Walking Boots

Zamberlan 1000 Baltoro GTX Walking Boots | Review

If you enjoy hiking on challenging scree and scrambling across rocky terrain, you'll love the Baltoro GTX

Zamberlan have done the double this year, making it into both our Summer and Winter Outdoor 100s.

The summer item was a beautiful looking mid cut and lightweight leather boot called the Zamberlan Fell Lite GTX. This winter pick, the Zamberlan 1000 Baltoro GTX, is something a bit more technical.

It’s a boot designed for demanding hiking, so think scaling scree slopes in the Alps or taking on a multi-day hike across the rocky climbs and scrambles of Snowdonia. For that kind of stuff, you want something that is strong, slightly stiff-soled, reliable, yet also lightweight, and this ticks all of those boxes.

Most of the upper, which extends quite high up the ankle, is made from a 2.6-2.8mm-hick quality Perwanger leather. There’s also extra reinforcement in certain parts, most notably with a PU rubber rand on the toe and back of the heel and then solid Cordura overlays around the outside of the ankle.

“Zamberlan is a family-run brand that’s been making boots in the foothills of the Dolomites for 89 years.”

Lining the upper is a waterproof membrane by Gore-Tex, called Performance Comfort. It’s a particular type of Gore-Tex that’s optimised to give protection in moderate weather conditions while also offering high breathability.

These materials used on the Baltoro’s upper combine to make it best-suited to three-season use in terms of warmth, but it should still be suitable for winter hillwalking in the UK when the conditions aren’t at their most extreme.

Most of the upper, which extends quite high up the ankle, is made from quality Perwanger leather. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The extra reinforcements on the toe and the heel, made of PU rubber, will shield you from all manner of debris. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The Baltoro upper has a Gore-Tex lining that's breathable, and will protect you in a bad weather. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The perfect boot for scaling Alpine scree and scrambling in Snowdonia. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Similarly, the sole is designed to be able to take a crampon, but only a semi-automatic one. The idea is that you might wear this in cold conditions where there might be some snow patches to traverse, but not when you’re climbing a fully snow-coated peak.

The sole itself combines a dual-density PU foam midsole with a grippy Vibram Mulaz EVO outsole that has a slight heel step for extra grip. If this outsole ever wears out then it can be fully removed and replaced by a new one. It should be a good few years before this is necessary though as Zamberlan have a good reputation for the quality of their materials, as you’d expect from a family-run brand that’s been making boots in the foothills of the Dolomites for 89 years.