Spend that tax refund, or Walk Hard?
My hiking season is in full swing, and I’m now trekking 20 miles or so of trail each week. But it recently became apparent to me that if I am going to keep up this pace, I had better get a new pair of boots. A pair just like my old pair of Vasques, not like their replacement Vasques that I couldn’t seem to break in after nearly two full seasons.
The main reason I prefer boots over trail-running shoes is primarily due to my desire for ankle support. I’ve rolled my ankles too many times in trailrunners – suffering loss of mobility, much less good follow-up hiking – to warrant much trail exposure without sturdy support over rough terrain. Secondly, I like having plenty of tread on a stiff sole – not just for a good grip on the trail surface, but to also avoid feeling every rock and root I step upon. And thirdly is the issue of arch fatigue: the relatively less-stiff soles of trail-running shoes always seem to leave me hobbled after any hike over six or seven miles.
So it was about time I walked away from traditional stiff leather backpacking boots, spend a little of my recent tax windfall, and buy myself a more flexible pair.
Now I’m not one to be so technical as to devour all the gear mags nor know all the technical specs, much less all of the brands of bootwear. That said, I prefer to do my research online as needed, then go try them on. That’s just what I did a couple of Fridays ago at REI’s Mountain View store.
It was a busy evening in REI’s shoe department, with about a dozen or so people trying on shoes and boots, a handful of well-behaved children, and three staffers who were quickly but competently making tiger butter out of themselves in efforts to retrieve their customers’ selections. It was no stretch to imagine that most of these patrons, if not all of them, had immediate weekend plans.
I browsed the available supply of boots on the racks, mentally checking off those I’d been attracted to online, then narrowed my selections down to three pairs of boots that I felt were worth trying on. Before I’d walked up, though, I’d already snagged a few needed pairs of hiking socks and sock liners, since I tend to wear out at least four pairs of each every season. I opened one package of each and slipped them on in prep for a boot-lacing frenzy.
I snagged a passing staffer who, within moments, had me walking the store in a pair of Montrail Torre GTX boots, a leather/Gore-Tex hybrid with a Vibram sole that, while it looked like a comfortable and long-lasting boot, just didn’t seem to feel right after a couple flights of stairs. The second pair, a leather/nylon/Gore-Tex combo dubbed the Asolo Fugitive GTX, was a little too small in the toe and constricted the tops of my feet, despite a little mid-walk loosening of the laces.
I had saved the Vasque Breeze Gore-Tex XCR boots for last, and now tried them on. Instantly I knew that these were the boots for me! But I walked the store in them anyway, climbing and descending the store’s staircases and jumping around upon the shoe department’s miniature rock slope. These leather/nylon/Gore-Tex boots are designed less for backpacking and more for day hiking, but seem to offer the stiffness and support that I desire. What I like about them is that they add a little extra flexibility while removing a bit of the bulkiness of a full-on leather backpacking boot.
The following day, I walked 10 easily-graded miles in the Marin Headlands with no foot fatigue. Sunday, however, found me gliding over 11 hilly miles at Long Ridge Open Space Preserve as if I had wings. It didn’t take a couple of evening hikes last week and a fast-paced hike up strenuous Black Mountain this past Saturday to tell me that I am simply infatuated with my new Vasque boots.
What’s really cool, though, is that I was able to return the previous pair of Vasques – the Wasatch GTX model – which were never quite comfortable. I can’t rightly explain why I chose to Walk Hard so long before replacing them, but the fact that I could furnish a receipt dated July 2006 and get my money back from those nice folks at REI in April 2008 is an incredibly beautiful thing.
And that’s just another good reason why, for years now, I’ve been referring to REI as “Russ Equipment Incorporated”.
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