Garmont Zenith Mid GTX Hiking Boot

Garmont builds a couple of different models in their Zenith category. And today we're going to look at the Zenith Mid GTX. The construction of the Zenith Mid GTX is leather and mesh upper and there's also a full GORE-TEX membrane in here. So the shoe is completely waterproof and you're going to find that the breathability works exceptionally well with this design because of these mesh panels frequenting most of the shoe so you've got a lot of opportunities for moisture vapor to pass outside the shoe keeping your foot cool and comfortable. On the bottom of the shoe, you've got a couple different bits of material here to help with support and protection underfoot. You've got an EVA core that's going to allow some cushioning. You also have a TPU spine under here so that's offering a lot of structure to the bottom of the shoe as well as flexibility so it's going to be comfortable to wear. On the very bottom of the shoe you've got a Vibram out sole and you'll see that the lugs here are blocked and set at an angle where they're going to offer exceptional breaking and tracking on loose surfaces. So let's talk about the wonderful fit on the Zenith Mid GTX here. Garmont does some interesting things with their fit and it's a fairly unique system. It's called an Anatomical Directed Design and that means that there are overall designs to this boot, some of them are very slight, that work with the natural asymmetry of the foot and what I'm talking about is your foot on the outer side is going to be a lower volume than your foot on the inside. So you notice that Garmont has this lacing slightly offset just to work with those angles of the foot a bit better to offer a better fit. You can also take a look at it here in the ankle cuff of the boot where this inner side is a little bit higher. It's also has some thicker padding on it versus the outside where you’re going to see a bit of a notch cut there to work with the bones on the outside of the ankle. And a little bit thinner to reduce some of the rubbing that happens there. Some other nice features in the construction of this shoe are the full metal eyelets on this shoe. You've got a nylon piece here at the bottom to keep that flat and to keep sticks and stuff from really catching there on the toe. But you've got full metal eyelets that have really held together well in a very bomb-proof durable design on the lacing system. So the combination of features underfoot here as well as the upper design of the shoe is going to make it a great day hiker and it's also going to excel at backpacking. You've got enough protection underfoot and structure throughout the boot to support someone's foot with the weight of a pack on their back. So I would take it out for a multi-day trip or just a casual day hike.