Trail Testers

On the Hill - On the Web

Here is our review of the Zamberlan Vioz 996GT leather walking boots.

From the moment you take the boots out of the box,, it is clear that they are a straightforward, well made, classic leather Italian walking boot.

They are made of full grain Italian Hydrobloc® leather and come in traditional brown, or black, with contrasting red and black laces and just a hint of colour in the grippy Vibram soles. All in all a very smart package.

As I padded around the office, working the new leather to suit my feet, I found the left boot immediately comfortable, but the right one took a few weeks to become completely comfortable. If I had been buying the boots, I would probably have gone for a half size larger.

Once my feet and these excellent boots had become friends, we began to walk many miles in the hills in conditions ranging from hot sunny days to cold miserable ones saturated by heavy downpours.

The Vioz 996GT took these varying conditions in their stride, keeping my feet comfortable and blister free on the hot days and warm and dry on the wet days. The Gore-Tex liner works very well indeed and throughout months of testing the boots have not required re-proofing.

On one long hike with my pack fully loaded the boots coped well over moorland and loose rock. After one very wet day, I was pleasantly surprised when I took my boots off in the tent to find my socks completely dry.

Zamberlan Vioz 996GT Walking Boots

SRP £155 Men’s and Womens Sizes.

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Zamberlan Vioz 996GT Review

Trail Testers Recommended 98%

Zamberlan Web Page

The Zamberlan Vioz 996GT performed well on long hikes in the hills. The Gore-Tex waterproof membrane kept my feet dry in long grass and when crossing streams.

Within a few weeks of the start of the test one of the laces broke

The Vibram sole has bags of grip

A few weeks into the test, I was thinking that these boots were nigh on perfect when one of the laces snapped! I always carry a spare lace, so no worries, but the small lace holes meant it was difficult threading my bog standard lace.

Zamberlan Vioz 996GT

Perhaps it would be worthwhile carrying a spare pair of the correct Zamberlan laces in your pack as they weigh next to nothing. I always carry spare laces in my repair kit , in any case and it is surprising how useful boot laces can be around camp.

My test pair of boots, size 10, weigh 1.765 kg which is about average for leather 3 season walking boots.

They are available in men’s and women’s styles and a comprehensive range of sizes to suit most feet.

Sometimes at the end of a walk you just want to pile in the car, have a cup of tea and drive home. Well, these boots are so flexible that I find them comfortable to drive both my four wheeler and the estate car.

It’s a pity about the laces, but really the boots themselves are the bees knees. Dawn Smith - Ed.