Oboz Bridger Ridge Mid GTX is a light-weight, waterproof climbing boot that gives glorious foot safety on rugged trails. Good for backpacking, peakbagging, and off-trail use, these boots have loads of toe, aspect, and heel safety to your ft and ankles. Additionally they require just about no break-in time and are wearable out of the field. They’re obtainable in males’s and ladies’s sizes, however huge widths usually are not obtainable.
- Gender: Males’s (Ladies’s additionally obtainable)
- Kind: Mid-Top Climbing Boot
- Weight: 3lb 2.6 oz / pair in males’s 10.5US
- Drop: 8 mm
- Lug measurement: 5 mm
- Waterproofing: Gore-Tex
- Match: True to measurement
- Execs: Nice toe and heel safety, huge toe field, high-quality insole
- Cons: No huge widths obtainable
The Oboz Bridger Ridge GTX is a burly, waterproof climbing boot with Nubuck leather-based uppers and a Gore-Tex waterproof/breathable membrane. That is the primary Oboz product to make use of a Gore-Tex membrane; they used their proprietary knockoff earlier than this.
Wrapping across the toe areas are 3D molded TPU caps to guard your toes and toenails should you kick and stumble over rocks. This is without doubt one of the first options I search for when evaluating climbing boots as a result of I seldom take a look at my ft when climbing (I look forward), and the additional toe safety is useful on rougher trails. The heels even have inflexible TPU heel caps that forestall pronation and promote stability.
The inside of the boots is huge within the toe field, with loads of room to splay out your toes, however narrower within the heel to lock your foot in place and stop heel carry, which may trigger blisters. The Bridger Ridge GTX additionally contains the Oboz Path Insole. This insole is designed for lengthy day hikes and backpacking excursions. It options closed-cell PU, offering sturdy cushioning and assist. Whereas a lot of the insoles that climbing shoe corporations embody of their footwear are crappy foam, Oboz insoles are so good you can buy them individually, at REI, side-to-side with others from SuperFeet and Sole.
The collar of the Bridger Ridge GTX stands at 6.5 inches excessive and options reminiscence foam that adapts to the wearer for additional consolation. The identical foam can be used contained in the boot’s heel space to lock within the heel.
The EVA foam midsole offers a excessive stage of power return. A 3D molded TPU Path Chassis between the midsole and outsole provides torsional stability whereas additionally offering underfoot safety, very similar to a rock plate on a path runner. The soles have an arch so you possibly can put on them with a gaiter, however they don’t have a gaiter ring, so that you’ll need gaiters that may hook over your laces. The forefoot is barely rockered (curved), which makes the boots simpler to hike in, however the heel is flat for elevated stability.
Comparable mid-height climbing boots
Suggestion
The Oboz Bridge Ridge Mid GTX is an efficient choice should you’re searching for a light-weight and waterproof/breathable mid-height boot that emphasizes foot safety and stability with out being as heavy or heat as a full-blown leather-based climbing boot. They’re additionally surprisingly light-weight and agile (though different mids are even lighter weight) and require minimal break-in time to get rid of sizzling spots underneath the tongue and across the higher cuff. These boots run true to measurement, however usually are not obtainable in huge widths.
Disclosure: Oboz donated boots for this overview.
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