I see NRS has redesigned their Boundary Boot for 2020. Does anyone have a pair or tried on a pair yet? Would love to get some input on them. Might buy a pair for this season.

I have an older pair of these boots and I can see they improved in the ankle support area but not in the sole area. I ware mine when i trip in May and late in the season and they work OK but I try to be very careful when portaging when stepping on sharp rocks, The soles are very thin and I can feel everything through them.

When the water warms up a bit I switch to jungle boots for support and protection.

Here's the link to the boots. They look like a good product.

I have last years model, and have used them in the BWCA this past fall and Antarctica. I like them not sure if the single Hooke and Loop over the arch of last years model or this years lacing system will be better over time,

I just received a new version, yesterday. Bought from Amazon, since REI was out of my size.
Since I haven’t worn them yet, no report about comfort available. Glad to answer any questions about product.

REI currently has them on sale for $75

UPBoy: "I have an older pair of these boots and I can see they improved in the ankle support area but not in the sole area. I wear mine when I trip in May and late in the season and they work OK, but I try to be very careful when portaging when stepping on sharp rocks. The soles are very thin and I can feel everything through them."

This matches my experience as well. In addition, my feet sweat so much in the neoprene that I still got soaked socks even if I did avoid stepping into deep water!

If I want dry feet, mostly shoulder season trips, I use Chota Hippies and bring extra socks to deal with the perspiration caused dampness. But most of the time, I just wet foot it.

I am normally a wet footer. My current trail shoes are Columbia drainmakers.
I like them fine. Good drainage and traction. But the thing that drives me nuts is the amount of debris and pebbles that get in the shoe due to their low cut. Never fails half way through a portage I'm wishing I would have stopped and cleared my shoes out. The new version of these NRS boots looks to have a little more substantial sole on them. The lack of ankle support won't bother me. But the sweating might. Not a big fan of muck boots for that reason. Got a pair for ice fishing, but my feet always end up cold cause of the sweating. For the price these seemed worth a try.

Derrski: "REI currently has them on sale for $75"

NRS, themselves, has them on sale for $80, too.

My wife hàs their Boundary Shoe, which is a little different, but she loves it. If I didn't have Hippies, I'd look into these boots for dry foot options.

Thanks (or curses!) for bringing these to my attention. They might serve my needs for getting into and out of a kayak in cold water for early season trips. I will probably still use my Astral shoes in warmer weather, but I needed something for a lake trout trip around fishing opener, and for fishing kayak use around the TC from now until early June. I have a pair on the way from NRS to see if they will fit the bill... will report back with thoughts.

Well after realizing I had a dividend at REI to spend and they were on sale. I went ahead and ordered them. Got them yesterday. So far they seem promising! They are very comfortable. They almost feel like a slipper. Now for most people they may be too minimal. I prefer my shoes that way. The sole seems pretty thick and dense. The rest of the boot not so much. It’s pretty much a neoprene sock with some rubber padding on the main rub spots. Ones foot could take a beating if foot placement isn’t being carefully considered while in slippery rocky areas. I’m going to load up a pack and go hike some trails in preparation for my coming trip. That will give me a better indicator of their worthiness in BW/Q. But even then , won’t really know until they make a week long trip.

I am curious as to how the sizing runs in the new style. I bought a pair of the NRS Boundary 5 years ago. A post on this board said to order a full size larger than normal. I normally wear a 9.5, so I bought a size 11. They fit great and I still love them.

I wear a 13. That’s what I ordered. If any thing they a just a touch on the big side.

That is good to know.

I got my size 11s today and they fit my wide size 11 feet perfectly! They are just slightly tight at the widest point where the toes start, when wearing a somewhat thick wool sock. With a thinner sock, they would be perfect, but I kind of prefer the snug fit for the rest of the foot.

I do agree that you'll want to be careful with footing (as always) since you could definitely hurt your foot if you slipped and wedged your foot between rocks or logs. This is the same case with my trail runners that I normally wear, though, so there's no change there. I quite like these and I might actually wear them on BWCA trips depending on how they work for my kayak fishing.

trailchief: "Well after realizing I had a dividend at REI to spend and they were on sale. I went ahead and ordered them. Got them yesterday. So far they seem promising! They are very comfortable. They almost feel like a slipper. Now for most people they may be too minimal. I prefer my shoes that way. The sole seems pretty thick and dense. The rest of the boot not so much. It’s pretty much a neoprene sock with some rubber padding on the main rub spots. Ones foot could take a beating if foot placement isn’t being carefully considered while in slippery rocky areas. I’m going to load up a pack and go hike some trails in preparation for my coming trip. That will give me a better indicator of their worthiness in BW/Q. But even then , won’t really know until they make a week long trip."

Any updates? How are you liking them?

DownStrm: "I am curious as to how the sizing runs in the new style. I bought a pair of the NRS Boundary 5 years ago. A post on this board said to order a full size larger than normal. I normally wear a 9.5, so I bought a size 11. They fit great and I still love them. "

I also purchased a pair of NRS Boundary boots about that same timeframe. I wear a 10.5 shoe but had to buy a size 12 which worked but no room for medium thick socks. The size 11 pushed against big toe uncomfortably. I did end up with wet feet from sweating. June was way too warm for them but was anxious to try them out. They are comfortable. No stink either.

I bought the old model in 2019 and sized up like most suggested, from my normal 10 to an 11 so I could wear thick wool socks. We did a Grand Portage trip (started at Clearwater) in May so I wanted to dryfoot it. I wore those things every day and for every portage. They did get a little sweaty and warm at times but the material is soft and allows you to roll the top down a bit to get some air in. No problems getting them dried out overnight either.

For the Grand Portage itself, I didn't intend to, but I wore the boots for the entire hike because it was rainy and muddy the morning we started from the river. My feet were no more sore than I would expect after walking with a canoe and pack for the 8 miles. So I guess the sole was fine for me - you can feel stuff more than with regular shoes or boots but it never hurt, and traction was good enough. Plus it's nice to just blast through puddles and mud and whatnot when you're in a portaging groove and don't want to slow down.