I have been backpacking for nearly 40 years and for many of those years I just wore what ever boot I had at the time. In the late 1980's I started doing some longer distance trips and 1st time out realized how bad my boot really hurt my feet. during that trip I got to talking with some folks I ran into and a couple of them had these boots and raved on how much better they were than what they had been using.

Vasque - Shoes

I got a pair when I got back home. I still have them today almost 30 years later they don't look much worse for wear, other than a little dirt and scuffs. However they are heavier than what I wanted to wear for day hikes and light over nights. After having so much sucsess with Vasque products ( the wife has a pair of sundowners as well, hers are nearly as old as mine) I started looking for some of their newer designs and found these.

Vasque - Shoes

I have been using these for the past 4 years almost exclusively. To this point I have zero complaints. These boots hav well over 200 miles on them and are showing no real signs of wear. They are much lighter than the Sundowners and are every bit as comfortable. Both boots have proven totally water proof over the years. The only time my feet have ever gotten wet was while I was fishing a river one day and went out where the water came over the top. I can't bitch about the boots when I'm acting stupid.