During my backpacking trip last week, I was dwelling on some recurring problems with my current hiking boots, a pair of LL Bean Cresta Hikers. The reason I went with those boots is because I have freakishly wide feet, and very few high-end boot makers (mostly European companies) make a boot wide enough for me, and the Crestas fit.
Unfortunately, the Crestas will be going back to LL Bean, because they tend to leak water/snow, the leather is too supple to provide good support, and there's no protective rubber rand over the toe of the boot. My Crestas' soles are still in really great shape, but the upper looks like it's about to wear through. Not a good thing. I will say that with SAR, I do a lot more off-trail hiking than most people, which may contribute to the premature wear of my Crestas. The staff at LL Bean is great to work with. If they made a stiffer boot with a rubber rand, I'd go with that, but they don't.
I decided I needed a new pair of boots, preferably with a nubuck leather upper, and definitely with some sort of rubber toe cap. I was seriously considering Danner's Crater Rim boots, but at $300, they're a tad expensive. Also, they're essentially a civilian version of a military boot, the Combat Hiker, which has gotten decidedly mixed reviews from the GIs it was issued to in Afghanistan. The other day, I stumbled upon the Asolo Sasslong boot at Sierra Trading Post for $140 (after a 30% discount). With STP's generous return policy, I figured I couldn't go wrong, and pulled the trigger, ordering a pair in the Tundra color (they're also available in a darker brown), size 10 Wide.
After waiting for a few days, box turned up on my doorstep. Inside I found these:
Please note, this is after trying them on and walking a bit. The creases above the toes were not there when the box was opened.
Of course, I immediately put on my hiking socks, laced the boots up, and went for a little walk through the arroyo/wadi/dry wash behind my house. the boots felt really nice, even fresh out of the box.
Positive observations first. Stitching and finish are excellent, with no manufacturing defects that I can see. My feet don't shift at all side to side or fore and aft, but there's still room for me to wiggle my toes. The nubuck leather upper is a very handsome green-brown shade, somewhere halfway between US Army desert boots and US Air Force Sage (cough, puke-colored, cough) boots. Grommets are easy to pull the laces through.
One feature I really like is the shape of the sole. the toe lifts dramatically away from the ball of the foot, which promotes a VERY comfortable, natural forward rocking of the foot during walking, as opposed to the Bigfoot stomp some flatter hiking boots cause. It sort of gives forward momentum to your stride, if I'm making any sense at all.
Toe lifts away from the ground when boot is flat
Waterproofing, between the gore-tex liner and the factory DWR coating, is excellent. I filled the tub with a couple inches of water and stood there for a few minutes, then splashed around a bit, with no leaks at all.
Water also beads up and runs off the boots very nicely, rather than soaking into the leather.
Okay, crappy picture. Trust me, it's beading up.
Okay, on to some potential negatives. First off, the factory insole is crap. Skinny little piece of foam with very little padding. This is typical of higher end hiking boots; you'll want to replace it with, at the very least, a gel insole from walmart. I'm likely going to buy a set of green Superfeet from REI.
I'd like the rubber rand to be stitched down rather than simply cemented in place. I'm not sure how long it will last. Still, won't be too hard to repair with Shoe Goo if it does start to delaminate.
The lacing grommets are nice in that it's easy to pull the laces through, but there's no way to lock the laces in place as there is with traditional D-ring grommets. I can see laces loosening while hiking. Fixed by tying a square knot over my instep. Also, the laces aren't making me particularly happy; they have some stretch to them, which makes tying them securely difficult. I'll likely replace them with 550 cord.
Finally, the midsole design is weird. the outsole doesn't wrap around the sides of the midsole as on typical hiking boots, and you can see the softer foam of the midsole. Not sure how this will affect longevity.
In closing, they seem like good boots. Stay tuned, I'll do a more in-depth review once I've had them for a few months and have made a definitive yea or nay decision. I'd also like to tromp through some snow and see how they do, but this is the desert in the summertime. Until next time.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Asolo, Sierra Trading Post, or their affiliates. These boots were purchased with my personal funds.
Update: Eventually returned them due to fit issues. Full write-up here: http://musinginthedesert.blogspot.com/2013/09/sasslong-update.html
Update: Eventually returned them due to fit issues. Full write-up here: http://musinginthedesert.blogspot.com/2013/09/sasslong-update.html
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