hi all (first post). i've been getting my gear out of attic storage in prep for the at this spring, and found that my lightly used, maybe 6 year old vasques had rotted out - the black rubber midsole seemed soft and crumbly, and when i took a 2 mile walk, the sole cracked across in several places. anyone else experienced this problem? bad material from china? specific to vasque? "natural" ageing?
_sgteasy_Boot deterioration
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#1
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#2
Yes. I had a nice pair of ski boots in a climate controlled garage a few years ago. Put them on one morning and took a few steps. Looked down to see cracks all over them.Took a few more steps and they fell off my feet to the floor like boiled eggs would. Yes China Material .
_Bubblegum_
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#3
My son experienced cracks in the soles of his Vasque boots on his AT thru hike last summer after about 500 miles. He sent photos to Vasque and they sent him a new pair as they determined that the soles were defective
_karen edwards_
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#4
A couple of years ago I was hiking on the JMT. As I was waiting for the ferry to bring me to VVR I got to talking to a man who's boot had lterally just fallen apart. If memory serves me correctly I believe that they were two year old vasque boots. I think like the other posters that they just used a poor grade of rubber to make the boots.
_Big B_
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#5
Thanks all - I guess I'm glad it wasn't something I did to the boots. I have a newer pair of gortex Donner midweights that I'm thinking of using, although the toebox is a bit narrow, and I'm worried about starting the trail with them. Any suggestions out there? I'm planning to start early enough to worry about snow, so exreme lightweights are out of the question. Thinking I'll need something heavy enough to strap on microspikes, or even use snowshoes???
_sgteasy_
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#6
Lots of hikers use trail runners even with an early start. I used some gortex hikers and switched to trail runners after damascus. I never needed micro spikes although they would have been nice for a couple of days. Micro spikes work well even on trail runners. I preferred a mid height light weight hiking boot and a good set of gaiters. No matter what you do your feet will get wet you only have to worry about them getting cold.
_Big B_