GearFlogger

Vasque Pow Pow UltraDry Women's Winter Boot

Of all the gear in all the gin joints in all the world - with apologies to Mr. Bogart - it's your boots that you notice every step of the way. Finding the perfect winter boot has been a search for the Sheflogger, but now she can rest her weary feet because she's wearing Vasque Pow Pow UltraDry Winter boots.

The Pow Pow kept her feet toasty warm for the last year, fending off subzero temperatures where with her last pair of winter boots she felt the frost at 20F above. To be fair, her last pair of boots were too small, and that makes a huge difference. The Pow Pow has a fit dialed in for women's feet, with a narrow heel cup and more instep support that works much better for her extremely high arches. The height is perfect too; tall but not too tall, so they don't impinge her massive calves. Seriously, she has like Ron Kauk calves.

The Pow Pow is perfectly waterproof and 400g of Thinsulate makes it warm well down below zero. Even with all this tech it's still a wonderfully light boot, at 2.5lb for size 6.5. The rubber outsole provides excellent traction, and heel ledges make snapping on a pair of snowshoes a snap. What more could she possibly want? Oh yeah, they look sharp. The blue-gray suede is particularly good-looking and goes with anything, so there you have it: the perfect winter boot.

$89.97 (on sale from $149.95) at Backcountry

Vasque Super Alpinista boot

I say he's yella! Well, he's wearing yellow boots, anyway. The Vasque Super Alpinista is the single boot brother of the Denali Approved Ice 9000 double boot. And where some boots are built for walking, this one is definitely built for the vertical world.

The Super Alpinista is step-in crampon compatible for the white stuff, and has Stealth rubber soles for everything else. At 4lb 10oz it's over a pound lighter than the 9K. It's warm enough, stiff enough and light enough to be a great winter climbing boot when you want the extra precision of a single boot and don't need the extra insulation of a double.

My partner climbed late last season on vertical ice with these and found the stiffness to be double-edged: he loved them while climbing but after hiking them out couldn't wait to let his dogs loose. And this is the same guy who lounges around in his 9Ks after getting off Rainier. A final caveat: the lacing system is not the greatest. Like the 9K you really need to crank on it to tighten the boot, and even then you can plan on re-tying your laces frequently as they tend to slip.

$206.97 (on sale from $344.95) at Backcountry.com

Vasque Blur XCR shoes

I hate running. I believe it to be an evolutionary response to situations of great danger, and I refuse to perpetuate the notion of it as a viable form of outdoor recreation. I think, therefore I do not run.

Imagine my horror when a pair of Vasque Blur XCR trail runners showed up in the mail. After the initial shock wore off I stared at them while chewing a Pop-Tart: "Maybe they make running fun," I thought. Hmm.

Not wanting to do anything rash, I took them out for a high-angle day hike humping a thirty pound pack. The shoe was stiff but comfortably so, translating into great support. Unlike some XCR footwear it is truly waterproof, and like most XCR footwear it sacrifices a little breathability, which is only a problem in hot weather - get the non-XCR version for that environment.

What makes the Blurs my new best friend for light-to-medium fast hiking is the superb traction: the soles are not only sticky, but the lugs grab unbelievably well in loose gravel and mud. The laces are a little difficult to cinch up, but on the plus side they will not slip.

And yes, I did finally take them out for a run. Under duress, I might add, from a particularly noxious co-editor with a nasty running problem he doesn't even have the good sense to hide. After three miles of what might charitably be described as a full-body moving vomit, I can report with absolute certainty the following finding: running still sucks, but a lot less if you wear this shoe.

$115 at REI

Vasque Ice 9000 boots

Vasque makes great footwear and the Ice 9000 is Das Boot. I have the original 2004-2005 model, identified by the (sexy) red color. It was updated in 2005, identified by the (ugly) orange color. The updates were relatively minor and you can still find the older model on sale for $199, a great deal if your size is available.

My climbing partner and I both use this boot extensively and find them extremely comfortable and warm during extended below zero temps. The inner boots lace very snugly, although I am considering replacing them with a foam bootie. They work well by themselves around camp although they are a bit slick-soled.

They take crampons well, although as always try your crampons on with an overboot. With a better lacing system like the La Sportiva Spantik these would really kick butt. Denali Approved.

$355.46 at Backcountry.com