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People who own Vasque boots are an outspoken bunch. Among them, the CEO of this very publication, who, upon seeing my pair of Vasque’s new Clarion ’88 GTX hiking boots, promptly expressed his love for the brand “A single pair of Vasque boots has lasted me 25 years.”
So while park rangers and casual campers alike could still have Vasque boots handy from the late 1980s, the Minnesota label decided to upgrade its classic Clarion model just in case.
The Clarion ’88 GTX takes its aesthetic cue from the 1988 boots, pictured here. In fact, it’s almost a dead ringer, and it trades in the garish, neon decals popular today for simple lines and a vintage Vasque logo. The colorways for these boots are muted, too, with navy/grey and grey/grey options for men.
But Vasque didn’t bring the Clarion back just to turn heads. It gave the shoe a full, 2019-performance reboot, studding the silhouette with a ton of thoughtful tech. The outsole is grippy, stabilizing Vibram, the suede leather is waterproof, and the whole shoe is fortified with a GORE-TEX lining, allowing it to breathe and stay fresh in there, even as it protects your hooves from puddles.
For all we’ve talked about Vasque’s longevity, we’d be remiss not to mention their immediacy, too. As in, throw them on and they’re instantly ready to go. I debuted a pair of Vasque’s Breeze LT Low GTX’s on the seven-mile Mist Trail in Yosemite (so named for its multiple waterfalls), and they were broken in by the first mile marker.
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