Rating: August 2003
After having had a very bad experience with Scarpa Invernos in 2002, I had grown more cautious in regards to synthetic mountaineering boots. Previously I had owned and liked the Koflach Viva Soft model, but this boot was discontinued in the late 90’s, so I have not been able to find any after my last pair wore out. This being said, I was reluctant to shell out serious money for a pair of boots that may or may not work with my very flat feet. Yet I have had my experience with leather in sheep country, and I still prefer the tough synthetics when the country turns nasty. The Koflach Degre reviews I read gave me the impression that they basically filled the slot that the Viva Soft’s once held so I purchased a brand new pair on eBay for under $200, and I loved them. I thought they were much more comfortable on my flat feet than even the Viva Softs and they gave me no blisters at all, although I did get a few blisters on the bottom ball portion of each foot, and the bottom of each big toe while wearing my Vasque Sojourn leathers for the first couple of days of sheep hunting. The Degres fit my my feet (size 12 and flat) like a glove with the added Sorbothane insole, but they actually felt pretty good without any additional insole, but the extra close fit helped to prevent any blisters for me, and the extra cushion came in handy when packing a heavy load back to the take out point. There is a rubber rand around the toe of the boot that began to peel within a couple of days in the really bad scree, but epoxy can easily fix this and it was more cosmetic than anything. Once again the Koflach’s cut into the slope beautifully, where the Vasque leathers had broke loose on me days earlier and sent me sliding furiously downhill, causing me to lose my rifle, and giving me the scare of the year! All in all, the Degres appear soft enough that I received no shin bang, and no blisters, but they were certainly stiff enough to provide great ankle support and protection form sharp rocks, and great control and cutting ability when sidehilling on nasty stuff. I had a short season, so I can’t judge them on longevity, like I could if I had hunted for 40 days, but I am looking to pick up another pair as soon as I can get a deal on ebay. They are the best I have had on my feet period, at least for sheep hunting folks! I will rate them a solid 5, with my only complaint being the rubber rand coming loose as I had read in other reviews, and I don’t feel this is enough to downgrade them.
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