So I have to laugh... Within minutes of posting my previous post, I noticed I had a hit for someone looking for a review on the boots I bought. I figured why hold out for anyone looking. I'll go take a picture of my boots and start my review.Note this is an initial review, and not totally exhaustive since I have only had them for a few weeks.
First, I suppose I should explain a little about myself and background, so you know what angle this review is coming from.
Age: 29
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 145 lbs
Shoe size: 10.5 US
Backpacking Background:
I've spent most of my life playing outdoors, in various sports activities, namely cross-country running and track and field throughout high school. As a child I would go and spend vacations with my Dad up in the Adirondacks in New York state, where we would climb mountains and just have fun. In college, I was a member of the outdoors club and went on various hikes with that group, and began going on more difficult hikes into the high peaks region of the Adirondacks. I've done numerous hikes along the Appalachian trail in Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as a trip to the everglades, and swamps of Georgia. I consider myself a midweight backpacker. When I go backpacking my pack usually weighs between 30 and 40 pounds for hikes up to about a week in length. When with the right group, or by myself, I hike at a moderate pace of 2-4 mph, depending on terrain.
Product Info:
Manufacturer: Kayland
Model: Passage Vertigo High
Year of manufacture: 2008
Shoe Size: 10.5 USA
Color: Havana
URL: www.kayland.com
Listed Weight: 710 grams ea. (1.5 lbs.)
Weight as delivered: 3.2 pounds for the pair
MSRP: Not listed on web site
Product Description (from website):
This versatile boot delivers outstanding comfort, traction, and stability, scrambling off-trail, or traipsing through mud and snow. Of 110 different models tested, the Vertigo High was awarded the Backpacker Editors’ Choice Award for 2007.
- Enhanced Rocker
- Extended Lacing (laces go all the way to the toe)
- Integrated Absorbing Drive System (IADS) pro
- Level of rigidity: 5 (out of what?)
- Sole: Vibram® Tsavo.
Initial Report:
These were the first pair of boots I tried on during my quest to find new hiking boots. My previous pair were EMS brand boots that were gore-tex lined, with a solid full leather upper. After years of wear, the soles had separated from the shoe and were just breaking down. I tried on about 8 different pairs of shoes at 2 different stores, and I came back to these ones. I could tell right away when I put these on, that I'd probably come back to them. Most boots I try on, I tend to find the toe box constricting, and the heel often feels to loose. I find such a fit tends to yield blisters on my heel and big toes. Once I put the Kayland on, my heels felt well supported and adequately confined in such a way that the boot would stay with my heel and little rubbing would occur. The shape seems to be designed around the shape of my foot. I was able to get a good snug fit with the lacing system without feeling like I was cutting off the circulation to my toes. I still had plenty of bend / wiggle room for my toes as well without feeling overly roomy. With a quick walk around the stores, the boot seemed a bit stiffer than what I was used to in a boot, even being brand new. This is actually what I was looking for though. Having just moved to Colorado, I wanted something to provide a little more support for the varied terrain I would be encountering during my attempts to begin summiting the 14ers.
The footbeds that come with the boot seem to be thicker, and potentially more durable than I've seen in other boots as well. The heel section has a black waffle type material on them, topped with a white felt/foam material thats maybe 1/8 inch thick, and the final interface on top being what seems to be an orange leather/suede type material.
Instead of Gore-tex, the Vertigo High's use Event technology to provide water proofing beyond the treated leather. Since its still mostly winter, I can't say how well this stuff lets sweat out of the boot, and keeps water from getting in. My feet do sweat a fair amount when hiking, and no matter what, my feet are usually just slightly damp when removing shoes, despite the activity. Results are no different with these boots thus far. I've hiked through shallow mud and water with them and have no complaints with the water repellency. The tongue is gusseted to the sides of the boot up to the top of the laces where the metal eyes are.
The toe of boot has a rubberized fabric that seems to be glued to the upper. It seems durable and should provide good protection against abrasion around the areas that typically get the most abuse.
As I mentioned previously, the lacing system extends down to the toe and allows me to get even tension across the whole of my foot. When tightening the laces, they don't relax much when you let go of the laces, this is nice as you don't have to keep constant tension on them when tying things up. The lace hooks seem to be well designed are are made of metal. My previous boots hooks stuck out a bit, and I would sometime catch the loops of my laces on the opposite foot when walking, these seem to be designed in a way that this shouldn't happen.
On their first few hikes outdoors, they've seen conditions from dry, loose dirt, to hard packed dirt. Rocks, and grass. Fresh fallen Snow all the way to hard packed snow and ice. The vibram sole seems to grip well when climbing largish rocks, even wet. The are doing well in all the terrain. I'm enjoying the stiffness of these soles, and the uppers are breaking in nice. No blisters, or even hot spots to date. I've done a few 4-6 miles hikes with them.
Overall, my general impressions of this boot is that it is extremely well made, with strong stitching and sturdy construction. I feel like the designers really took into consideration the structure of the foot (at least those similar to mine) when engineering this boot. Its truly a joy to hike in them. I feel like they return a good portion of the energy of my stride and help propel me forward. I look forward to many years of adventure with this boot. I recommend that anyone looking for a serious boot to get them where they need to go, consider this one.
Should you have any questions about these, just post a comment, and I'll do my best to reply in a timely manner.
14 comments:
thanks for the great review. you did not talk too much about whether you feel the boot gives sufficient support, particularly if you are prone to twisting an ankle in rough or rocky terrain. wondering what your thoughts are. many thanks. bill
Hi Bill,
I've added a new post to my blog talking about my experience so far. I recently took them on a trip to Antarctica, where I was very happy with the results. Thanks for visiting.
thanks so much for the new post and your response to my question. very helpful. Bill
antsidford said
have just come back from hard jungle trekking in borneo: Maliau basin and these boots were perfect. Good support, waterproof, no ankle turns on even the steepest muddiest inclines and descents. Would highly recommend them to anyone
Hi Gerrit,
I'm trying out a new pair of these boots and am curious how you go about water proofing yours. The back of the box they came in suggest a pretty aggressive treatment with silicone spray. What's your method?
As far as waterproofing goes, I've not had a problem with their factory conditioning. I've done plenty of hikes with these boot so far, summiting a few 14ers in Colorado now. I've purposely stood in flowing streams to check their water repelancy. After standing in water for 30+ seconds (being sure it wasn't flowing over where the tounge was providing a seal to the boot), I stepped out and water shed off it very nicely. I realize as the boots wear I'll need to re-waterproof them. I've find that wax based waterproofing, such as Nickwax for suede and nubuck works pretty well. I've head friends tell me that the Tectron Silicone spray works really well too. My only worries would be to sealing off any breathability these boots have to offer. But again, up to this point, I am very satisfied with the factory waterproofing.
I am on a mission to replace an older pair of EMS branded boots (very reliable). These boots sound tempting. Do they come in wide sizes (sometimes I fit into a medium and sometimes need a wide depending on the boot. Are these boots available locally in the Denver metro area?
I replaced my old EMS boots with these. I don't know if they come in wide sizes or not. I bought my boots over at bent gate, in Golden, CO (www.bentgate.com). Their customer service is absolutely top notch, and always consider them my first choice for outdoor gear because of it. One thing to note though, Kayland no longer makes this particular boot. They still make the Vertigo high, they just revised the model from what I reviewed over a year ago. I still have these boots and use them multiple time a week. They are holding up great, and am very happy with the purchase.
Gerrit,
thanks a lot for your review. How are your Vertigo boots doing now? Are they still working and in good shape? (I ask because I've seen bad comments online about the durability of other Kayland boots...).
Above all, I have a question about breathability. My current Goretex boots are great except for sweating.
What about hiking for long periods in warm weather with the Vertigo? How do these shoes and their eVent/suede layers perform, when it comes to keeping one's feet dry, that is to take sweat off the feet? Please let me know.
Thanks!
PS: I write about backpacking at http://strider.zona-m.net. You're welcome to stop by!
Hi Marco,
I'm gonna try and post an update in a little over a week from now (I'm going on vacation next week), but Here's a quick summary...
The boots are still in good shape. I was originally worried about how long the soles would last, as the rubber seemed kind of soft to me, but the treads are holding up nicely, and I've not been easy on the shoe either. I've put a significant amount of miles on these boots, and have had them in all kinds of terrain. The only amount of wear that is showing is the rubber toe guard is starting to delaminate on the inside of one foot where my toes bend, maybe 5mm deep.
As far as breathability, I think they are great. My feet sweat a lot, and in these boots, they seem to stay quite dry compared to other boots I've had. I also stopped using sock liners, and I've change my sock brand, which may also be helping though. I've hiked all day in these things, doing extremely physically demanding things, at the end of the day, my feet are damp, but not wrinkly as if they've been soaked in water for hours. I would still buy these things again. The only thing I wish they had was a heel welt for crampons.
Thanks for report.
I have wide feet and have just bought, on approval (wear only indoors) a pair of Kayland apex trek. I normal use Superfeet insoles, as although they are expensive they do a good job, i have put them into the Kaylands and they then don't feel such a good fit around the rear of the heal. I am concerned that supplied insoles might weaken with wear. Has anyone else found this ?
Has anyone else found this problem with Superfeet as normally they improve any boots.
Stephen in Scotland
Thanks for the review. I have used one pair Kayland Contact 1000 boots for approximately three years. These are an older model of the current Kayland Vertigo High Backpacking Boot. I have worn Kayland Contact 1000 boots in varied terrain, and am 100% satisfied with them. The were a perfect fit and comfortable out of the box. I have subjected them to a great deal of wear, and they show minimal signs of wear. The tread has lasted much longer than I thought it would. I have been mountaineering for 30 years, and have used a variety of boots, including 3 pairs of Scarpa SL Manta boots. My last pair of Scarpa SL Manta boots gave me terrible blisters, even though they were the same size as the first two pairs. It seemed that Scarpa had changed their last. I abandoned my allegiance to Scarpa, and bought Kayland Contact 1000 boots. They are by far the best boots I have ever used, and I have never had a blister since I started wearing them.
The soles of my last pair of Garmont Approach Shoes delaminated on my last mountaineering trip, despite being fairly new, and made them extremely hazardous to walk in. I was looking for an Approach Shoe, and after studying dozens of reviews of Approach Shoes, I have decided to use Kayland boots instead. I have worn many different brands of Approach Shoes over the years, and in my opinion no Approach Shoe provides sufficicient support, comfort and durability. I am about to buy a pair of Kayland Vertigo High Backpacking Boots even though my 3-year-old Kayland Contact 1000s are good for many more climbs.
I also bought a pair of Kayland Contact 1000 boots for my girlfriend who had never worn boots before. For 30 years she hiked/backpacked using running-shoes. Her Kayland Boots were a perfect fit, and she was amazed at how comfortable they felt. She enjoys hiking so much more now with the Kayland Boots.
I have also used the Kayland Contact 1000 boots for extensive, serious canyoning, and the glue has held perfectly. The traction on wet rocks is adequate, but probably nowhere near as great as 5.10 Stealth rubber. Now, if Kayland could just add sticky-rubber soles they would have a perfect product.
Dennis
Cape Town, South Africa
2011 January 23
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