Posts Tagged Vasque
Outdoor Retailer Show Takeaways
On the first weekend in August, the Salt Lake City convention center is over run with gear heads. The new stuff for spring of the following year (in this case, 2012) is on display. New shoes, clothes, tents, camping gear, paddle boards, luggage, backpacks, gadgets… it’s all out for preview. The big brands are there, folks like North Face and Columbia, and new little guys, too. If you can make your way out of the main pavilion, you’ll find scrappy new manufacturers trying to get their gear to market. It’s a crazy, fun, scene and the amount of gear on display is staggering, overwhelming to even a gear head like me. I did notice a few repeated themes and/or styles… here’s what stuck. A caveat: I’m a rookie to the OR Show, so what I observed may be old news to you.
Vintage styling on day packs. Kelty’s remake of a classic khaki pack with red metal zippers might have been the most popular discounted item at the show — lots of folks were carrying this thing around. Others bringing it back old school? North Face, Fjallraven, Kakadu (I liked their army surplus versions best), too many to remember. They’re cute, I liked them.
Color. Bergen of Norway had fleece in beautiful melon-y colors, that’s where I spotted it first. But oh, the mutli-sport shoes from Vasque, oh, I totally wanted a pair of those. And color isn’t just for socks anymore, though I did find myself pawing through the Darn Tough Vermont stripey samples thinking “I want that one and that one and that one…”It’s nice to see that we’re moving away from the military palette again. I like color, I like wearing it, and it’s fun to see. In Spring 2011, we’ll have color that isn’t just for kids.
Daypack/roller bag/backpack combinations. Down in the basement I’ve got an ancient duffel pack with a zip off day pack from REI. I saw several different versions of this re-imagined as a roller bag. I like the idea in theory, I can’t speak to the validity in practice, yet. Pack straps on a roller bag make sense to me, I’m not so keen on wearing a pack and if I can wheel it behind me, I’d prefer to do so. But sometimes, you’ve got to heft the thing and walk. The zip off day pack is another great idea in theory, but is the day pack the right one for you? I need it to hold my gadgets, so if the zip off day pack has a camera bucket and laptop sleeve, oh, that’s when I’m paying full attention. Eagle Creek has a new line of these and yes, they’re in nice colors. I’ll be interested to find out if they’re all that.
Gadgets: There were a few solar chargers — I spent some time checking out Goal Zero‘s line, but it remains to be seen if they can truly charge my phone in cloud flocked Seattle. I brought home a light, super bright clip on LED flashlight from Icon. There were lots of performance based watches with heart rate monitors for athletes, but I liked the less feature packed step counter watch with GPS from Timex. It amuses me to think of documenting just how far I walked at the Outdoor Retailer show; I can see the appeal of using this on a trip. I also saw several cool camping lanterns, though I liked Kelty‘s best. Wenger had some crazy functional jewelry – “Swiss army knife meets minimalism you can sneak past the TSA” style constructions. That was really interesting but doesn’t compensate for the fact that I have to check my bag to carry a classic multi-tool with knife on a plane.
Greenwashing everything. I lost count of the number of times I heard the term “post-consumer.” We’ll make new polar fleece out of your old polar fleece that was made from plastic water bottles. Our production chain is carbon neutral. We give a percentage of our profits to programs that get kids outside, protect wilderness, etc. etc. etc. I’m happy to see this, don’t get me wrong, but it requires genuine research to validate the veracity of these claims. Those cool camping lanterns I mention are still powered by standard batteries, after all.
The wrap. I’m still noodling on my weekend of gear spotting for items that were truly groundbreaking. I saw plenty of cute, clever, or remixed, but the only thing I recall that made me think “Wow, that’s new; does that REALLY work?” was the fly-less tent from North Face. All that aside, the show was full of travelers, people like you and me who love to be out in the world. It was fun to talk with people who lived in outdoor meccas like Aspen and Boulder, and to talk with New York PR reps who’d recently returned from Kenya or Costa Rica.
Watch for color, and a few new gadgets, vintage styling. If you’re looking to upgrade your kit, you’ll see some nice tweaks — better zippers and pulls, lighter materials — but I’m not convinced there’s a lot life-changing new stuff for spring.
Posted by Pam in General Gear on August 12th, 2011
Vasque Mantra All-around Crossover Travel Shoes
Sure, I like to wear pretty, sleek-looking shoes now and then, like these Cushe Groove ones. But when I’m traveling I am far more concerned about how well my travel footwear will hold up after full day of walking. That may not make my kind popular in Italy, but my feet are happier as a result.
A while back I reviewed the Vasque Breeze Low shoes with Gore-tex. The past few months I’ve been tromping around Mexico in these Vasque Mantra shoes, which come in versions for men, women, and kids. I like the look of these a bit better and they’re also more supple. They’re still clearly not going to be welcome in a fancy restaurant though: these are serious shoes for serious travelers and cross trainers.
The Mantra didn’t become Vasque’s best-selling model for nothing. These are rugged, comfortable, well-made shoes that work for conquering the summit or navigating rustic villages. They’ve got a tough Vibram sole and uppers that are a mix of Nubuck leather and breathable mesh. They come in medium and wide versions (Yea!) and the women’s version weighs in at a pound and a half for the pair—not bad. For the men it’s 1 pound, 13 ounces.
There are subtle touches that make these shoes a pleasure for traveling. The tongue has thick cushioning and I like the little loop on the bottom for slipping them on—plus it could also be used to hang them from a pack or to dry. Every place where the laces meet the shoes is made of leather, adding stability and strength.
If you notice vastly different prices when shopping though, it’s mainly due to one factor: like many other Vasque models they come with Gore-tex, or without. The former has GTX in the model name and is more water resistant. In general they range from around $80 to $120, with the kids’ versions well under $50. In general the Mantra is one of the better values on the rack.
I’ve been wearing these hard for several months now, through all kinds of surface conditions and weather. They’re holding up extremely well and would probably be close to “good as new” if they weren’t so dirty. I’ve been especially impressed with how well the sole has held up, with almost no deterioration in the tread, even though I’ve walked about a hundred miles on cobblestones, concrete pavement, and stone stairs.
Get the scoop on Gore-tex and Gore-less versions for men, women, and kids at the manufacturer’s site: Vasque Mantra crossover shoes.
Men’s Vasque Mantra Gore-Tex XCR Cross-Training Shoes at REI
Women’s Vasque Mantra Cross-Training Shoes at REI
Get the Men’s version, the Kid’s version or Women’s version at Backcountry.com
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on September 8th, 2010
Vasque Breeze Low Shoes With Gore-tex
We review lots of double-duty travel shoes on this blog that can take you from airport to sightseeing to dinner, but there are times you need something really meant for hiking. There are also times that hiking is going to be messy. If you want to be ready for that without lugging around big high-top boots, these Breeze Low hiking shoes from Vasque are a good bet, especially if you spring for the waterproof ones with Gore-tex.
I took these on a recent trip when I was going to be biking and doing lots of walking in mid-March in Missouri—a dicey time for weather. Sure enough I hit a few drizzles and slogged through a fair bit of mud. All the while my feet stayed warm and toasty. Then when the sun came out and it got warmer the sweat escaped fine (in conjunction with my Swiftwick socks) and the heat didn’t build up.
I’d heard good things about Vasque and admired their array of styles at the Outdoor Retailers Show in January when I was there, but this is the first time I’ve had them on my feet. The styling is not anything revolutionary, but I did like the little loops on the heel for pulling them on and the Vibram sole had just the right amount of give. Vasque also employs a proprietary spine technology meant to increase cushioning and stability on varied terrain. It’s pretty technical, but here are the details. Men’s Journal gave them a hiking shoe of the year award.
At close to a pound apiece, these aren’t the lightest hiking shoes around, but they also feel a lot sturdier and more substantial than some others I tried on at the outdoor show. My only problem with them is that they’re a little narrow for my wider feet and there’s not much give in the construction. They do make wide versions though for some models, including this one (for men’s sizes 8-13). I would recommend getting a pair that fits perfectly from the get-go as not much is going to change in the breaking in process. With sturdiness comes inflexibility.
There’s also a women’s version of this hiking shoe, with similar features but a few ounces lighter. Each version only comes in a single color choice and lists for $129. The VST version without Gore-tex is $15-$20 less depending on the retailer.
Vasque Breeze Low VST GTX Hiking Shoe – Men’s at Backcountry.com.
Vasque Breeze Low VST GTX Hiking Shoe – Women’s
See the whole line of hiking, multisport, and trail running shoes at Vasque.com
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear on April 8th, 2010
