and the uppers of the boots have actually split below the tongue. I'll be taking them back to the shop soon.
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I wonder whether HI-Tec have had quality control issues with the Ion Mask boots. I've read the comments on this thread but they don't accord with my experience. I've been wearing them regularly for over a year in conditions of snow, long wet grass, deep puddles and mud but, despite the leather appearing to be sodden and waterlogged, my feet have always remained bone dry.
I agree with Colm's comment that the design of the tongue needs to be improved.
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