User Review: Vasque Sundowner GTX

Vasque Sundowner GTX
Above: The current Sundowner GTX, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed August 23, 2009 by John Muir

Rating:
Materials: Leather
Use: john muir trail w/heavy pack
Break-in Period: 50+miles
Weight: heavy

I have had very mixed results with my pair of Sundowner GTX's. I have put about three hundred miles on my pair and recently completed the JMT in them. Prior to going on the trip I wore the boots constantly, and they seemed to break in nicely over about 50 miles on local trails.

Early on I purchased the Sole Ed Viesturs custom in sole, as I found the boots to have insufficient arch support, and these insoles fixed that problem as well as improving the overall fit of the boot. I highly recommend this insole as an addition to your pair if you have support/fit issues.

Anyways, for the first half of my trip, the boots were hell. They caused serious blistering on the tops of both my big toes, as well as in myriad other places, and caused me severe achilles pain and swelling on the front of my ankle. I have always tied my boots tight, and I was doing the same with these Sundowners, and I was miserable.

About halfway through my trip I spoke with a friend who recommended wearing the boots loose to the point that I was able to slip them off without unlacing (a NOLS technique, apparently). After doing this the boots were great, no pain, no blistering, and the wounds on my feet even began to heal over the last 100 miles of trail.

Overall, I give these boots 3 stars, the fit issues early on were unacceptable, I felt like packing it in for the second half of my hike and that is a terrible place to be. I will not buy these boots again, but now that I am tying them loose, they seem to be a solid boot.

Durability wise, these boots were great, scuffed as hell but no major tears, and the sole did not begin to peel as it did on my buddy's tps-535. They were grippy in loose rock and dirt and kept my feet dry in some fairly wet/muddy conditions.

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Backcountry.com 2 purchase options:	Sundowner GTX Backpacking Boot - Men's	$125.97	Buy Now
Backcountry.com 2 purchase options:	Sundowner GTX Backpacking Boot - Women's	$125.97	Buy Now