Borneo

I was prepared to hate these boots, which I purchased for 1/2 price. When I realized what the "gaiter" was -- a built-in neoprene collar that surrounds the ankle -- I remembered the same sort of feature on a pair of hated running shoes.

But the gaiter proved easier to use than I anticipated; yes, you have to stand and push your foot through, but it isn't that much of an ordeal. And it actually seems to work! I ran down 7 miles of mixed scree, and didn't get one single rock in my boot.

But the stability and comfort of the shoes were the nicest surprises. I had just worn my Vasque Catalysts for trail-running 3 days before. What an amazing contrast -- with the Vasque Catalysts and Pingoras, I often feel like I'm skiing down the trail, about to crash at any second. At the end of a run, I feel like someone has gone over my feet with a ball-peen hammer. The Borneos were much stabler; I felt much more in control. And at the end of the day, the more cushiony, substantial midsoles left my feet without the ball-peen hammer sensation.

These are definitely dry weather shoes; the uppers have a quasi-mesh fabric. But my feet sweat a lot, and I appreciate any extra ventilation.

I didn't go up more than class 3, but the soles did seem pretty sticky. In really tough rock, I'll take my Pingoras; but anything less severe, and I'll take the Borneos.

For my maiden voyage, my feet were already raw from my Catalysts. I put moleskin "blister treatment" on the raw spots, but that precaution came off halfway along -- yet the Borneos were comfortable still. I gained 5200' elevation, mainly trailless. The total "hike" was 12.5 miles, and involved pea-baseball-sized gravel, and some snow traverses. My feet felt great at the end.

Time will tell about the durability. I plan to put seamgrip on all exposed seams. These shoes have the infamous Vasque Stealth Rubber toe caps, which are part of the soles, so I expect to reglue the toe caps every 5 trips or so.

One last happy surprise -- it was really easy to tighten the lower laces before I ran downhill -- easier than with any system I've used before. (Yes, I've had "quick-lacing" shoes, which were also "quick-unlacing" shoes.)

July 16-2007 notes:
I still love these boots... but the longevity is a bit disappointing. I've reglued the soles twice on one pair. But I'm hard on boots...