User Review: Vasque Sundowner (1995)

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

Reviewed March 2, 1998 by an anonymous hiker

Rating:
Materials: Full Grain Leather
Use: Rough trail w/ moderate to heavy loads
Break-in Period: constant wear about 2 months
Weight: 2 lbs 8 ounces
Price Paid: $179 (1995)

First trip in these boots was a three day, two nighter in December 1995 to Virginia's Mount Rogers. Over a foot of snow, subzero temps and about 50 to 60 mph winds. Every piece of gear we had was frozen and ice encrusted.

I wore my boots practically straight out of the box. Over several hours of being inundated with snow and ice the sundowners never flinched. Even though they were practically frozen solid, they never caused so much as a hot spot. Handled a winter load of 60 pounds like a champ. I've had only a few blisters with them since, usually on hot weather trips. If that's the worst thing you can say about a pair of boots after 600 + miles in them, you invested wisely. Only complaint is that they redesigned them and still didn't incorporate Vibram soles. Skywalks are made from a bit too soft a compound and tend to wear fairly quickly if you don't tread lightly. I wore a pair of Merrells before this pair they butchered my feet on every trip, even dayhikes. Best combo of stability to weight ratio I've found. I can't believe the negative comments, but maybe I've just been lucky. I have, however, heard about a lack of quality customer service in recent years. This coming from Thru hikers about repairs and replacements, so guage your usage accordingly.