Brian,

Very clear counterpoint. Feel free to add it as a comment to the article if you like.

Let me just address the combat boots as they are the clear winner of the three for me. I would not recommend the Mountain Lights except as a nostalgia thing. The Red Wings would be out for most people because of the weight.

If it were simple physics, adding a pound to boots would lose. However, it's not just the weight, but the platform the foot is on. Where a shoe might rotate a little, the boot will not. The soles are also specially designed to transfer energy from each step to the next step. This isn't felt so much in a steep uphill climb, but it is very noticable everywhere else.

My personal study on efficiency is based on average speed on the same trail using boots vs. shoes. I'm faster in the combat boots.

Designing a study would be very difficult. One might work well for one day and not for a 30 day hike. You would also have to get experienced hikers with no biases. Yet there was such a study done. In Afghanistan. Soldiers are now able to choose from many styles of boots. They aren't supposed to, but they also choose from low top boots. I went to the Military Clothing Sales store at Fort Carson and spent about an hour talking to soldiers. The Danner was the clear winner. According to the manager, it was the one bought most often by solders deploying. Asolo was next. Then there is a Converse sneaker boot. To save money, the Army doesn't issue the boot the soldiers actually want to use.

The hour drying time came from reviews on Amazon and talking to soldiers. When I ford a stream lower than the tops, there is very little absorbtion of water, so there is no drying needed. Nothing comes through. To test that, I guess a person would have to weigh the boot and socks. Put them in water until soaked. And then see how long it took the weight to come back to the original. Maybe I'll do that this week.

The combat boots are not hardboiled leather. Think of a feel more like a deerskin moccasin. They don't assault the feet like a hard leather. They don't support the feet like a good hiking shoe. They caress the feet.

There is nothing that feels so good as taking off a pair of hard boots at the end of the day. The Mountain Lights get that, but I leave the combat boots on.

You summarize having the old experience very well by focusing on this sentence: "You said "It was not until I started wearing boots that my feet became completely comfortable." It is the instant rejection of this statement by people who have used old boots that I would like to dispell. Not to convince someone who is already comfortable. But to offer an option to those who are not.

Interesting point on the blisters. I've never had one except on my palms. So I don't know. (From raking grass. What were you thinking?)

I'm not really trying to convince anyone to go back. It's just another option for those who might not have considered it.