I'll start the ball rolling.
I purchased these old Rossi boots 10+ years ago when I used to do a great deal of four-wheel drive touring. In May last year I took up bushwalking and in that 7 months I have walked over 300km (walking most weekends and then walking the Overland Track in December). These boots are getting battered and bruised and hence were ready for replacement. Unlike current Rossi boots, these have a vibram sole. Rossi don't seem to make a good quality bushwalking boot anymore. I was happy with the performance of these, however too many nights close to a roaring campfire in my four-wheel driving days ruined their water resistance. They'll still see a few more walks until I carefully wear in my new boots. These were perhaps one or a half-size too big for me. This meant that my feet slopped around in these unless I wore two pairs of socks and laced them tightly. I've been more careful with selecting a tight-fitting replacement.
You can't see it in this photo, however small holes were worn into the tongue by the laces. The leather of the tongue is not very thick.
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The tread is worn quite thin on the soles. I've had trouble with these not being very grippy on wet/slippery rocks recently.
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Below is a pic of my boots covered in mud after negotiating a mudhole on the Overland Track. This mud was in the valley between Pelion Gap and Kia Ora Hut. We had 3 x half days of dry weather during our 7.5 days on the track. My boots were water-logged from the 2nd day through to the end of the trip. I was able to drain most of the water out each afternoon and then wind-dry them however they were generally damp the next day. It didn't take long for them to fill with water again.
Below are my brand new Scarpa SL M3 boots. I've known for a while that Scarpas have legendary status. I've always preferred full-leather boots so a pair of full-leather scarpas was an obvious choice. I wasn't sure whether I should get two pairs of scarpas. A cheaper pair for daywalks and a more expensive pair for multi-day treks. My reasoning for this is that most of my walking is in on rough trails in the Blue Mountains so I do give my boots a beating. I have been thinking of having a second more expensive pair for multi-day treks. Since these boots were bought at a bargain price I've decided to see how a single pair of boots goes.
The Scarpa SL M3 have a vibram sole and a nice deep grippy tread. Hopefully these will perform much better on wet / slippery rock.
