>>2750099If you aren't moving much but need waterproof, then go with rain boots.
Goretex is always questionable how well it was put in.
Generally Merrell moab is kind of the bottom dollar value.
If you want European, a lot of their boots are good. I like Meindl. They now have one in the mid 200s. Lowa has something like that as well with renegade and forgot other one.
I prefer boot designs with less stitching and fluff pieces of leather everywhere as more stitching weakens design to a point and allows more areas for water to seep in.
Zamberlan makes some with very little stitching. Also Limmer has boots that are stitched down that aren't polyurethane. More expensive, but made by meindl. Honestly works of art how the upper is one piece of leather stitched only at one point. They are heavy though except their lightest new one they have out now. Also worth noting that I generally don't recommend welted boots like limmer because they tend to be heavier. but it is worth noting that polyurethane/direct attach boots suffer hydrolysis if you don't use them regularly. I believe water builds up on the inside since they are a foam and will prematurely break down causing the midsole to crumble apart. make sure you use regularly like every week or so to purge the water. all these idiots by these boots for a rainy day and they fall apart and think its rubber.
Someone will inevitably recommend the M77 boot, which is a shell boot meant to dry faster and you can replace insulation inside with sock/insole, etc
if you want barefoot id go with vivobarefoot esc. honestly both tracker and forest good. i prefer tracker. i just use half chaps like outdoor research for most debris so don't care too much about length other than some ankle support. Sometimes I just think the ankle support though is there to prevent your ankle from twisting because the boot is already like 3 pounds and stiff enough to force your foot into a position that will fuck it up if you aren't careful with your footing
