Like a variety of outdoors-minded males, I like to consider myself as a sensible man. The form of man who travels gentle. The form of man who owns one pair of trainers to cowl all of the bases. However in actuality, like a variety of outdoors-minded males, I’ve a pair of trainers for rucking… a pair of trainers for warm-weather mucking round within the marsh… a pair of trainers for cold-weather mucking round within the marsh, or sitting within the deer stand or ATV driving in chilly climate… and so forth. Discovering good do-it-all footwear isn’t simple. However with the Vasque Talus AT Ultradry boots, I got here fairly shut.
The Primary Particulars – Vasque Talus AT Ultradry
The Talus AT Ultradry boots have a leather-based higher, with mesh built-in for breathability and flex. Though the waterproof membrane is Vasque’s proprietary materials, the outsole is fabricated from Vibram, a reputation that’s acquainted throughout the outside trade. The midsole is molded EVA materials, with an inner TPU shank offering help whereas remaining snug.
There’s a set of three fast-lace eyes on the high of the boot; the remainder of the eyelets are customary hole-type.
Nothing revolutionary, however at first look, what I feel the Talus AT (the AT stands for All-Terrain) does finest is present a variety of helpful technical options whereas not wanting too goofy. Apart from some yellow highlights on the only real, these don’t have any vivid colours; they don’t scream “Wannabe AT Through-Hiker.” You possibly can put on them with out wanting like somebody from a Matt Lyons sketch.
How Did They Work Out? Vasque Talus AT Ultradry
So they appear good, however are these precise good boots? Not being a thru-hiker myself, I can’t say for certain how they’d deal with the Appalachian Path, however I can say that for the rocky clambers alongside the shorelines of my house on Canada’s east coast, the Talus AT boots have been wonderful all-round footwear. They provided wonderful grip on moist seaside rocks; I spent hours fishing stripers in these boots, operating up and down the shoreline, and by no means as soon as felt like I used to be about to fall right into a coastal channel and break my neck on the identical time.
The identical goes for native hikes via the woods, typically with gentle packs; they’d adequate ankle help for his or her mid-height design, and had grip in each situation, even after I took a shortcut up a rocky seashore lined in bubbleweed. And when mountaineering within the bush checking cameras in deer looking season, I discovered they did a very good job of preserving twigs and leaves out of the collar.
I’d have preferred to do extra rucking in these boots, however a brutal 1-2 combo of a again harm adopted by a rib harm this summer time stored me on gentle responsibility till September. Nonetheless, I’ll say that with the smaller packs I carried, the boots have been nonetheless super-comfortable, significantly better than the mil-surp stompers I often put on for rucks, and the Vasque Talus AT required no preliminary break-in interval. They have been good proper out of the field.
And that held via for the size of the season; though they use a proprietary waterproof membrane and never the Gore-Tex layer that so many open air fanatics worship, the Vasque boots don’t leak after months of utilization. You would possibly suppose that’s a minor factor, however round right here, the place it’s foggy, wet and snowy 13 months a yr, it’s crucial, and it’s uncommon to seek out footwear that basically retains its waterproofing long-term whereas additionally staying breathable. The Talus AT boots do each.
What Might Enhance? Vasque Talus AT Ultradry
There’s little or no I’d change on these boots, however I did discover there was sufficient flex within the collar that the laces would work out of the quick-lace eyelets on the high in the event you weren’t cautious whenever you tied them. Other than that, I’m very impressed with these boots. However there’s an issue. Vasque is a useless model, for now.
A number of weeks again, the Crimson Wing Shoe Firm stated they have been going to discontinue the Vasque model. There can be extra sneakers produced within the coming months, however by mid-2o25, they are going to not be making Vasque merchandise.
It’s unlucky. Vasque has been making footwear for American open air fanatics since 1964. However in a press release, Crimson Wing’s media relations staff stated “Collectively, now we have achieved exceptional issues throughout the out of doors trade. However, this market has modified dramatically, notably during the last a number of years. What customers search and the way they wish to each store and purchase has modified dramatically … We’ve, subsequently, made the troublesome determination to sundown the Vasque model and our out of doors enterprise as we all know it as we speak.”
Administration stated this wasn’t a choice they took flippantly: “We evaluated many potential strategic paths. Ultimately, nonetheless, we don’t consider that there’s a viable path ahead. With restricted assets, we consider it’s best for us to deal with the unimaginable alternatives we see in our core enterprise and types at Crimson Wing Shoe Firm.”
It’s unlucky, as Vasque was lengthy a model that in-the-know consumers may rely on. Going ahead, they must finally store elsewhere—however for now, you possibly can nonetheless purchase the Vasque Talus AT Ultradry boots for $160, and I’m telling you that they’re nicely value trying out.
