View Full Version : Vasque Breezes suck for larger hikers
They seemed to work decently for smaller guys, but they just fell apart on me. They are just way to heavy for how flimsly they turn out to be. Spend a couple of extra days shopping and you'll save yourself some money. This is directed towards larger guys who don't want to go through three or four pair of boots. Garmont make a nice boot that I thoroughly enjoyed walking in for 800+ miles, but I forget the model.
Jim Adams
04-23-2009, 21:39
Sorry that the Breeze didn't work for you. I used a pair for 1,000 miles of the PCT, 70 miles of the AT and several other short hikes and now wear them at work...I'm wearing them now. Very breathable. I'm 280lbs.
geek
The first pair lasted the longest, but I bought them in 07 and they might have been 06 models. I don't want to go into the whole story but the next pair lasted 350 before busting apart followed by 100 before I traded them in for my Garmont after the seams blew yet again. The main thing is. The Garmont were the same build(light hikers) but really made me feel like I wasn't a poorly operated robot. Give something else a try on a trail that requires fleet feet and you'll see what I mean. No light hiker is going to survive a full thru-hike under my feet at least, but there are much better comprable boots for less money.
Yogi '08
Fiddleback
04-24-2009, 09:03
I'd like to hear more... It's an interesting concept that boots hold up differently based on the size of the owner...I've never thought of that before.:-? What Garmont model? Is it a good comparison (in construction and intended use) to the Vasque Breeze? Cost comparison?
My Lady and I both wear the Breeze. Hers are used as a daily work boot...mucking the barn and then doing daily one to two-mile walks on gravel and dirt roads which are in far worse condition than any trails I hike. I reserve my Breeze strictly for the trails. I have very little mileage on 'em so I can't judge their potential longevity but My Lady's boots have held up well. Similarly, I have little experience with different makes and models of hiking boots but the Breeze are the most comfortable I've ever used.
FB
Jim Adams
04-24-2009, 09:25
I have my second pair of Vasque Sundowners and this pair of Breeze. The Sundowners are great for fall, winter and spring. The Breeze are great for hot weather as the ventilate so well. Other than that all the rest of my hikers are Solomon. I have tried alot of brands and tested a few for manufactures but these two brands fit my feet perfect. They are the only brands that I haven't gotten blisters from. I have a variety of Solomons from boots to the lightweight trail shoes and I like them all but I have found that the lightweight shoes feel good for a few days and then become less comfortable than the light boots. I've since stuck to using the shoes for day or weekend trips and the light boots for backpacking trips.
geek
cannonball
04-24-2009, 10:40
Like Geek, I too am a fat ass. Mine have alot of miles on them and they are still rockin.
All I can tell you is that a clerk at the EMS I traded my last pair in at was not surprised to see me. He said he'd had many complaints in the past, but I did run across people whose boots held up great. I renew my assertion that my size 13 feet felt much more agile in the (I looked it up) Garmont Flash XCRs. Of course the main reason I bought the Vasques in the first place was because you don't get a lot of options in large boots. That can be solved by Zappos. I'm told(by all means check for youself). That you can buy three pair on your credit card try them on and send the ones you don't want back. I beleive the shipping is even on them. The return shipping that is. I assure you there are boots that the toe and heel don''t blow out on after a couple hundred miles. My seams around the toe box blew before even a hundred was up in one pair. The only reason my Garmonts are in bad shape after 800+ miles is the rocks in PA sliced the leather open in places. Trust me it wasn't their fault. I understand Merrel makes excellent boots as well,but, like Nikes, they are usually too narrow for me.
But Geek is right Breezes fit almost everyone.
Matteroo
04-24-2009, 20:39
i wore vasque breezes on a virginia to maine section hike and I think a lot has to do on your hiking style. I wore through 2 pairs of boots in 1550 miles and Bucket (gr) has the same pair of boots she did the whole trail in and while the tread is light, they are in pretty good shape, maybe 1 blown seam. My vasques had to be replaced after 1000 miles - the sole was ripping off from the nylon shank piece on the bottom, all flex seams before toe box were blown, and rubber at toe-box tip was coming off badly. same thing happened after another ~600 miles on them.
then again her poles which she got at neels gap still have that concave indent on the point - AFTER THE WHOLE DANG AT!! she is a very careful and specific hiker. She deliberately places each step and uses her poles for balance. Me, I only take steps in an intuitive sense and will run up down or across scree/talus successfully, relying upon confidence in my balance and power more than any specific foot placement and finese to move.
keep in mind that the materials in a boot size 8.5 or 12 are the same, and the amount of material is practically the same (what.. 4 oz..6oz more of leather and nylon and rubber..etc). yet you might have 120lb person with a 35lb pack in the 8.5 and a what.. 210lb with a 35lb pack on in the size 12.. that is a lot of weight difference for not much change to the shoe.. weight is spread over what.. 6square inches more?
Matteroo
04-24-2009, 20:41
and my conclusion is that the breeze is comfortable out of the box and hikes decently but as it is described, is a light higher. if you have a light hiking style it will work well for you. me? I destroyed them, plus i rolled my ankles a lot.
I had good luck with the breeze first pair 1100 miles only switched because fronts peeled down a little and EMS game me a new pair because they said Vasque would replace them. Finished up the AT with second pair and still wear them. Front did peel a little on these to but does not effect the wear at all . Fit great right out of the box!
Phoenixdadeadhead
04-26-2009, 09:12
I forgot my boots last year at my sisters 8 hours from the trail, and had to buy a new pair. I ended up going cheap and buying a pair of Nikes (go figure) Not only did they make it through all of last years hikes including a 2 week hike, but I have worn them daily since. I weigh 200 pounds and they are comfortable. Even new for a 2 week hike they didn't give me any blisters. I stopped wearing them everyday last month because I want to have them for this years hikes.
Homer&Marje
04-26-2009, 09:21
Have about 100 miles down on my Hi Tech V-Lites that I bought. Havn't even scratched the surface of them....expect to get 2000 out of them. But I havn't really had them out on long extended hikes yet...most like 10 miles, and they are almost perfectly "broke in"
HikerRanky
04-26-2009, 12:21
I'm 6'6", weighing in at 253 lbs.... I currently have a set of Vasque Breeze that I wear for hiking and yard work and just about everything else. They have approx. 800 miles on them and show no sign of breaking down yet.
Randy
Jim Adams
04-27-2009, 03:08
Have about 100 miles down on my Hi Tech V-Lites that I bought. Havn't even scratched the surface of them....expect to get 2000 out of them. But I havn't really had them out on long extended hikes yet...most like 10 miles, and they are almost perfectly "broke in"
Homer,
I did product testing for Hi-Tec...your boots should last about 1400 miles.
geek
I still maintain that there are better boots out there in the same category. The Breezes do have market saturation, hell, you can buy them at Dicks. They also fit well out of the box as should most light hikers cosidering they aren't a single piece of leather which is the main issue of breaking in boots. If you are actually on the AT the trail can be narrow and requires some nimble feet and the Vasques made me feel like a poorly operated robot compared to the boots I finished in. Now, I had chuncks of rubber just peeling off my shoe before 500 in the pair that lasted the longest for me and I was down to the shank before 600, but that doesn't mean you'll share my exact experience. I'm sure you'll like a different pair more if you spend the time to find them.
HikerRanky
04-27-2009, 10:03
I still maintain that there are better boots out there in the same category.
And there are certainly worse boots out there in the same category. I had a pair of Keen boots previously... They were highly recommended as a very comfortable boot for people with big feet. Being a size 14 guy, foot comfort is very important to me.
Problem was, they destructed after about 400 miles.
I got back and was looking at several different brands... Asolo, other Vasque,Salomon, Scarpa, Merrell.... Tried several on, and the Vasque won out. And they have held up rather well for me.
If you are actually on the AT the trail can be narrow and requires some nimble feet and the Vasques made me feel like a poorly operated robot compared to the boots I finished in.
Many of the trails I've been on with my Breezes have required nimble footing... Clingman's Dome to Newfound Gap and the Chimney Tops trail in the GSMNP being the most recent ones... Might not be the LeHigh Gap ascent in PA, but ones that I consider to need a nimble footing requirement.
Now, I had chuncks of rubber just peeling off my shoe before 500 in the pair that lasted the longest for me and I was down to the shank before 600, but that doesn't mean you'll share my exact experience. I'm sure you'll like a different pair more if you spend the time to find them.
And it is true that the only way to tell how a pair of shoes are going to work is to get out there and hike in them.
Randy