I've just started wearing the great new Hi-Tec Para boot and wanted to report on them.
http://www.hi-tec.com/gl/parabootThe combat boots I've worn for several years weren't cutting it. They weren't waterproof, took too long to put on, and the side-zip access was always jamming with mud. I wore a pair of Muck Boots but decided that they were too heavy for climbing on rope and for the TAG hikes of a mile or so with 500' or more elevation gains while carrying 20 lbs of rope and gear.
The Para is basically a full-rubber Wellington, waterproof all the way up, that somehow feels like a hiking boot. They're just being introduced into the U.S. market, and I found them on Amazon for $85 (for some reason, different Amazon retailers sell them as high as $135, but one of the stores on Amazon sells it for $85.) Has a Vibram sole with a really aggressive tread that has given great traction. In a trip to the back half of The Gouffre the treads were full of really sticky mud, but it handled the mud mountain up to the Motis Room without any slipping, and I had no trouble climbing breakdown piles afterwards even with the treads full of mud.
It doesn't have laces, just a pull-tight fastener, which means that the size is a little flexible: I usually wear a 10.5 shoe and bought the size 10 Paras, and the fit is perfect, not loose in any way. The rubber material (neoprene-lined inside) is bulletproof (well, cave-proof, anyway) and after about four long trips it's taken no scuffs. Looks brand-new after I hose the mud off each trip. They work great on rope too, my Pantin ascender fits well on my left boot and the right was easy to slip into my foot loop.
The ankle is a bit lower than I wish it was and I wonder if I'm more likely to twist my ankle without a high boot, but except for that, it's so much better than my old boots in every other way. Now that I can splash through shallow streams without a second thought, I wonder why it took me so long to buy a waterproof boot.
Joel Silverman
Atlanta