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.