Vetta Lite GTX

 

Light Weight Approach/Hiking Boots

Light weight, GoreTex lined approach/hiking boot from Garmont.

GORE-TEX lining within the abrasion-resistant 1.6 mm suede and mesh uppers, sticky Vibram Friction rubber outsoles, tri-density midsole, and a full length, full width frameflex light insole.

Review

I bought a pair of these boots this past spring and they fit perfectly and required almost no break-in right out of the box. The insole is one of the most comfortable I have ever put on my feet and they almost passed my "soak" test where I walk in tall, wet grass that can beat water into the smallest spaces after a mile or two. I did get a little leakage where the tongue meets the toe but after all these aren't sold as wading shoes. My one and only complaint was a hard spot that was formed by the gusseted tongue when the boot is tightly laced. On both boots the hard spot fell right on both of my inner ankle bones but I figured it would soften a bit with wear. Thinking I had found a near perfect "ultra lite" approach boot I wore these for the first 6 sloppy miles on our approach to Gannett Peak this past June. After a mile on snowshoes where I really tested the flexibilty, the pain on both of my inner ankles got so bad I ended up hanging them in a tree and hoped the marmots would eat them before we came back 4 days later. I switched to my regular mountain boots for the next 40 miles and to my disappointment on our way out, the marmots had ignored them so I carried them out and exchanged them for a more traditional hiking boot.

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