Hiking Boot advice needed

I am SUPER picky about foot ware as I only have 1 foot.. The other is a prosthetic.. I have found that Columbia boots seem to be the best fitting for me.. I have 2 prs of the ones the op has posted in the beginning of this thread.. There is NO such thing as a 1 boot fits all.. I have tried Merrel and KEEN but not for me.. Also if ya find what fits for you and can wear them around in the store for a while all the better.. When I try on boots in the store I walk around for as long as I can to determine what is good and what aint.. JMO!!! John
 
I have had many hiking boots over the years. Most of them wear out too quickly in my opinion. Boots have gone high performance which shortens their longevity. Like running shoes they perform great but over a short period of time and need to be replaced. Limmer out of New Hampshire is going to be my next purchase. They are one of the few boots that can have new soles sewn on. They are old school stiff boots and take a long time to break in. Their light hikers fit my style. However, they are expensive compared to other boots on the market.
 
Thanks guys, this was a very informative thread and while I might have tossed the most important info. I hope I made the right decision for a day hiker that I can also wear from time to time for work! Some of your suggestions were a little out of my price range and after checking out quite a few of the fabric models I just couldn't turn away from the all leather uppers with the metal eyelets opposed to the fabric eyelets, I narrowed it down to the Merrell Moad Mid Rover and the Keen Briggs Mid WP with the Merrells being the best fit of the more than five pairs I tried on. I guess I chose durability and functionality over breathability, hope I made the right decision for a day hiker!
 
I'm partial to Merril Moab ventilators with a Sole heat moldable insert. I don't like the waterproof ones as they just can't pass the water vapor required and my feet end up swampy when it's dry and absolutely water logged when it's wet. Don't overlook socks. For me the Darn Tough and Smartwool PhD are nice in 1/4 length.

Here's what I looked like going through Great Smoky Mtn National Park:

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I just don't get a very long life out of Merrell Moabs. Had two consecutive pair. Great while they lasted but I got low miles out of them. Then went to a pair of Vasque, but even their wides proved too narrow for my feet. After ten months I returned them to REI in exchange for a pair of Keen. It's the long downhill slogs that prove to me if a boot truly fits properly. I'll still pick up another pair of Merrell Moabs when the store around the corner significantly drops their price the week before Christmas and go back to buying as new pair there every December.

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Walk around the store and make sure to try the incline test to make sure that your feet do not slide forward while going downhill. Downhill is where most people do damage to their feet and that is where a proper fitting boot will really shine.
Exactly.

And make sure the store/vendor has an excellent return policy as you'll truly not know how will the boots fit until you do a long downhill after your feet have swollen a bit. With boots I cannot stress the return policy enough.
 
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