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 on your toes and ankles. Additionally they require nearly no break-in time and are wearable out of the field. They’re out there in males’s and girls’s sizes, however huge widths are usually not out there.
- Gender: Males’s (Girls’s additionally out there)
- Sort: Mid-Top Mountaineering Boot
- Weight: 3lb 2.6 oz / pair in males’s 10.5US
- Drop: 8 mm
- Lug dimension: 5 mm
- Waterproofing: Gore-Tex
- Match: True to dimension
- Execs: Nice toe and heel safety, huge toe field, high-quality insole
- Cons: No huge widths out there
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 when 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 toes when climbing (I look forward), and the additional toe safety turns out to be useful on rougher trails. The heels even have inflexible TPU heel caps that stop 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 forestall heel raise, 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 many of the insoles that climbing shoe corporations embrace of their footwear are crappy foam, Oboz insoles are so good which 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 further consolation. The identical foam can be used contained in the boot’s heel space to lock within the heel.
The EVA foam midsole gives 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 like a rock plate on a path runner. The soles have an arch so you’ll be able to 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 effective possibility when 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 dimension, however are usually not out there in huge widths.
Disclosure: Oboz donated boots for this evaluate.
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