Hi-Tec Walking Boots

Looked good, decent price, and gave room for toes where other boots were narrow. Unfortunately after breaking them in on low level walks, my wife used them to walk up Ben Nevis. Once at the top the weather came in (when does it not!?), and the journey back down was an absolute nightmare. She slipped dozens of times, despite being extra careful and using double walking poles. One particularly bad one saw her standing foot disappear from under her causing her to land hard on her back, could have been a Mountain Rescue scenario if we weren't very lucky with how she landed. I couldn't believe a rock could be so slippy, so tried hopping on one foot on the rock she slipped on in my twenty year old, worn out Scarpas, and they didn't slip a centimetre, so draw your own conclusion about the safety of these things. We won't be buying hi-tec again.

Not at all water proof, even though label state “waterproof”

Rubbish assembly in that the sole detached from the shoe, after wearing a few times.

No a good buy even for the small price

I bought a pair of allegedly waterproog Hi- Tec boots. They even had 'waterproof' written on them. They were not remotely waterproof. On their first outing they were soaked through after a few minutes walking on damp grass.

I complained to Hi- Tec. In effect thery told me to get lost.

2 different pair of boots, both lasted under 1 week before falling apart ant glue and stitching. hoeeibly, chinese made garbage.

Bought them in the Summer, as soon as the Wet Weather came I had wet Feet, now the soles ar E coming off.

Dreadful quality,, so any review that tells you otherwise has been paid for.

Avoid at all costs.

Spoken with customer service, all polite when concern on web, in action from company, just appauling service. Sent my boots back with paperwork, they admitted lost paperwork, all information on several emails to the company, but could not be even appear bothered in reading, just an another form to fill. Very annoyed, bought a second pair in the meantime, error on mysids, only worn these 4 weeks, the same fault on the uppers as before. Hi tec are just cheap inferior products sadly, save your money.

My HiTec boots basically disintegrated. HiTec weren't interested and told me to go back to the shop. HiTec have no complaints procedure or quality department. They might be a bit cheaper than other brands but you get what you pay for AVOID HITEC

The uppers are reasonably comfortable but because I have a healthy, wide toe area my toes get cramped and right now I have a blister from the toenail of one toe rubbing against another. I see there is a wide foot option but was not available to me where I live.

The huge downfall with Hi Tec is the outer sole, it appears to me to be more of a plastic than a rubber. The MDT technology used is about the tread of the sole rather than the material. The MDT soles are recommended for tramping and in fact MDT appears to be the only type of outer sole now available from Hi Tec. Well this tramper is not impressed. Yes there is grip on forest paths but put wet boot to dry rock and the squeak is tooth-jarring. Put wet boot to wet rock, especially if there is even the slightest algal film, and balance is undermined, there is potential for sprains, bone-breaks, or worse. The same applies to wet roots in the forest and climbing up slippery banks. I have worn out a pair of Blundstones (NZ-made) not even recommended for tramping but their grip gave me confidence when going over slippery country, and my hard-wearing crocs have fabulous grip in the wet, I have nil confidence in my Hi Tecs.

I was trying to get Hi Tecs with the Vibram outer sole but Hi Tec appears to have withdrawn that option. Hi Tec website mentions the MDT technology of the soles but not the material the boots are made of, I consider that these shoddy soles may be the reason Hi Tec can keep its prices low. Hi Tec can do better than use a highly plastic rather than grippy rubber outer sole. C'mon Hi Tec make a proper tramping outer sole.

I bought two pairs of Altitude boots at the same time two years ago (September 2017 at the time of writing) in the UK after being a very satisfied user of Hi-Tec walking boots over the last 10 to 15 years. The last pair (leather) was used in both the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and found to be very robust, comfortable and satisfactory, until they sadly wore out. One of the newly purchased pairs were left in the UK whilst the other pair was taken to Australia, where I reside, for use there.

Both pairs have been used roughly the same amount (the UK pair being used no more than 4 months of the year during the Summer months) with both the care and maintenance carried out regularly and pretty much identically on both pairs over this period, ensuring the suppleness of the leather was maintained.

The pair in Australia have performed as I have expected and been used to from past experiences and I have no issues with that pair at all. However, the pair in the UK have been found to be very poorly made and substandard in quality. The rubber soles on both boots were found to have parted from the leather at the toes and the two parts of the leather sole (midsole & outsole) have also found to have parted, again, on both. Whilst this is bad enough, the leather has also cracked and split at the creases near the toes on both boots and it will not be too long before holes appear.

I contacted Hi-Tec for some advice and to see what they would advise regarding the substandard quality they had supplied. It came as somewhat of a shock and some disappointment to be fobbed off by the Hi-Tec rep with a very offhand response that they have just been sold to to a company in Holland. It was now their problem and not Hi-Tec UK. She had no interest in helping out nor providing any further assistance, what-so-ever. Even though the boots were bought in the UK from Hi-Tec UK, their commitment to the customer ended once they were allegedly sold to the Dutch company. My problem.....not theirs!

Sadly, on the back of this atrocious customer service, I find that I would never buy any further products from Hi-Tec either now nor in the future; something I am very disappointed about given the high quality of product I have purchased in the past. In addition, I would NOT recommend Hi-Tec to anyone, either now nor in the future. All very sad and unnecessary.

There is plenty of competition out there for people's hard earned money; be very careful with Hi-Tec, they're happy to take the money and then to treat the customer with total contempt when a shoddy product is supplied.

My wife bought a pair of hi tec walking boots about 11years ago and raved about them comfortable and dry lasted her nearly 10years Time came for some new ones so back for a pair of hi rec v lite waterproof walking boots 18months later after the garantee had run out she came home her feet soaking wet the soles of both boots had started to come away from the uppers and the leather had started to perish on the instep of the right boot After several conversations with Tog 24 where she bought them from nothing could be done because the guarantee had ran out so she has taken them to menders to see if she can salvage them Needless to say she won't be buying any more of hi tec gear