Owner Review
Vasque Zephyr GTX (Goretex) Backpacking Boots
Michael Jay Lissner
Written: 27 June 2003
Updated: 10 February 2004

Tester Biography:
Name: Michael Jay Lissner
Date of Birth: 9 June 1982
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Height: 6'6" (198cm)
Weight: 190lbs. (86kg)
Email Address: yourmothership@hotmail.com
City of Current Residence: Depending on time of year: San Diego, CA / Saranac Lake, NY / Claremont, CA
Country: USA

Backpacking Background:
I was first introduced into backpacking through the Boy Scouts, and it was my love of backpacking that made me stick all the way through and get my Eagle. After becoming too old to continue in Boy Scouts, I had trouble motivating myself to plan my own trips, and did not backpack for a few years, until I realized that I should thru-hike the PCT. I am currently in a multiyear training program, practicing techniques, studying backpacking literature, getting in shape, planning the many wee details and perhaps most importantly, converting my ultra-heavy Boy Scout techniques into ones more suited to ultra-light thru-hiking. My current style is a minimalist one relying on more intelligence and discomfort and less on safety gear and toys. I would describe it as nearly ultra-light status, but not quite there yet. My usual stomping grounds are the Laguna Mountains (when in San Diego), the San Bernardino Mountains (when in Claremont), the Adirondacks around Saranac Lake, and occasionally- when gas prices allow- the southern Sierras.

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Vasque
Product Name: Zephyr GTX Backpacking Boot
Year of Manufacture: 2002
Suggested Retail Price: $165 USD
Manufacturer’s URL: http://www.vasque.com
Weight as listed on Manufacturer’s URL: 52 ounces (1.47 kilograms)
Size Tested: 13 American (47 European)
Actual Weight: 65 ounces (1.84 kilograms)
Product Description: Medium-weight tall backpacking boots with a Goretex lining, webbed tongue and Vibram outsoles. Further description from the Vasque website includes:
- Color: Brown/Brown-Black
- 2.4mm Waterproof Nubuck Leather
- Nylon Fabric
- DryTech Footbed
- 3-Bar Knit Nylon Lining
- Tri-Density Contoured Phylon Midsole
- Vibram® Trailtech High Carbon Rubber Outsole
- Goretex
- Integration Technology
- Padded Collar

Review:
I have had the opportunity to use these boots on several occasions. Thus far, thanks to my college’s abroad program, I have been able to use them in rather varied conditions. During each, I have worn the same large sized medium weight Smartwool socks, and have covered between 15 to 25 miles (approximately 24-40 kilometers) daily.

I have used them in very early spring in Spain on the asphalt roads, snowy trails and ancient roman stone roads of the Camino De Santiago, in early summer in the mountains and marshes (oh gosh, who am I kidding - swamps) in upstate New York, and in the mountains of the San Bernardino range east of Los Angeles County. Each of these trips has effectively tried a different element of the boots, and it is with these trips under my belt that I feel ready to write this review.

Oddly, although during the summer the Camino De Santiago is probably one of the easiest long-distance hikes around, it seems that during the very early spring it is not so. During my journey, I trudged through massive quantities of sticky and deep mud, miles of wet snow, and kilometers of rigid pavement. The results of these trials were mixed for these boots. It should first be mentioned that at the time of this trip, the boots were very new, and that that could account for some of the good and the bad results of these trials.

The results were these: During the muddy sections, the cleats on the bottom of the boot did little to “self clean” as it is written directly in their mold pattern. At times, I probably had upwards of two pounds (.9 kilograms) of mud stuck to the bottom of each boot. There were times that there was so much mud on their bottoms that I was pretty sure that the boots themselves were no longer even touching the ground. This mud was not to be trifled with. I have never seen anything like it. The obvious question is probably whether or not one can blame the boots for this mud’s tenacious grip and vicious viscosity. Personally, I did not blame the boots during the trip, nor do I blame them now. Truth be told, smaller cleats would not have held so much mud on the bottom in the first place, but I believe that without the cleats, I would not have been able to so much as walk on this most evil of mud.

During the many miles of shallow snow hiking (six inches [about 15 centimeters] deep at maximum) that I did during this trip, I was greatly pleased. At times, there was a rivulet thriving along the center of the trail directly under the snow, and even with that wetness combined with the wetness of the melting snow, my feet remained blissfully dry…or so I believed. In retrospect, I cannot be sure that they were indeed perfectly dry. There were times when I stepped into a deeper rivulet, and later felt my foot being cold. I cannot be sure whether that was the feeling of dipping my boot in ice water or of the ice water actually getting in the boot. In any event though, my foot was dry at the end of the day. While I am on the subject of watertightness, I should make a few comments about the construction of Goretex and the boots on the whole. The first thing to know about Goretex is that it is a thin rubbery membrane that can easily be damaged in a myriad of ways. The four easiest (not to mention most obvious) are through excessive heat, bodily contaminates, excessive rubbing and excessive bending. The first of these (excessive heat) is simple enough: during ordinary wear and tear, your boots should never experience the pains of intense heat. The second, third and fourth however are unavoidable in a pair of boots, and the efficacy of Goretex can practically be graphed going down as boots got older, membranous pores get more filled with bodily contaminates and the membrane gets more worn in general. That having been said, upon the second trip listed above, through the swamps of the Adirondacks, it should be noted that the Goretex was noticeably less effective, and my feet were noticeably wetter. There were many river crossings, and even with the use of a trekking pole, not all of them were as successful as one might hope. At the end of the day, I was able to literally ring a cupful of water out of each of my socks. Not good news for the Goretex PR department, but these were extremely wet conditions that would practically get rubber boots wet inside.

The final trial for these boots came when I went on a trip in the San Bernardino Mountains. Up until this trip, the boots had not been truly tested in steep mountainous terrain, and therefore had not proved themselves at keeping my feet entirely blister free. A keen reader of my biography might find it odd that I am an ultralight hiker wearing boots that weigh in at over four pounds (1.85 kilograms). Indeed, at that weight, these boots weigh more than any other item either in my pack or on my person. The reason for this split in technique is twofold. First, years of competitive soccer have left me with a bum ankle that will roll in the wind if I let it. Second, I feel that comfort is more important than any other characteristic in my footwear (regardless of its creed).  As it was comfort that led me to these boots, it should come as little surprise that they scored marvelously well in the blister department. Aside from the beginnings of one during that swampy section earlier, for which the boots can hardly be blamed, yielding none whatsoever.

That having been said, I have a few comments on the fit of the boots. First and foremost, I feel bound to mention that the rubber toe reinforcement area is good for durability but poor for fitting. Were it not there, the store where I had purchased the boots would have been able to use a rubbing bar to stretch the boots in that direction if need be, so that’s a mixed bag. Vasque did, however, do something brilliant in the fit of these shoes. At the top of the shoelace slides, there are locking D-rings that allow the wearer to adjust the tightness of the boot to two levels of tightness: one on the top (above the locking D-rings) and one on the bottom (below them). I have found this to work very well. My one complaint about the fit of the boots is a bit of a mystery, and could certainly be a personal problem. Oddly enough, this problem only arises after about 15 miles (24 kilometers) of hiking. It is an intense pain in the ball of each of my feet. It comes and goes, leaves no visible trace, and really is discouraging. I have two theories on it. The first is that it is a product of the stiffness of the outsole battling against the bending of my foot. Their soles are rather rigid, and my foot does like to bend. I find it entirely possible that their bending point is not lining up perfectly with mine, and that therefore they are trying to bend my bones in ways that my bones simply do not bend. The other theory is that I had the boots laced up too tightly, and that enough blood was not reaching my toes. Whatever the case, the symptoms are getting better with each hike, so something is changing for the better, whether it be my foot or the boots, I care not.

One of the elements of these boots that drew me to them was their combination of leather and fabric. I chose them specifically for the hikes leading up to my thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail and for the hike itself, and knew that they would have to perform both in extremely hot conditions and extremely cold ones. At this point, I believe they will do both moderately well. When I was hiking through the shallow snow in Spain, my feet did feel a little bit cold, but not so much that I worried about it for a second. During the heat of the summer hike in the San Bernardino Mountains, they did feel a little hot, but not so much that I was concerned. To me, if a pair of boots is slightly cold with a medium sock in winter and slightly hot with a medium sock in summer it is perfect for both with proper sock choice.

During these trips, I did not carry extra pairs of shoes to change into upon arriving back in camp, and surprisingly, that was something that I regretted somewhat. Although they are rather comfortable boots, I found that having something back in camp would have been nice. Generally however, for lack of those extra shoes, I just climbed in my tent, cooked some dinner and passed out for the night.

Finally, as far as the durability of these boots goes, again, it is a mixed bag. On the one hand, their triple stitching is very secure, and they seem as together today as they were the day I bought them. On the other, one of my shoelaces has already broken through its sheath, and is now functioning by means of the core alone; in one isolated spot a very small area (perhaps an eighth of an inch long) of the rubber toe reinforcement area has peeled up; and the Goretex is obviously breaking down little by little. The lace will soon break, I do not believe that the rubber toe reinforcement area will get worse very quickly, and the Goretex is something I had planned on happening when I bought the boots.

Conclusions:
Vasque has made a pair of medium weight boots that:
- Grip the earth tenaciously (perhaps too much so)
- Keep out the water in all but the worst conditions
- Fit wonderfully, but are perhaps too sturdily built
- Make for comfortable three season boots and
- Are rather durable, excusing the laces and Goretex

Update (10 February 2004):
Since writing this report nearly seven months ago, I have used these boots during another five or six trips culminating in around 200 miles (approximately 320 kilometers) of backpacking, and they have continued to hold up well, with the exception being the aforementioned lace that I had expected to break (it did, and I had a spare ready to go). In regards to the pain that they were giving me in the ball of my foot, I have not yet come to any conclusions, but the pain has steadily lessened as either my foot got stronger or the boot became more broken in.

One new development that has arisen is that they finally gave me blisters on one of my most recent trips. Everything regarding my feet (socks, lacing technique, etc.) was essentially the same as it was during all of the other trips I had taken with the boots, but the long days of steep inclines during this particular trip proved to be too much for my feet, resulting in a nice plump blister on the back of my right heel.