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I finally think I have enough miles and abuse on my Bora 2 Mid Leather GTX Hiking boots from Arc'teryx to give them a good initial review.
I have done quite a few hikes in these boots, mostly day hikes at this time though. I unfortunately bought them after my week-long trip on the HIgh Sierra Trail.
The two most recent hikes I completed in these boots were Angels Landing and The Narrows in Zion National Park.
So there are plenty of hiking boots out there on the market what do these Arc'teryx boots have that separate them from the rest? For starters, there are two parts! The picture above shows the entire boot system. There is an inner liner to the boot which goes inside the rugged exterior:
What's cool about this? It's like a sock! But not. I still wear boot socks in these liners while in the boots, the liner is not that soft. But what's cool is they come out, and are swappable which lead to a number of options and configurations.
Arc'teryx sells another liner that's made for winter hiking and is much more insulated. Therefore you can buy the other liner, which is a bit cheaper than a second pair of boots and your boots are now capable of working in multiple climates.
Swapping out out the liner for a more insulated liner is not the only plus of these boots though. When I am hiking in the boots all day and then end up camping, I can wear the liners by themselves out of the rugged exterior as a soft camp shoe. The liners a pretty puncture resistant and make a great comfy camp slipper for light comfy breathable wear at camp, when you are sick of your stiff boots.
The last great part I have realized with the removable liner is that after a wet hike, removing them helps the boots dry quicker. This was much needed after hiking through the Virgin River on the Zion Narrows hike.
In the future, I plan on buying a second pair of the regular gortex liners. This way if I get a pair wet, I can take them out and place the dry one in and be ready to hike with dry feet instantly!
These boots are not cheap, they are advertised on the Arc'teryx website for $350, but I have zero complaints and I have received zero blisters so far. I will point out, I have pretty tough feet, and do not get usually get a lot of blisters. In the end, if I have to give these boots a thumbs up or thumbs down, they will earn an overwhelming thumbs up!