Asolo TPS 535 Evo

I’ll link to my treatise on what I look for in a hiking boot here but suffice it to say these boots were well loved.

I adored these boots and to date I think they’re just about the best boots I’ve ever owned.  I ran them hard and put them away wet for over 10 years.  They have almost every feature I droned on about in my other post with the exception of the rubber toe rand.  That wasn’t a full consideration when I bought these boots but as you can see the toes got roughed up a bit. 

Had I not eventually destroyed the foam midsole I might have had them resoled and added an aftermarket rand.  Yes, I know part of the resoling might have included the foam part but what’s done is done, I’ve already cried over that milk.

They’re just stiff enough to be supportive but flexible enough to wear all day.  They have a bit of a rocker toward the front which somewhat makes the shoe feel like it’s rolling forward for you as you walk, a feature which I like a lot.  The absolute only reason I didn’t buy another pair when these wore out was because I wanted to try a similar brand which came with said rubber rand.  Interesting side note:  Those are the original laces, infer from that what you will.

Compared to newer, fancier designs these are somewhat old-school looking, bulky, heavy, and expensive. But like Outdoor Gear Lab noted, these are boots for the long term, albeit for most hikers who aren’t as brutal as I am: “These are likely to last your whole life. If you can find enough occasions to wear them out, let us know, because you deserve some type of award.” I should contact them for my award, I think I deserve it.

If you need stability, durability, traction and comfort in a shoe which won’t let you down but you also can handle the weight and, if you’re sensitive to it, the heat of the Gore-Tex and leather vs more Aerographenish type shoes then you can’t go wrong with these.