By Will Rietveld
There’s a time and a place for each type of footwear. Normally
I wear lightweight trail runners for summer backpacking, and don’t mind wet
feet when it’s warmer and shoes dry out quickly. I wear lightweight waterproof
footwear for spring hiking in the mountains where I know conditions will be
soggy. And lightweight waterproof insulated boots are great for active snow and
cold weather hiking.
For the latter situation, the Vasque Snow Junkie Insulated
Boot is my footwear choice.
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| The Vasque Snow Junkie is my favorite lightweight insulate hiking boot. |
Description
At 1 pound 2.5 ounces per boot (men’s size 9), they are
lightweight for an insulated full-fledged hiking boot. Insulation is 200-gram
Thinsulate, which means they are lightly insulated for active hiking; they are
not insulated enough for more sedentary situations. They are constructed of
all-synthetic materials (my preference for any footwear), so they do not absorb
water. The waterproof lining is Vasque UltraDry. They use the Perpetuum last,
which is the same one used for the popular Vasque Velocity shoe.
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| The Vasque Snow Junkie has all-synthetic construction, so it doesn't absorb any water. I found it to be reliably waterproof and very durable. Its basically a light hiker with insulation. |
Testing
I wore these boots on dozens of hikes on snow and ice,
snowshoe trips, and cold weather hikes in Utah canyon country, as well as winter
footwear in town.
As with most insulated boots, the interior is more on the
roomy side to allow for extra socks. Even so, the Snow Junkie is barely wide
enough for my duck feet (E width). I do fine if I wear thinner socks. The width
should be perfect for people with normal (D width) feet. For cold weather
footwear, its nice to have extra room inside to wear extra socks for more
warmth.
Traction is good in snow that is soft enough for the outsole
to get a good grip, but they don’t provide good grip on ice. The outsole is
called “Vasque Blur”, which has some lugs of softer rubber, but they are not
sticky enough on ice, and don’t compare with newer rubber compounds recently
introduced.
As mentioned, these boots are adequately warm during active
hiking, but they are not warm enough for inactive situations. I personally did
not find them warm enough for snowshoeing, but my feet get cold easily.
However, they could be worn in combination with a heated insole inside for
lightweight snowshoeing footwear. They are certainly waterproof enough,
durable, and friendly for the purpose (gaiter ring in the front and heel strap
friendly rand at the rear).
What I especially like about the Snow Junkie is they
function like ordinary light hiking boots. They are not klutzy, meaning they
don’t feel bulky or heavy on my feet. They are basically light hikers with
insulation. While some insulated boots will develop discomfort or wear you down
if you hike in them all day, the Snow Junkie feels like a light hiker and I can
hike all day in them with no discomfort.
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| The Snow Junkie is a bit wider than typical hiking boots, but is barely wide enough for my duck feet. They are comfortable if I wear thinner socks in them. I found them to be comfortable to wear all day for hiking in a variety of conditions in cold weather. |
Bottom Line
The Vasque Snow Junkie is the nicest cold weather hiking
boot I have found so far. I like their all-synthetic construction and light
weight. They provide adequate warmth for active walking and consistently keep
my feet dry. They are comfortable to wear while hiking all day. And they have
been very durable.
Their main limitation is their traction on ice.
Newer boot models coming out address that issue,
incorporating new outsole compounds with excellent grip on ice. For example, I
recently reported on Vasque’s new Coldspark
boot for fall 2016 which weighs about the same as the Snow Junkie but has a
ColdHold outsole for better traction on ice.
Thanks
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