Interesting new trail shoes, new Gore-Tex technology and sticky Stealth rubber too.
A couple of neat
new
2010 shoes from US brand
Vasque in the shape
of an innovative new trail-running shoe due out in the next
month or so and an interesting
new
Gore technology for later in this year. Oh, and
Stealth sticky rubber-soled
approach shoes as well...
Vasque Transistor
Vasque has built a strong reputation for trail running -
that's off-road but not full-on fell running stuff - and the new low
profile Transistor, FS due out this spring 2010, aims to build on that
with an interesting mix of design and componentry.
The shoe's slip-lasted, so there's no board, instead the upper is
stitched directly to the footbed - like a rock boot - to give a
glove-like, snug fit - and as far as the footbed goes, technically
there isn't one. Instead your foot rests directly on a memory foam type
layer called Flux Foam, which conforms to the shape of the foot and
then holds it in place.
The promise is a close, comfortable, 'glove-like' fit that should
minimise foot movement within the shoe for better off-road stability
and less sloppiness on uneven ground. The shoe's also very light and a
substantial TPU plate moulded into the sole unit makes it torsionally
very rigid. Looks interesting, review shoe soon.
New Gore-Tex System
Later in the year, Vasque is also debuting a new Gore-Tex technology.
Exsting Gre-Tex liners are integral with the tongue of the shoe, which
can leave bunched material under the tongue causing discomfort. The new
version has a full Gore-Tex liner, but it runs over a free-floating
tongue, which should eliminate any buncing or ridges from the liner
pressing into the top of the foot.
Tongue floats inside the
Gore-Tex liner to eliminate ridges
The new system will be available in both men's and women's versions of
a shoe, the name of which we can't read from our notes, doh, we'll
check and insert it, but this is what it looks like...
Stealth Rubber
Finally, as of this summer, Vasque has a licence to use
the sticky Stealth rubber out-sole best known for its use on 5.10 rock
boots and approach shoes.
Sticky rubber tends to be overkill for day-to-day walking, but it's
ideal for climbing approach shoes and, in a UK context, works
brilliantly on harder-grade scrambles where it's nice to know
that your feet are more likely to stay attached to the rock...
One to watch out for in the future then, available from around August
2010.
Details of the current Vasque range at
www.vasque.com
