Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Vasque Velocity 2.0 Shoes

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Vasque Velocity 2.0

Lightweight Trail Shoes
Vasque Velocity 2.0
$120, 1 lb. 9 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: Men’s 7-12, 13, 14 and wide 8-12, 13, women’s 6-11
vasque.com

Hot feet are the fastest route to blisters. Keep your feet dry and cool and you’ve eliminated two of the three factors necessary for developing blisters (the third being friction, caused by imperfect fit). Several trail runs of four to nine miles each in the non-waterproof Velocity 2.0 convinced me they may be the most breathable low-cut trail-running shoes I’ve worn, thanks to very airy uppers that are virtually all mesh. I ran on some days so hot that my synthetic T-shirt would be soaked—but my feet and socks completely dry when I finished.

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Gear Review: Salomon Synapse Mid Shoes

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Salomon Synapse Mid

Lightweight Trail Shoes
Salomon Synapse Mid
$140, 1 lb. 11 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: Men’s 7.5-12, women’s 6.5-10
salomon.com

I wanted a pair of lightweight mid-cut boots for a grueling, very rugged, 19-mile dayhike the length of the Carter Range in New Hampshire’s White Mountains—tagging a half dozen summits and climbing and descending some 7,000 feet, a traverse with some absurdly steep sections that is arguably harder than a one-day, 20-mile “death march” of the full Presidential Range. So I looked for mid-cut instead of low-cut shoes to protect my ankles on those notoriously rocky trails. I needed a shoe with enough cushion and support underfoot for a hike that guaranteed a lot of pounding. I prefer non-waterproof footwear for hot dayhikes where breathability is paramount. And I wanted all of that in a boot that’s light and allows me to move fast. The Synapse Mid delivered on all counts.

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Gear Review: La Sportiva Raptor Shoes

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La Sportiva Raptor

Lightweight Trail Shoes
La Sportiva Raptor
$120, 1 lb. 9 oz. (men’s Euro 42)
Sizes: Euro men’s 36-47.5, women’s 36-43
sportiva.com

Is this a running or hiking shoe? You decide. Rare is the shoe that excels at trail running and crosses over to perform among the best light hikers, but the Raptor does exactly that. After several trail runs, the longest a 25.5-mile, seven-hour run-hike (running perhaps three-quarters of the distance, walking the rest) in the Boise Foothills, I fell in love with these non-waterproof low-cuts.

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Gear Review: Solio Clip-Mini Solar-Rechargeable Light

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Solio Clip-Mini

Solar-Rechargeable Light
Solio Clip-Mini
$35, 3.5 oz.
solio.com

File this under “very cool.” This LED light recharges using either solar power or a USB cord, eliminating the need to throw away batteries. It recharges in six hours on sunlight or one hour via the USB connection—so a day on the trail with the Clip-Mini attached to your pack (via its convenient, big carabiner clip) juices up the lithium-polymer battery completely.

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Gear Review: Evolv Bolt Approach Shoes

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Evolv Bolt

Approach/Scrambling Shoes
Evolv Bolt
$100, 1 lb. 10 oz. (men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 4-13
Evolvsports.com

Approach shoes, designed for multiple duties from hiking to scrambling steep, rocky terrain and easy rock climbing, come in a variety of forms that reflect the category’s somewhat nebulous definition. Some are basically hiking shoes with a sticky outsole, while at the other end of the spectrum are beefed-up rock climbing shoes that lack the comfort or support for hiking very far. The Bolt from Evolv, a maker of climbing shoes, nails a difficult objective: performing well at all of the roles we expect approach shoes to fill.

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