Asolo  Softrock Hiking Shoes - Men's

As a fan of my Asolo boots I decided to try these as a lighter alternative for an upcoming trip. They are lighter weight and have great traction on smooth rock surfaces. I give them 4 stars for these reasons. The run wider than most which is good for midweight wool socks, but they seem extra wide even with hiking sox. Also, they run longer than they should. My boots are 1 size larger than I normally wear and are great for multi-mile hikes, I ordered these in a 10.5, 1 half size larger than i normally wear and these seem extra-long. Also, not a lot of arches in them they are fairly flat inside.

I can say just based on break in, they are roomier that expected, and I am able to wear mid weight wool socks, which is a plus. They do not have a load of arch in them but there is some and the Ortho lite inserts feel good. The shoes are light weight and are breathable so they should dry out quickly when needed. Thus far the only drawback is the laces could be a little bit larger diameter and maybe more textured, so they stay tied better.

I decided to try these out because of “hope”. I had hope that my pursuit for a pair of shoes that could survive one hiking season in Montana would be met with this Asolo. After all, they are designed to be resoled. After approximately 35-40 miles one of the sewn seems on the right upper completely blew out. The little nubbies on the bottom of the lugs aren’t even wore off yet. I thought it impossible for a shoe to fail faster than Altras, but this shoe managed it.

I often say, “I have an Asolo foot”. My primary go-to hiking boots have generally been Asolo for the past 15 years or so. From the Fugitive GTX on down the line. Everything has been capable of 15+mile day trips in the ADKs. This is the 1st exception. Seems to have a higher volume forefoot. No matter what I did to reduce volume with footbeds, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I was walking in a generic rubber boot; thump sounds and all! I liked the heel and overall construction but for now I’m back in Salomon for the go-to. They will be returned shortly.

I started wearing 13 as I get older. I returned them and went with Solomon in size 12. Better fit for me. Well built shoe feet felt secure but I was getting heel slippage due to size.