Vasque Sundowner Summit GTX

Summary

Finally, a pair of truly waterproof boots for hiking and backpacking.

These boots are the answer to all of my foot issues. They are wide enough for my weird feet, they were comfortable right out of the box and I can use them for casual hiking or climbing volcanoes. They are waterproof (really!). I have worn them on muddy trails and snowshoeing and they were perfect.  

Although these were billed as "Backpacking Boots" at REI I will never use them for that. They are much too heavy and after awhile my toes seem to go numb in them from the weird way they rock forward when I walk, although my then 11 y.o. son said they felt fine on him, during a week at Boy Scout camp.

They are comfortable to me only for short hikes on soft ground. I like to be able to "feel" the ground more when I walk than these allow. They are my back-up boots when my favorite pair are drying.

Even though they are women's boots I bought them for my son summer 2006. They haven't been worn very often since.

The discomfort may be in part to the boots being size 8M and I normally wear 7.5 Wide in Women's. I would advise getting a good fit in whatever boot is chosen.