Born for trail and town?

I have worn Born shoes for the last 8 years. I have had the shoes, sandals and 1 pair of chunka boots. They all wear forever, and fit me very well.
 
Have a few pairs of shoes. Still holding up well after 6 years. Best fit and most comfortable shoes I've ever bought.
 
Thanks for the reviews guys! How is the fit? I have very wide feet. Mom felt generous today and dropped 200 dollars on Eddie Bauer summer clearance stuff for me, and she wants to buy me boots too (Got a pair of TNF Valence GTX's in the mail yesterday, that she ordered for me last week... she insists she wants to buy me another pair of shoes...) and started looking at the Born line. I came very very close to ordering a pair of Brocks a few months ago but can't find them in stock anywhere anymore.
 
I don't know what type of "shoe" your interested in.....but for a nice pair of knock around/trail hiking, mid-height boots a Vasque Sundowner is an excellent boot.

Vasque makes this boot in a huge array of sizes and widths. I used to do alot of mountaineering/hiking boot fitting and the Vasque became my "go to" boot for folks that were otherwise difficult to find a good fit. The Sundowner last is generally "wide" throughout the bed, but not duck-footed - otherwise i'd have a pair myself!!!

The Sundowner model has been around for a long time and it's one model Vasque hasn't screwed up. They are reasonably priced, use 1-piece, reasonably thick (~2.4-6mm) leather construction, and can be re-soled. They *look* OK too, but thats a personal preference thing.

I'm not a big proponent of/for g-tex or similar laminates in a quality leather boot (lotsa crap boots hi-light g-tex b/c they've got nothing else going for 'em), but you can't have it all. It's not too big a detriment in the Sundowners and i'd still buy a pair if i could get a good fit for me in them.

I'm still thinking about getting a pair for in-town wear (my wifey loves 'em - it's always good to keep Mama happy!!!!), but they will never replace my mountain boots as they are great trail hikers.
 
Sundowners look nice, but I'm wearing a pair of Asolo Echos my mom bought me for my birthday so I've got the trail beaters/dung kickers covered between these and the new Valences I should have that base covered. I'm looking for something casual and northwestern (not necessarily Wrangler poster child texas longhorn cowboy) that I can wear around town and foothills hikes, or even multiday backpacking trips. I put ten miles on these Echos this morning and I swear I'd have been better off barefoot, I haven't felt pain in my heels like this since I was a tenderfoot. These things feel like suede uppers strapped to cinder blocks.... But these Borns really caught my eye, so I figured I'd ask. I think I'll start checking out some more softsoles as well... anyone have any moc suggestions? I'm a huge fan of Minnetonkas but have three pair already, maybe something more mid-to-full height? If these Asolos are the standard for long distance pack boots then I think I'll look in another direction. Anyone have experience with Lassen Brocks?
 
Last edited:
If you pick up a pair of those Borns let me know, I've been looking at them too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top