That’s neat I wasn’t aware that was an option.

Thanks for adding something to learn about it for free.

Paywall

Do you want to stay in Maine? Cause the Wendell Berry Farming Program in Kentucky is exactly that, it’s a free 2 year degree in agriculture, you just have to work the land the whole time, room and board is included I’m pretty sure. So you get experience and an associates as well as 2 years of not paying rent or for food, all you got to do is work and learn.

https://berrycenter.org/initiatives/farming-program/

It does stretch and get more comfortable than they are when new, they break in to your feet nicely, but even after break-in I think the foam ones were more comfortable before and after they broke-in. I still have both pairs though so I use both for different things, I tend to not wear the leather ones when I’m doing anything wet. Fine for desert hikes though. You mentioned hiking so that’s a good point, at the end of a long day of walking or hiking in them, I tended to notice my feet being less comfortable and I would switch to the old foam ones once I got home for walking around the house.

I feel the clothes and the seams. After a while you get a feel for premium materials and construction. I also look for known brands that make BIFL quality gear, but seriously the picking not up and feeling it test works great, if it’s an older garment and it is undamaged and feels sturdy, it probably is. Also check all the sweaters for anything 100% merino wool or cashmere, I have some pretty “nice” fancy sweaters I use as warming layers under my outdoor gear. $2 for someone grandpas cashmere sweater or $120 for a comparable smart wool.

If it has zippers check what kind they are and the brand of them, for mass produced stuff ykk makes the best zippers, there are a couple of zipper brands out there for high end and premium labels that are as good or better, but I’m not sure of all their names, but in general a ykk is a good sign.

For “waterproof” or outdoor gear, look to see if it is “seam-taped” by looking at the seams on the inside and checking if they have been sealed.

What kind of garment or gear are you looking for specifically, I might be able to give more specific suggestions.

I like the leather ones because they feel more premium and I like the way leather patinas as you wear it, but the foam ones were way more comfortable in my opinion.

Hiking boots are inherently a high wear item, you will likely not own a pair for life. There are some brands like danner and other more expensive brands that if you are really attached you can send your boot in and they will replace the worn out parts with new ones so you can keep some of your original boot. This often isn’t cost effective though, for instance I wanted to get my danner boots from the military resoled and shanked, and after shipping it was only going to be $10 less than buying a new pair of boots. So it didn’t really make much since unless I really cared about the nostalgia.

If you have narrow feet La Sportiva boots are pretty good, they tend to use vibram soles and gortex waterproofing. They don’t fit me well though. Another brand that’s still somewhat affordable but makes great boots is Oboz. If you happen to be a woman, then Ahnu makes really cool boots but they don’t make any men’s boots.

You’ll want them to be water resistant at minimum just so the snow that collects on the side doesn’t soak through as you are walking, but you should be fine with any boots that are warm enough. Definitely get some microspikes or yaktraks though in case it’s icy where you are.

What are you planning on doing in them?

Do you Nordic ski at all? Or have any interest in giving it a shot?

Hydro flask makes containers that can do this in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They use pretty solid vacuum insulation to pull it off. My first hydro flask I was using to keep ice water in when I was working in Kuwait, I left it outside in the 120 degree sun for 6 hours and then when I found it, the outside was too hot to touch, but there was still ice in the bottle.

They also work excellently in the opposite direction.