Vivo forest tracker esc durability

[Bratch]

Altra’s suck in comparison. I’ve had 3-4 pairs of Alta Lone Peak’s and they’re great shoes (it’s what I wear daily) and they are awful off trail and side hilling.

Old post but following up

How’s the fit and sizing compare across the Lone Peaks and the ESC? Like you I’ve moved pretty much to LP as my daily shoe and run in Torins. Last two years I’ve hunted in LP mids in the OK flatlands during early season. I’m a 12.5 in the Altras.

 

[RussDXT]

Old post but following up

How’s the fit and sizing compare across the Lone Peaks and the ESC? Like you I’ve moved pretty much to LP as my daily shoe and run in Torins. Last two years I’ve hunted in LP mids in the OK flatlands during early season. I’m a 12.5 in the Altras.

Same size for me.

 

[lelliott8]

Old post but following up

How’s the fit and sizing compare across the Lone Peaks and the ESC? Like you I’ve moved pretty much to LP as my daily shoe and run in Torins. Last two years I’ve hunted in LP mids in the OK flatlands during early season. I’m a 12.5 in the Altras.

Same size for me.

Same here

 

[Cbubq]

Will be wearing the ESC on an Idaho elk hunt this November

 

[mtnbound]

Will be wearing the ESC on an Idaho elk hunt this November

Depending on the area and weather I would bring a backup pair of boots. I love the ESC’s but I have found them to be quite slippery in the snow especially side-hilling.

 

[Cbubq]

Depending on the area and weather I would bring a backup pair of boots. I love the ESC’s but I have found them to be quite slippery in the snow especially side-hilling.

Will def bring a backup!

 

[Cbubq]

Has anyone used the Russell Moccasin backcountry or similar? They used to be a little cheaper now they are like $800. It looks like you could put any rubber outsole you want on them, which could make them feel similar to the ESC

 

[Braaap]

Old post but following up

How’s the fit and sizing compare across the Lone Peaks and the ESC? Like you I’ve moved pretty much to LP as my daily shoe and run in Torins. Last two years I’ve hunted in LP mids in the OK flatlands during early season. I’m a 12.5 in the Altras.

I wear a 9 in vivo and 9.5 in Altra.

 

[ArmyAg97]

I wore mine on a hunt for the first time this last month, after about a year of regular use.
Sitka Blacktail on a steep island in Alaska. The ground was frozen hard down to about 200ft above sea level, along with areas of hard snow and ice.

I wore them in combination with Microspikes and APE Equipment Ultra/Neoshell gaiters.
My partner just wore standard leather hunting boots (Zamberlan) with no microspikes. While I had excellent traction with this combination, I did notice that when I was not wearing microspikes on the hard ground, the Zamberlan's were able to 'edge' in to the slope and grip alot easier than the Forest Tracker's, which need to conform to the ground to grip.

Durability: Mine are holding up quite well with regular leather treatment and have not seperated at the rand at all.


View attachment 800135

Were you able to get gaiters decently tight with the trackers? I'm looking for some new gaiters or a way to modify my Fjallraven gaiters. They fit good on the calf, but I can't really get them tight at all around the boots. If I try to tighten them up then they drop down under my heel. They work fine for just walking through wet vegetation, but snow and mud get under them pretty easily if its over the top of my boots.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Were you able to get gaiters decently tight with the trackers? I'm looking for some new gaiters or a way to modify my Fjallraven gaiters. They fit good on the calf, but I can't really get them tight at all around the boots. If I try to tighten them up then they drop down under my heel. They work fine for just walking through wet vegetation, but snow and mud get under them pretty easily if its over the top of my boots.

Yeah that is the problem with a low volume boot and a full size gaiter. The Kuiu Katana gaiters are a decent low volume gaiter that may work better. However the best option would be to have Alec at APE Equipment make you a pair of custom fit gaiters. I’ve been using and testing gaiters for him for a couple years. So nice being able to size to your exact calf & boot size.

 

[grahambiel]

For those of you talking about thorns, these just got released:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/desert-esc-mens?colour=Camel

 

[sndmn11]

For those of you talking about thorns, these just got released:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/desert-esc-mens?colour=Camel

Those look like a great upland boot...

 

[dtrkyman]

Those are nice looking! My leather magna are hot!

 

[ArmyAg97]

For those of you talking about thorns, these just got released:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/desert-esc-mens?colour=Camel

Wow. TAKE, MY, MONEY

 

[sndmn11]

I've had the kid's leather "boot" in my cart for a few weeks trying to decide what to orde myself to get to free shipping. So, I ordered these desert ones for archery phorn and upland birds.

 

[twall13]

Those look like a great upland boot...

I had the same thought

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

For those of you talking about thorns, these just got released:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/desert-esc-mens?colour=Camel

I’m gonna have to try these.

 

[RussDXT]

Looks like a change of leather only to camel….will that make that much difference?

 

[BBob]

Looks like a change of leather only to camel….will that make that much difference?

Double layer over the toes compared to the other ESC models which should help a little? Couldn't hurt in cactus country.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Looks like a change of leather only to camel….will that make that much difference?

Nah the upper looks a bit taller? There appears to be 4 points of double stitched leather patches/reinforced leather sewn in. The outer ankles, the uppers, the toes, and the back of the heel. These are common areas where cactus and cats claw brush tend to rub and stick into the regular version.

The regular Vivo forest trackers have been excellent so far here in AZ so we’ll see if these are an improvement or just heavier and hotter.