Walking Boots

Hanwag Tatra II GTX Walking Boot | Review

This well-crafted and sturdy boot comes with a unique leather that’s tanned in a way that involves next to no water wastage and low energy consumption

Why We Chose It: New eco-friendly construction, excellent performance
Price: £235
Weight: 1.52kg (pair)

This is a mountain boot designed for big days out on tricky, technical terrain – think scree slopes in the Alps or a traverse over a boulder-filled landscape. It’s something for when you need solid dependability and protection, but still want to be able to cover long distances comfortably.

Features

The lacing system on the Tatra II is excellent. It features nifty little ball bearings in the lower eyelets that allow the laces to pull in smoothly and evenly, plus there are these cleats that let you lock in the lower half of the boot’s lacing before moving onto the top – that means much greater control over the fit.

The outsole provides an impressive amount of grip. Photo: Chris Johnson

As we’d expect from Hanwag, the materials are all of a very high quality. The upper, for instance, is made from a lovely-looking waxed nubuck leather which has some excellent eco credentials (more on that further down). There’s also got a solid toe bumper and rand to protect the material from getting scuffed and then a gusseted/bellowed tongue which prevents debris from entering the boot.

As for the materials underfoot, the Tatra has a Vibram AW Integral sole with deep tractor-wheel like lugs and a dependable heel brake. Considering this impressively-lugged sole and the boot’s stiffness and durability as a whole, the overall weight isn’t quite as much as you’d think – just 1520g for a pair. So you’re not going to get too worn out by these if you’re wearing them over a long day.

The leather (and your toes) is protection by a solid toe bumper – useful for scrambling. Photo: Chris Johnson

It comes in various different last designs, so all foot shapes are catered for. Photo: Chris Johnson

As well as being available with either a Gore-Tex lining or a hypoallergenic, chrome-free leather one, the Tatra II also comes in a number of different men’s and women’s fits to cater for those with wide feet, narrow feet or even bunions. This is all thanks to the Hanwag boot builders who are able to sculpt each type of boot around a number of specially designed lasts.

We’re pretty sure that it’ll take years and years to wear down the Tatra II’s sole, but even so, it’s not the end of the world if you do as the cemented construction of the sole means it’s easy to replace. Hanwag can even sort that out for you (for a charge).

Eco Credentials

Hanwag have introduced a progressive type of leather with the Tatra II GTX called Terracare Zero. According to the German brand this is high quality cow hide that’s tanned at Heinen in Germany in accordance with strict environmental guidelines and using energy that’s completely Co2 neutral. Leather tanning is notoriously water intensive but with Terracare Zero, 40% water less water is used in the production than the industry standard. Even then, all the water that is used is then cleaned using state-of-the-art technology and returned to the natural water cycle.

There’s also the fact that Hanwag manufacture these so that they can be easily re-soled should the sole happen to wear out. That means, if you look after the leather properly, there’s no reason why these boots couldn’t go on for decades.

Performance

A lot of boot brands will say their products have out-of-the-box comfort but most of the time it isn’t true. With these, however, I found they were genuinely ready to go. There was a bit of the inevitable stiffness but not enough to cause any trouble. They certainly loosened up enough after a good morning of walking anyway.

The sole has a nice bit of sturdiness to it which really helps for any edging while scrambling, it also reliably blocks out any sharp stuff underneath. Hanwag say that the Tatra II shouldn’t be used with crampons but I’d say you’d get away with most C1s here.

One thing I particularly like about the Tatra II is the slight rock that the sole unit produces. That’s something that really helps over the course of long days of hiking, just saving that extra bit of energy. You also get a nice bit of shock absorption under the heel which I’ve been grateful for on some sharp descents.

As you can expect from a Gore-Tex lined boot (non GTX ones are available), the wet weather protection is all there and it does its job well. The boots come with a good water resistant coating but I’d recommend treating the leather with some boot wax every now and then to keep things ship shape.

More info: hanwag.com