Swiss brand Raichle may make the best boots that you've never really heard much about. Here's our first look at their fabric-based mountain walking boot.
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Raichle Mountain Guide GTX -
First Look
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Price:
£110.00
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Weight: 1602 grammes (pair size
43)
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Features:3-season
mountain walking boot with 2mm split leather and Cordura
uppers with Gore-Tex waterproof / breathable liner,
asymmetric tongue with speed lacing, Vibram sole with nylon
shank using Raichle's Rolling II Interface System. Also
available in women's specific version.
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Great comfort with supportive sole unit.
Some may find them too stiff and a little heavy for a
'fabric' boot.
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The Concept Swiss company Raichle is gradually building a
reputation for high quality, comfortable boots in the UK - we've had
a lot of feedback from OMers who've been very impressed with the
brand.
The Mountain Guide GTX is part of their 'backpacking' range and
intended to be used on and off trail in mountain areas and be capable
of coping with medium to heavy packs along the way. The suede /
Cordura upper is, we reckon, intended to up the comfort while
dropping weight slightly over a full leather upper.
That might not sound extraordinary, but generally fabric boots are
aimed a the lighter, more flexible end of the boot market, while the
Mountain Guide GTX is intended to give more substantial support. The
only similar boot we can think of offhand would be the Scarpa
Supertrek, though that has , if anything, a slightly more flexi
construction.
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Gore-Tex liner good in the wet,
not so clever in steaming
hot conditions when things can get
sweaty
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Features Boots are pretty visceral things - if they're
comfortable and stable, you're happy, if they're not, your day is
ruined. Raichle has put a load of technology into trying to get it
right. The sole unit, for example, uses something called the
Rolling II Interface System. It's a four-part
sole unit which different densities of PU cushioning material to put
firm cushioning where you need it, and softer cushioning in other
ways so that the end result is a stable foot with a natural walking
gait.
It's the sort of result that running shoe
manufacturers have been building into stability shoes for years and
it's good to see a boot manufacturer taking the same principles on
board and, for example, limiting the way the foot rolls inwards while
walking, which can cause all sorts of problems. Look at the picture
of the sole unit and you can see a ribbon of light-coloured material
running the length of the sole, it's stiffer and part of the Rolling
II design.
They've thought about the upper too, the
tongue - like your feet - is asymmetrical and the inner, with its
waterproof Gore-Tex liner is generously foam padded for comfort out
of the box.
In Action It's early days, but the Mountain Guide has really
impressed us so far. Build quality looks and feels great and there's
instant comfort from the flexible, padded uppers. We'd say that fit
is medium volume, so if you find your feet swimming around in
Scarpa's Supertrek, these could be a better choice.
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Vibram sole unit forms part of
Rolling II sole system - aim is combination of support
and naturally rolling walking gate with less rolling and
pronation
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Out of the box, the sole unit has fantastic torsional rigidity and
hardly twists sideways at all, while there's also good longitudinal
stiffness. We'd expect both to soften up a little with sustained use,
but still give more than enough support to cope with rocky ground and
big packs. In fact, so far, they're the most supportive fabric boot
we've used so far, with the sort of underfoot support we'd normally
expect from full leathers.
That makes them a great all round mountain walking boot and while
they're not as feathery as some of the latest ultra-lightweight
boots, the pay off is in increased support and they're still
reasonably light with it.
As far as the effect of the Rolling II gubbins, well, all we can
say is that the Guides were a comfortable ride and even pretty
cushioned on harder ground thanks to the PU mid-sole. The Vibram
outer gave good grip as well in a classically low key Vibram sort of
way.
Misgivings? Very few. We'd like to see a locking eyelet at the top
of the forefoot to allow the ankle to be laced more loosely than the
rest of the foot according to taste and, as usual, in hot weather,
the Gore-Tex membrane can get a little warm, but that's about it
really.
So far the Mountain Guide GTX has been spot on - great support and
stability, good comfort and excellent build quality. We like detailed
touches like the asymmetric tongue construction and reckon they're an
excellent all round mountain walking and trekking boot. Should make a
lot of feet very happy.
Know more or want to?
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out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If
you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
