Vivo forest tracker esc durability

[mighteywhitehunter]

Ordered up a pair to give em a try. Thank you Var!

 

[Ckat]

Ordered up a pair to give em a try. Thank you Var!

Me, too — thanks for the code!

 

[dtrkyman]

Yeah I never expected them to shed water all day, and do have a pair of waterproof socks, problem is with them your feet still feel wet but it’s better than actually being wet!


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[B_Reynolds_AK]

Has anyone found that they needed to size down once the Trackers are fully broken in? My well used pair are significantly more roomy than a new pair of the same size. When I’m in the mountains with them, they actually feel quite sloppy. I used the 50% code to order a size down and try them out.

 

[dtrkyman]

I’ve been tempted to try a size smaller but haven’t pulled the trigger!


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[PathFinder]

Did a four day spring bear trip in the Magna FG. Mostly, it went well and they were the most comfortable thing I've ever hiked in. Their limitations were also extremely obvious in a few situations.
Started with ~6.5 miles in on a pretty decent trail. Not a lot of elevation change, just a slow climb. Had about 45 lbs in the pack. After that, had a nasty, sketchy decent and then climb through a creek bottom. Then an 800 foot climb to a glassing point. Spent a day there, then went back to the trail for about 3 miles. From there, another nasty climb to another glassing point. Then a half mile walk to another glassing point. Spent the last day there, then hiked out down a thick bottom, crossed a river (boots on) and hiked out down the trail. Part of the time was with a Lathrops gel insole, and part with some 3/4 shank Sheep Feet insoles. The Sheep Feet ones worked ok when my feet were tired and I didn't want to feel every rock anymore. The downside to that was that the ground feel was gone, and the tendency to roll an ankle was way higher with the stiff insoles.

What went well:

• Boots were very comfortable overall. Knees felt much better. Trail miles felt better than stiff mountain boots by far.
• Gaiters stayed in place. Sucked them all the way down as tight as they would go.
• Boots were extremely waterproof, below the Magna upper. They're about 80% saturated with SnoSeal. Some of the highest quality leather I've ever had on a boot.
• Feet were mostly ready for it after 2 months of training/hiking/general wear.
• Creepers toe socks as a liner were fantastic. Definitely going to utilize those in the future.
• Cheap Amazon waterproof socks were great. Only put them on after crossing the river with the boots on to keep my feet dry for the hike out.
• The boots dried out very quickly after the river crossing. They were totally dry by that evening.
• Drastically reduced likelihood of rolling an ankle. The ground feel, balance, and ability to allow the foot to wrap around obstacles was great.
• Taking them on/off, especially while getting in and out of the tent, was effortless. None of the typical dread of putting frozen boots on in the morning.
• Feet warmed up more quickly after they got cold.

What didn't go well:

• The spikes I ordered sucked. They had too many spikes, which resulted in the snow packing in. They have rubber connectors on the bottom as well as top and sides, which meant they stretched and moved all over. Basically made them useless. I'll try some of the ones with chains on the bottom instead, and cut the extra spikes off.
• These have next to zero ability whatsoever to kick/edge in. In some terrain and conditions, that was a total deal breaker. To the point that it was almost impossible to move up/down/sidehill at all. Good spikes might mitigate that shortcoming. The Forest Esc sole would probably help a bit too.
• They're substantially less warm than traditional boots. Even with double wool socks, my feet got colder more quickly/easily. Adding the Vivo thermal sole under the Lathrops one would maybe have fixed much of this issue.
• Lack of foot protection on the sides was a bit of an issue in rock slides. Could be mitigated just by paying attention, or adding a bit of a rand.
• Gaiter straps wanted to snag on more things since they weren't recessed into the sole/tread.

Going forward:

• Going to keep hunting in them, and scouting through the summer. Will probably pick up some Forest Esc.
• Going to play with an insole system including Northsole Foam, the Vivo Thermal insole, and adding a sheet of plastic to reduce the sharpness of rocks without losing all ground feel.
• May try the waterproof socks while glassing to stay warmer. If not, then just use down booties while stationary.
• Different spikes that don't stretch across the bottom.
• Keep looking into BAR Wanderstiefel 2.0, Jim Greens, etc. Something very low stack height, zero drop, with sharp edges that can handle some kind of spike/crampon would be awesome.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Did a four day spring bear trip in the Magna FG. Mostly, it went well and they were the most comfortable thing I've ever hiked in. Their limitations were also extremely obvious in a few situations.
Started with ~6.5 miles in on a pretty decent trail. Not a lot of elevation change, just a slow climb. Had about 45 lbs in the pack. After that, had a nasty, sketchy decent and then climb through a creek bottom. Then an 800 foot climb to a glassing point. Spent a day there, then went back to the trail for about 3 miles. From there, another nasty climb to another glassing point. Then a half mile walk to another glassing point. Spent the last day there, then hiked out down a thick bottom, crossed a river (boots on) and hiked out down the trail. Part of the time was with a Lathrops gel insole, and part with some 3/4 shank Sheep Feet insoles. The Sheep Feet ones worked ok when my feet were tired and I didn't want to feel every rock anymore. The downside to that was that the ground feel was gone, and the tendency to roll an ankle was way higher with the stiff insoles.

What went well:

• Boots were very comfortable overall. Knees felt much better. Trail miles felt better than stiff mountain boots by far.
• Gaiters stayed in place. Sucked them all the way down as tight as they would go.
• Boots were extremely waterproof, below the Magna upper. They're about 80% saturated with SnoSeal. Some of the highest quality leather I've ever had on a boot.
• Feet were mostly ready for it after 2 months of training/hiking/general wear.
• Creepers toe socks as a liner were fantastic. Definitely going to utilize those in the future.
• Cheap Amazon waterproof socks were great. Only put them on after crossing the river with the boots on to keep my feet dry for the hike out.
• The boots dried out very quickly after the river crossing. They were totally dry by that evening.
• Drastically reduced likelihood of rolling an ankle. The ground feel, balance, and ability to allow the foot to wrap around obstacles was great.
• Taking them on/off, especially while getting in and out of the tent, was effortless. None of the typical dread of putting frozen boots on in the morning.
• Feet warmed up more quickly after they got cold.

What didn't go well:

• The spikes I ordered sucked. They had too many spikes, which resulted in the snow packing in. They have rubber connectors on the bottom as well as top and sides, which meant they stretched and moved all over. Basically made them useless. I'll try some of the ones with chains on the bottom instead, and cut the extra spikes off.
• These have next to zero ability whatsoever to kick/edge in. In some terrain and conditions, that was a total deal breaker. To the point that it was almost impossible to move up/down/sidehill at all. Good spikes might mitigate that shortcoming. The Forest Esc sole would probably help a bit too.
• They're substantially less warm than traditional boots. Even with double wool socks, my feet got colder more quickly/easily. Adding the Vivo thermal sole under the Lathrops one would maybe have fixed much of this issue.
• Lack of foot protection on the sides was a bit of an issue in rock slides. Could be mitigated just by paying attention, or adding a bit of a rand.
• Gaiter straps wanted to snag on more things since they weren't recessed into the sole/tread.

Going forward:

• Going to keep hunting in them, and scouting through the summer. Will probably pick up some Forest Esc.
• Going to play with an insole system including Northsole Foam, the Vivo Thermal insole, and adding a sheet of plastic to reduce the sharpness of rocks without losing all ground feel.
• May try the waterproof socks while glassing to stay warmer. If not, then just use down booties while stationary.
• Different spikes that don't stretch across the bottom.
• Keep looking into BAR Wanderstiefel 2.0, Jim Greens, etc. Something very low stack height, zero drop, with sharp edges that can handle some kind of spike/crampon would be awesome.

View attachment 1062295View attachment 1062296

If you like the Magna style, the Magna ESC's work really well for me. Same outsole as the Forest Trackers, but a slightly snugger fit and lower of course. The sole on them makes them far more comfortable on hard surfaces than the Magna FG, which I also have. I use Sofsole Athlete or AIIRE insoles in them, which adds protection to your foot without losing dexterity or adding unneeded arch support.

Also, Kahtoola Microspikes have worked really well with my Vivo's, and any other shoe or boot for that matter. Chain style spikes will only amplify the snow balling on the bottom of them. Microspikes have smaller spikes than the ones that you are using there, which seem excessive for the type of traction device that they are. As long as you size Micropsikes appropriately, you shouldnt have them moving around much at all.