By STW
from Rocky Mountains on 06/06/2009
Pros:
Breathes Well, Comfortable, Good for light hiking, Great LOOKING, Light weight
Cons:
Vibram sole is misleading
Best Uses:
Casual Wear, Light hiking, Travel
Describe Yourself:
Old school
Sizing:
Feels true to size
Width:
Feels true to width
Bottom Line:
Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Got these for comfortable business casual wear, and for motorcycling. Beautifully made, tight even stitching; lining is top quality, smooth leather, no bunching. Comfort is beyond what I expected, partly because of the right balance between flex and support, leather bends easily and in the right places, and also because of the top quality insole.
Medium width feels narrower than usual for the STP medium; probably right for the M or D size, but snugger side to side than expected. Perfect for me, luckily, however. Longer in front of toes than expected--more room out front than most 9.5s. But the shoe bends in the right place and the extra room means none of the usual cramming of toes when descending a steep trail.
Trail hiking is the surprise for these boots. Didn't buy them as hiking boots, but a recent failure of my venerable light hiking boots, lead me to try these out on the trail with excellent results. Used my brand new Trask boots for this, no break in, and carried some runners in a pack in case of blisters. But the Trask boots gave great support on this very rugged trail in the Rockies, stone-ridden with stream crossings and some scrambling--no talus fields though. To my surprise, the Trask boots were the perfect light hikers in these fairly demanding conditions. Light, nimble, supportive, protective. Decent ankle support (the amount I like in a light hiker) and the flexy soles managed to protect my feet from the feel of stones. I expected my feet to get beat up on this trail in these boots but not so. As a result, I ordered another pair so I have one for the office and one to get muddy on the trail.
Vibram sole is misleading because it's a soft rubber compound rather than the familiar dense hard vibram rubber. This soft compound probably offers some cushion and may be a source of some of the boot's comfort, and seems to wear well so far. Still, I'm skeptical and will keep my eye on wear. Resolable boots means that happily there are options later one.