Also not a really big fan. Have had both the Mountain extremes and Hard scrabble hikers. Both took forever to break in, and frankly never really did after hundreds of miles and years of wear. In other words the sole always seemed too stiff for me. I've got very normal/average feet and they just never felt comfortable to me. YMMV. Now I will say they are tough as nails, however after 8 years the soles and rands on my Hard scrabbles have started to delaminate from the boot... and they are sort of heavy and on the expensive side. I don't wear either of them anymore anyway. Now with that being said, I know a lot of guys who have them and swear by them. It really just comes down to the individual. I now wear Solomon quest 4D or Asollo in the early to mid season, then move to my Kenetrek Grizzly packers for late season. I love the Grizzlies, I can hike all day long in them and pack heavy loads in rough terrain. Boots are like women, sometimes you've just gotta drop the coin and wear them out too find out if they are right for you!
