As I mentioned last summer, in an earlier review, I love Vasque boots. For me, they are one of the most comfortable pair of hiking boots I’ve ever worn. My wife has been hiking in the same pair of Vasque boots for almost fifteen years. They are a company that I associate with high performance, durability and comfort. The new Lotic by Vasque incorporates all of those qualities and packages them in a lightweight, performance hiking shoe that is built for wet environments.
Weighing in at approximately 1lb 4oz the Lotic is made with a polyester mesh upper, a perforated insole, and a Vibram outsole exclusive to Vasque, which they are calling the “slickrock with indogrip compound”. What all of this means is that the water drains from this shoe with ease, and the outsole provides good protection and excellent traction on wet rocks. I found that the shoe transitioned seamlessly from the trail to the river and back again. It gave me the freedom of movement that I want on a river hike, the ability to scramble upstream and go exploring or to simply jump in the water and cool off.
I was impressed by how well the mesh upper keeps the sand and pebbles out of these shoes. During normal trail use, I can’t imagine much grit getting past the mesh barrier. I had to burry my feat in the sand before I noticed any gritty material on the inside. Once the mesh barrier was breeched, all I had to do was sit down on a rock, take the shoes off, and give them a quick rinse in the river. After that, it was like there had never been any sand in them at all.
The other thing that impressed me about these shoes is how well they fit. If you look at the side of the shoe, you can see a kind of rubberized pin striping coming off of the lace holes (it’s actually Kevlar* not rubber). This detail is more than decorative. It’s an integral part of the lacing system and accounts for how snug these shoes feel once you lace them up. It’s like those pin stripes help cinch the mesh upper to your foot. Without socks on, I expected a little bit of slippage in this shoe, but that was not the case at all.
In fact, the shoes fit so snug and performed so well that they felt like a pair of rock climbing shoes that had been re-engineered for the water. I found them to be extremely comfortable on the trail or in the river. The interior of the shoes felt pleasant against my bare feet when it was wet and when it was dry. The shoes drain almost instantaneously so there was never any sense of sloshing around. And, lets be honest, the jet black and lime green looks cool. The only issue I had was that one of the shoes rubbed my toes a little as it creased with my stride. I noticed this toward the end of a three-mile hike. It was not enough to slow my pace, and like any new pair of shoes I imagine this issue will disappear after the break in period is over.
One final point to mention is the laces. Rather than having to tie them, they have this little friction stopper that slides down into place when you lace the shoes up. It’s works well and makes it simple and quick the get the shoes on and off. When I first laced them up I was kind of bummed that the lace loop was left flapping around at the top of the shoes. I was standing there thinking how annoying that was when I noticed a small elastic band stitched into the top of the shoe that you can easily lift up and tuck the laces under. Those people at Vasque, they think of everything.
The good
- performs well wet or dry
- comfortable with bare feet
- snug fit
- great traction
- mesh filters keep out the majority of gritty particles
The bad
- will make you seek out every possible water hazard within ¼ mile of the trail
Available from Amazon for $99.95
The more you know: Kevlar is a high strength synthetic fiber, which was first used in the 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. It was invented by Stephanie Kwolek in 1964 while she was working for Dupont Chemicals. Since then it has been used in everything from tennis rackets to bullet-proof vests.
Boring stuff: All images via Vasque website and Wanderdudes. Vasque provided me with a free review sample. This in no way effected the opinions expressed in this review.