The Sierra Lites have oodles of modern style
Hi-Tec Sierra Lite iWP boots
Country of manufacture: China
Weight: 1,250g/pair (size 9)
Price: £124.99
Colour: grey/black/orange
Material: uppers, Nubuck leather/textile/EVA; sole, rubber
Crampon rating: B0 (not crampon compatible)
grough rating:
Performance 22/35
Comfort 28/35
Quality 6/10
Value for money 13/20
Total score: 69/100
The Sierra Lite WPi is a snazzy boot model, mixing small panels of grey leather with contrasting black EVA and mesh and pale grey fabric sections.
The boots came with gold laces which can be substituted for the black ones
There are big orange detailing sections and the boots even come with a choice of black laces or bright gold ones.
They use Hi-Tec’s V-Lite technology which is aimed at keeping weight down while maintaining durability and the boots are light enough on the foot to make walking in them a pleasure.
The uppers are soft and there is good padding, but there is no locking lace hook which means any control of the bottom part of the lacing has to be accomplished by a tightish knot on the fifth, fabric lace loop.
In practice we found it hard to get a snug lacing around the forefoot without the boot feeling overtightened, and there was a slight tendency for the foot to slip forward slightly when walking downhill.
The boots only come in whole sizes too, so there are not half sizes in the range, which may make an exact fit that bit more difficult.
The Sierra Lites feature a Vibram sole produced specifically for Hi-Tec
The ankle is low and the rear section around the Achilles area is cut even lower, which has produced discomfort in similar models, but the uppers are soft enough not to cause problems unless the Sierra Lite WPi is laced tight at the top, in which case we found the back of the boot pushed into our tendon a little by the end of the walk.
The boots have a similar feel to a pair of trainers, but with a higher ankle section.
The EVA midsole and flexible outsole cushion the foot well from impact on the ground. There is added raised protection at the heel and toe, but the soft uppers won’t offer much protection against rocks so don’t go scree running in them.
The Ortholite 3D Counter Balance insole also has plenty of cushioning so even on hard surfaces the foot doesn’t take a pounding.
There is an antibacterial treatment to the inner lining too to cut down on odour.
The outsole created for Hi-Tec by Vibram has fairly wide-spaced lugs which are not very deep. The pattern has zig-zaggy ridges on part of the toe and heel sections.
The Sierra Lite WPi boots' waterproofing worked well at first but was showing signs of weakness by the end of the test
We found the boot coped well both with traction uphill and braking downhill on mud and wet grass but was less confident on wet stone flags, with some slipping.
The Sierra Lite iWP has no waterproof membrane and so relies on the waterproof properties of its leather and synthetic materials allied to the Ion-Mask treatment.
On initial use, the boots beaded off water nicely and were clearly waterproof, but with repeated use, this beading declined and by the end of our test, there was a hint of water coming through, we suspect at the mesh section on the instep.
So we would suggest users treat the boots as water-resistant rather than fully waterproof. In our experience, very few boots will keep out the water consistently after repeated use.
The Ortholite insoles are as well padded as other parts of the boot
The Hi-Tec Sierra Lite iWP is a very comfortable boot once the footwear has been laced properly, and is well suited to low-level walks on muddy terrain or hard trails. The miles passed and we still had happy feet thanks to the superb cushioning, relatively light weight and soft uppers.
And the boots come with lots of style and street-cred or whatever the countryside equivalent is.
More details of the Sierra Lite iWP are on the Hi-Tec website.
