Product Review: Crispi Monaco GTX

With all the low-priced crap emanating out of China, sourcing high quality hiking boots is not as easy as it once was. People incorrectly assume they're saving money by buying the same cheap boot over and over again rather than spending two or three times as much for a boot that needs replaced one quarter as often and doesn't fail at the worst possible time. The result is that good boot makers can no longer compete and so now we have fewer of them.

Vasque used to be a go-to brand for good quality, U.S. made footwear, however they have long ago outsourced their manufacturing and so now their boots are total garbage. I ought to know because i made the mistake of buying a pair of so-called "light hikers" from Vasque that you'd never ever want to hike in and which started falling apart within months after wearing them almost exclusively indoors. Merrell is another popular brand that is every bit as crappy as any of the other Chinese boots. In short, if it says "Made in China", avoid it.

Crispi is an Italian boot maker and those Italians have a very long history of making some damn fine boots, including the more recent Monaco which this article addresses. At nearly $300 U.S. for the less expensive model, it is certainly not cheap, but i've had one pair for roughly 7 years as of this writing and i expect them to last several more. I was impressed enough with the boot that i bought a 2nd pair in the event Crispi decides to stop making them.

The Monaco is a true light hiker that is exceedingly comfortable right out of the box and well suited for everyday, casual use, plus they look good. As i alluded to, there are currently two models available, the cheaper of which uses a bonded midsole while the more expensive model is constructed using a Goodyear welt where the sole is stitched to the midsole as seen here with the Monaco Premium:

The price difference between the Monaco GTX and its Premium brother used to be close to $100, but as of this writing the price of the GTX has been increased to nearly match that of the Premium model, so if you're in the market, i might possibly suggest going with the latter, though after 7 years there has been no delamination of the soles as there often seems to be with boots having an injection molded mid-sole, such as this model pictured below.

I have two complaints with the Monaco, the first being that the heel pocket is a bit to wide, however given i have a narrow heel, this is an issue with pretty much every boot i've owned. The second complaint is the sole. Although Crispi is using a Vibram brand rubber sole, the compound is kind of soft and that, combined with a rather shallow tread depth, means that the sole doesn't last as long as i'd like. Due to their construction however, these boots can be resoled while the cheap molded soles on Chinese boots cannot, not that you'd ever want to. I haven't yet worn out the soles, but the soles on my older pair are getting pretty thin.

In summary, the Crispi Monaco boots are a very worthwhile purchase in my opinion. In comparison, the Merrell Moab is around $150 at this time and it is vastly inferior to the Monaco in every way. I once had a pair and they started falling apart within weeks, but if even if we assume they lasted a full 2 years, i would have forked out $525 clams over the last 7 years compared to one expenditure of about $300 for the Monaco, and the same is true for probably all of the other Chinese brands.

If Crispi's boots don't blow your skirt up, try one of these other Italian brands or one of these U.S. brands.

Buy smart. Buy once.