Vivo forest tracker esc durability

[B_Reynolds_AK]

UltraPE is bliss.


I have been upland hunting in the Magna Forest, but have had a few pokeys work their way through the merino tongue. I am torn on if I want the Tracker leather/winter/moc to put on my holiday list. I wish they all had stitched on soles.

on the stitched soles.

 

[Willyb43]

That's them. Looks like @Willyb43 needed more coffee ...

Nope, not listed on the Canadian site. Which is odd for a winter boot… that’s why I asked for a link.

Thanks!

 

[ElPollo]

Another day of quail hunting in mesquite and cactus. These soles are either way tougher than any boot I’ve ever used for sharp stuff, or I’ve gotten way better at avoiding it. There are a few small spines stuck in the sole, but nothing compared to the boots I’ve worn in the past. I’m sure you could eventually wear these off enough to stick a mesquite spine through them, but that’s the case with anything. There are some desert racing stripes on the leather, but there are on my truck too. I’ve been wearing these almost daily since September. Really happy with them so far. Super comfortable. I am running both a saddle leather insole and a Superfeet hiking insole in them. I might be a wimp, but I’ve found that pushing it really fast for 4-6 miles can make my heels sore without the insoles.

 

[Further]

@ElPollo,

I agree the Michelin soles on these are tough and durable. I also am pleased with the ankle support of the Tracker Forest ESC boots. I am quite surprised you are able to use both a leather insole and Superfeet insole in yours. I have moved to wearing minimalist shoes and boots, initially for wider toe box and comfort. I used to wear 10-1/2 to 11 shoes and boots, but now wear 12's. I don't know if this is a factor of advancing age and/or expanding feet that I noticed after COVID slowdowns when I was commonly wearing flip flops in house for extended period. I too used to use Superfeet in most of my boots and shoes. I do have flat feet and tended to walk heel first, which made my heels sore without cushioning and that also seemed to me to make ankle turns (long time problem for me) more an issue. Now, I walk/hike more flatly with more emphasis on coming down much more on the front and middle of my foot rather than heel. I do wear middle to heavier weight socks. I initially tried my Superfeet in the Tracker Forest ESCs, but was getting some boot rubbing on top of my foot. I also tried a custom leather insole from some quite heavy custom boots. Again, these were too thick for me in the Forest Tracker ESCs. The supplied Vivo insoles were too thin for my comfort on rocky trails. Through a recommendation I saw on a minimalist shoe site, I ordered bundle from NorthSole ( https://northsole.co/?syclid=967af2ab-a51e-4251-b774-6ea63ffad90e) their LegacyThree standard cushion and Legacy extra cushion insoles. I went with Large for sizing, which says up to 11-1/2, but that sizing has worked well for me with my Vivo 12's. I first tried the Legacy extra cushion, but was again feeling rubbing on top of foot and toes. The LegacyThree standard thickness has worked for me in these boots. The overall thickness of the insoles have slightly compressed with usage, but happy with cushioning of these. Possibly the usage compression would have been eventually usable for me with these boots, but not worth hot spots and blisters to get there. I used the thicker Legacy extra cushion into another pair of Vivos that are a mesh, very breathable shoe that has SG soft ground soles that are thinner and far less durable. The extra cushion have increased the comfort in those, but doubt the thinner soles will last much longer. I have used those to walk/hike in hot summer weather.

 

[ElPollo]

@ElPollo,

I agree the Michelin soles on these are tough and durable. I also am pleased with the ankle support of the Tracker Forest ESC boots. I am quite surprised you are able to use both a leather insole and Superfeet insole in yours. I have moved to wearing minimalist shoes and boots, initially for wider toe box and comfort. I used to wear 10-1/2 to 11 shoes and boots, but now wear 12's. I don't know if this is a factor of advancing age and/or expanding feet that I noticed after COVID slowdowns when I was commonly wearing flip flops in house for extended period. I too used to use Superfeet in most of my boots and shoes. I do have flat feet and tended to walk heel first, which made my heels sore without cushioning and that also seemed to me to make ankle turns (long time problem for me) more an issue. Now, I walk/hike more flatly with more emphasis on coming down much more on the front and middle of my foot rather than heel. I do wear middle to heavier weight socks. I initially tried my Superfeet in the Tracker Forest ESCs, but was getting some boot rubbing on top of my foot. I also tried a custom leather insole from some quite heavy custom boots. Again, these were too thick for me in the Forest Tracker ESCs. The supplied Vivo insoles were too thin for my comfort on rocky trails. Through a recommendation I saw on a minimalist shoe site, I ordered bundle from NorthSole ( https://northsole.co/?syclid=967af2ab-a51e-4251-b774-6ea63ffad90e) their LegacyThree standard cushion and Legacy extra cushion insoles. I went with Large for sizing, which says up to 11-1/2, but that sizing has worked well for me with my Vivo 12's. I first tried the Legacy extra cushion, but was again feeling rubbing on top of foot and toes. The LegacyThree standard thickness has worked for me in these boots. The overall thickness of the insoles have slightly compressed with usage, but happy with cushioning of these. Possibly the usage compression would have been eventually usable for me with these boots, but not worth hot spots and blisters to get there. I used the thicker Legacy extra cushion into another pair of Vivos that are a mesh, very breathable shoe that has SG soft ground soles that are thinner and far less durable. The extra cushion have increased the comfort in those, but doubt the thinner soles will last much longer. I have used those to walk/hike in hot summer weather.

So I never lace these things tight enough to get any ankle support out of them. About a year and a half ago, my dr told me I had a partially torn Achilles tendon. After a year of trying to rehabilitate it, that diagnosis changed. The drs think I actually had a blood clot that affected the O2 supply to my Achilles and my sural nerve. It’s been a long, slow recovery requiring daily foot, ankle and calf exercises. Keeping these loose improves the blood flow, but I have a lot less need for ankle support now due to all the rehab exercises. However, there have been multiple side benefits of going to barefoot shoes and crocs. The big toe pain I was experiencing has pretty much disappeared. I also have no issues with arch pain or planters faciatis and my knee pain has substantially reduced.

As far as insoles go, I don’t see adding them as a substantial problem, unless it adds significant height under your foot. These barefoot shoes are stable because your foot is close to the ground. The taller your sole and insole stack gets, the less stability you have and the more you need ankle support. The leather insole that I added was to increase puncture resistance and spread out the impact of sharp rocks. I added a Superfeet hiking insole on top of that because my weekly exercise of hiking fast on dirt roads was causing some heel pain. This also resolved my issue with my foot sliding on the slick leather insole on steep slopes. Where I’m at now works for me, but it may not be perfect for everyone else.

 

[Dave_S]

I've been window shopping these things for awhile now. Finally sat down to sift through the thread, got halfway through and ordered a pair. Having reached the end, perhaps I should have ordered direct from Vivo, but Opticsplanet had my size for under 200 bucks.

 

[Dobermann]

I've been window shopping these things for awhile now. Finally sat down to sift through the thread, got halfway through and ordered a pair. Having reached the end, perhaps I should have ordered direct from Vivo, but Opticsplanet had my size for under 200 bucks.

There are a lot of fake sites around, but I'm not sure to what extent that translates to fake shoes. For whatever other issues Opticsplanet has, I'd find it a bit surprising if they were stocking fakes.

 

[twall13]

There are a lot of fake sites around, but I'm not sure to what extent that translates to fake shoes. For whatever other issues Opticsplanet has, I'd find it a bit surprising if they were stocking fakes.

I'm guessing he was more referring to their warranty policy. The shoes are likely legit, but Vivo has been known to stiff people on warranty claims depending on where they are purchased. I've owned enough Vivos without issue at this point that I'd buy from elsewhere without hesitation if the price is good. That said, I'm probably not as picky as some consumers when minor stuff happens. I'd rather put some rubber cement on them and roll with it than deal with returns and warranty claims.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Dave_S]

I'm guessing he was more referring to their warranty policy. The shoes are likely legit, but Vivo has been known to stiff people on warranty claims depending on where they are purchased. I've owned enough Vivos without issue at this point that I'd buy from elsewhere without hesitation if the price is good. That said, I'm probably not as picky as some consumers when minor stuff happens. I'd rather put some rubber cement on them and roll with it than deal with returns and warranty claims.

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro using Tapatalk

Yep, I was referring to the warranty claim. But I'm also pretty happy to glue stuff together if need be.

 

[sndmn11]

Tracker Textile at 40% off now. Who has guinea pigged these?

 

[fwafwow]

I didn’t see the sale price on the Vivo website. Link please?

 

[sndmn11]

I didn’t see the sale price on the Vivo website. Link please?

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/tracker-textile-at-mens?colour=Silver%20Birch

 

[dtrkyman]

I've been eyeing those, but not a fan of the colors.

 

[Dave_S]

Well I ordered size 11 (44), but optics planet is clearly confused by euro sizing and delivered what they claim is size 11, but is in fact a 43. I measured in the middle so I tried them. They feel pretty good, but how much room are you all finding to be comfortable in front of your toes? I’m mostly concerned with steep downhill. I hate jamming my toes in my boots. I’m looking at like a thumbs width right now. Harder to tell with the boots on. Picture on the bottom is with me sort of lifting my toes up so I can find them. What do you think? This gonna be enough?

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[UpperLeft86]

That's about how much room I have in mine. IME Vivo's run a bit long, so I focus on fitting the width. My feet slip forward a bit sometimes going downhill, but at least in my experience, that's less of ap problem for a couple reasons: the leather is soft enough that your toes don't smash into a hard rubber outsole or rand; and the way you walk tends to change a bit, like picking up and placing your feet, rather than relying on the boot to keep your foot locked in place. That might just be me, though, I wear mine pretty loose.

 

[mtnbound]

Well I ordered size 11 (44), but optics planet is clearly confused by euro sizing and delivered what they claim is size 11, but is in fact a 43. I measured in the middle so I tried them. They feel pretty good, but how much room are you all finding to be comfortable in front of your toes? I’m mostly concerned with steep downhill. I hate jamming my toes in my boots. I’m looking at like a thumbs width right now. Harder to tell with the boots on. Picture on the bottom is with me sort of lifting my toes up so I can find them. What do you think? This gonna be enough?

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Yep, that's about the same as what I have with mine. They do seem to run a little long, as I bought a black pair in the same size, and they are even longer.

 

[Dave_S]

Awesome. Time to treat them and start putting some miles on them.


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[ElPollo]

Has anyone seen sizing differences in Vivos across different models? I have pair of the Forest ESCs and a pair of the low-top Magna ESCs, both in the same size. The Magnas are significantly smaller. Almost too small. Definitely don’t have room for larger socks.

 

[dtrkyman]

I have a pair of training shoes that seem bigger than my Magna leather for sure, both size 10, I really want to try a 9 but I think they will be too small.

I have had no issue with them being slightly big.


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[jonpall]

Has anyone seen sizing differences in Vivos across different models? I have pair of the Forest ESCs and a pair of the low-top Magna ESCs, both in the same size. The Magnas are significantly smaller. Almost too small. Definitely don’t have room for larger socks.

My Gobi boots are quite a bit smaller than my forests. They are also quite a bit older though.