I bought these boots for a Dall sheep hunt in AK this fall. Last week I took them for a test run doing 88 miles of the Nantahalas in 6.5 days. The boots were very comfortable and extremely stable over loose terrain. I was on the trail when the rains which hit Nashville rolled through the area. Traction on wet rocks and mud was also excellent. No problems with waterproofing in the wet conditions either. I'd rank these boots very high for heavy duty alpine conditions, but they are overkill or general backpacking due to the weight.