Like a lot of outdoors-minded males, I like to think of myself as a practical guy. The kind of guy who travels light. The kind of guy who owns one pair of boots to cover all the bases. But in reality, like a lot of outdoors-minded males, I have a pair of boots for rucking… a pair of boots for warm-weather mucking around in the marsh… a pair of boots for cold-weather mucking around in the marsh, or sitting in the deer stand or ATV riding in cold weather… and so on. Finding good do-it-all footwear isn’t easy. But with the Vasque Talus AT Ultradry boots, I came pretty close.
The Basic Details – Vasque Talus AT Ultradry
The Talus AT Ultradry boots have a leather upper, with mesh built-in for breathability and flex. Although the waterproof membrane is Vasque’s proprietary material, the outsole is made of Vibram, a name that’s familiar across the outdoors industry. The midsole is molded EVA material, with an internal TPU shank providing support while remaining comfortable.
There’s a set of three fast-lace eyes at the top of the boot; the rest of the eyelets are standard hole-type.
Nothing revolutionary, but at first glance, what I think the Talus AT (the AT stands for All-Terrain) does best is provide a lot of useful technical features while not looking too goofy. Except for some yellow highlights on the sole, these don’t have any bright colors; they don’t scream “Wannabe AT Thru-Hiker.” You can wear them without looking like someone from a Matt Lyons sketch.
How Did They Work Out? Vasque Talus AT Ultradry
So they look good, but are these actual good boots? Not being a thru-hiker myself, I can’t say for sure how they’d handle the Appalachian Trail, but I can say that for the rocky clambers along the shorelines of my home on Canada’s east coast, the Talus AT boots were excellent all-round footwear. They offered excellent grip on wet seaside rocks; I spent hours fishing stripers in these boots, running up and down the shoreline, and never once felt like I was about to fall into a coastal channel and break my neck at the same time.
The same goes for local hikes through the woods, sometimes with light packs; they had sufficient ankle support for their mid-height design, and had grip in every scenario, even when I took a shortcut up a rocky beach covered in bubbleweed. And when hiking in the bush checking cameras in deer hunting season, I found they did a good job of keeping twigs and leaves out of the collar.
I would have liked to do more rucking in these boots, but a brutal 1-2 combo of a back injury followed by a rib injury this summer kept me on light duty until September. However, I will say that with the smaller packs I carried, the boots were still super-comfortable, much better than the mil-surp stompers I usually wear for rucks, and the Vasque Talus AT required no initial break-in period. They were good right out of the box.
And that held through for the length of the season; although they use a proprietary waterproof membrane and not the Gore-Tex layer that so many outdoors enthusiasts worship, the Vasque boots do not leak after months of usage. You might think that’s a minor thing, but around here, where it’s foggy, rainy and snowy 13 months a year, it’s very important, and it’s rare to find footwear that really keeps its waterproofing long-term while also staying breathable. The Talus AT boots do both.
What Could Improve? Vasque Talus AT Ultradry
There’s very little I would change on these boots, but I did find there was enough flex in the collar that the laces would work out of the quick-lace eyelets at the top if you weren’t careful when you tied them. Aside from that, I am very impressed with these boots. But there’s a problem. Vasque is a dead brand, for now.
A few weeks back, the Red Wing Shoe Company said they were going to discontinue the Vasque brand. There will be more shoes produced in the coming months, but by mid-2o25, they will no longer be making Vasque products.
It’s unfortunate. Vasque has been making footwear for American outdoors enthusiasts since 1964. But in a statement, Red Wing’s media relations team said “Together, we have done remarkable things across the outdoor industry. But, this market has changed dramatically, particularly over the last several years. What consumers seek and how they want to both shop and buy has changed dramatically … We have, therefore, made the difficult decision to sunset the Vasque brand and our outdoor business as we know it today.”
Management said this wasn’t a decision they took lightly: “We evaluated many possible strategic paths. In the end, however, we do not believe that there is a viable path forward. With limited resources, we believe it is best for us to focus on the incredible opportunities we see in our core business and brands at Red Wing Shoe Company.”
It’s unfortunate, as Vasque was long a brand that in-the-know buyers could count on. Going forward, they will have to eventually shop elsewhere—but for now, you can still buy the Vasque Talus AT Ultradry boots for $160, and I’m telling you that they’re well worth checking out.
The post AllOutdoor Review: Vasque Talus AT Ultradry – Buy ‘Em While You Can! appeared first on AllOutdoor.com.
