This Vasque St Elias GTX review is about durable and comfortable award-winning backpacking boots suitable for a variety of outdoor activities. These are waterproof boots which offer a great traction, stability and cushioning on practically any terrain.
Best place to buy
- The best place regarding the price and shipping conditions is usually Amazon.com.
Construction and materials
These are boots built of a high-quality nubuck leather resistant to wear in any environment. If you are not familiar with the terminology, this is a top-grain cattle leather that has been sanded or buffed.
On the toe section you have a molded rubber over-layer for extra protection, and some extra leather over-layer on the back as well.
Metal eyelets, 7 pairs of them, are nicely designed, strong, and of exceptionally good quality, one of the several nice features in these boots. The upper 3 pairs are hook design.
GORE-TEX liner inside makes these boots truly breathable and waterproof. You can stay in over 5.7 inches (14.6 cm) of water without any danger of having your feet wet.
The EVA foam insole layer is removable, just to know in case you need to add some of your own. You might want to know that EVA stands for ethyl vinyl acetate.
Beneath it, you have a molded ASE midsole with EVA cushioning pads and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) shank. All users report an exceptional stability and cushioning which this design provides. These boots provide comfort right out of the box.
The outsole is Vasque Exclusive Vibram Frontier molded with XSTrek compound, see the picture below. This is a great design which provides stability on various types of terrains, aimed to minimize rubber but in the same time without sacrificing traction, which resulted in a very lightweight sole.
This all structure of the sole construction you can see in the picture here on the right.
The ankle collar is a synthetic material, and with the additional leather layers it gives a nice support and cushioning.
Vasque St Elias GTX size
These boots are made in several width options (narrow, medium, and wide) and in the following sizes:
- Men’s narrow: 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13.
- Men’s medium: 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, 14.
- Men’s wide: 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 13.
- Women’s narrow: 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10.
- Women’s medium: 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11.
- Women’s wide: 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10.
To check the size corresponding to your country (e.g., EU, UK, Japan, etc.) please check the table given here.
With such a range of sizes, and for 3 different width options, you will definitely be able to find an optimal fit for your feet shape.
Technical specifications & summary of features
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Back view of St Elias boots. Use: backpacking, hiking, outdoor works of any kind.
- Materials:
– Outsole: Vasque exclusive Vibram Frontier.
– Midsole: A.S.E. with EVA cushioning pads and TPU shank.
– Footbed: dual density EVA.
– Upper material: 2.3 mm waterproof oiled nubuck leather.
– Liner: GORE-TEX.
– Toe protection: molded rubber bumper.
– Synthetic ankle collar. - 7 metal eyelets.
- Size range (US): 7-14 for men; 6-11 for women; wide, medium, and narrow options.
- Weight: 1.57 kg (for size 12 medium).
- Heel 1.75 in.
- Platform 0.75 in.
- Warranty: 1 year.
- Colors:
– Bungee Cord/Neutral Gray
– Slate Brown/Beluga.
Users’ experience
I have a friend who is wearing these boots for more than a year now and he is obviously very happy with them, saying that you do not feel terrain under your feet, regardless of the surface. After all this time the sole looks the same as it was in the beginning.
From his own experience, they provide an excellent traction regardless of the surface. The same experience is with respect to water resistance. He never had any issue with wet feet when wearing these boots, and this even when he would submerge them completely in the water up to the height mentioned above.
With respect to breathability, he had some objections. But this is to be expected due to Gore-Tex material used here. I have described some basic features of Gore-Tex in my another text, so have a look if you have time. The complete feeling and breathability, when you wear a Gore-Tex material, depend a) on the outside temperature, and b) on your own activity.
The point is that there is no waterproof/breathable material which is optimal for every situation. Knowing this, you can adapt when this is about your jackets, but with boots and shoes, this is a bit different story.
I have checked several sites and what I see is a generally very high rating and a great users experience. In the picture above you can see how these boots are rated by Amazon customers.
You might want to compare these boots with some other models from the similar category presented in the site, Lowa Renegade GTX and Timberland White Ledge. Please see the prices and rating by customers.
Pros and cons
Great boots and very popular, yet there are some complaints. Here is a summary of the possible cons and pros:
| Cons | Pros |
|
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Comparison with other brands
Here I give a comparison table with boots from several other top brands:
| Vasque St Elias GTX |
Salomon Quest 4D GTX |
Timberland White Ledge |
|
| Waterproof | yes, GoreTex |
yes, GoreTex |
yes, leather |
| Upper Material | all-leather |
leather, synthetic |
all-leather |
| Width options | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| My rate | 8.9/10 | 8.9/10 | 8.7/10 |
Conclusion
To conclude this Vasque St Elias GTX review, these are high quality, solid, and reliable boots which will surely keep your feet dry from outside elements. The boots are designed with a minimum number of seams, definitely waterproof, and reasonably well breathable. These boots are a perfect tool for backpackers, mountaineers, and hikers.
They brag about out-of-the-box comfort, but realistically give it a week or so before you break these boots in. All in all, great booths with a specific design for both men and women. With 3 different widths and such a variety of sizes, you will surely find your best fit.
So, I hope this text has been useful to you, and if this is so please share it with others in your social media.
For the updates about price please check the links given above. These are the places with the best price to expect. In addition, you may have a free shipping as well.
Thank you for reading and please leave me some comment in the box below, I shall be happy to read it and to answer any question. Have my best wishes and regards.
This video is 1:30 only, have a look:
Calvin says
I bought this boots and i would like the know if there’s a special treatment needed for the usual care of the lethear. Thanks
Jovo says
Hi Calvin, these boots are waterproof because of the GORE-Tex membrane so no treatment is needed for this purpose alone. But you may apply the usual care for this type of leather to keep it in good shape, there is a link for the nubuck leather in the text.
SUVIMAL DE COSTA says
Great article and lots of details. This one came highly recommended. However, I’m still doing some research to see whether this would serve as a multi terrain shoes. I am planning to do both Kilimanjaro and Base camp. I want to buy something that is suitable for both, mainly to avoid spending on another pair. Do you think this would be a good pick for my purpose? The article was really helpful. Thanks!
Jovo says
Hi Suvimal, I have not been to Kilimanjaro but I know it is a 5-6 days long tour and the altitude is high. But I have a lot of experience with some other volcanic terrain, Tenerife and Teide mountain. These Vasque St Elias boots would do great there but this is below 4000 meters.
I would get in touch with some operators there and ask what they recommend, mainly because of temperatures (do you need insulated boots), but ask them also if you would need more stiff sole to avoid fatigue. You have one link in my site, have a look here, they asked me to add their company to the text so I did it. As you see it turns out it will be useful to you.
So good luck there, it would be great to hear from you when you get back. Why would you not write an article, I shall add it to the site as a guest editor with your photo and the full story. Such a first-hand information would be very useful to others. As you may see I only put my own first-hand experience in description of tours.
Jennifer B says
Great info! Many years ago I had purchased a pair of hiking boots on eBay based solely on the look of them. Needless to say, while they fit well, they definitely are a bit heavy and feel clunky to wear. I had thought that the ones I had purchased were an oddball, but it appears this is quite common with hiking boots. As I had purchased them for a non-traditional purpose, just to be used as snow boots, I was not aware of this. Thanks for a great read!
Jovo says
Thank you Jenifer for visiting my site. Vasque St Elias are the top at the moment, you will hardly find anything better. Just to know. All the best.
Stephen says
Hi Jovo!
Wow! your review about Vasque St Elias GTX is quiet convincing – especially that you’ve covered so many aspects and given us a comparison with other brands. I would especially like the fact that they’re comfortable, waterproof and durable – but why would folks complain about their breathability and weight if indeed they’re comfortable?.
Jovo says
Hi Stephen, this is about two things. These are all-leather boots, and there is GoreTex layer. The feeling of having GoreTex depends on external conditions, so the issue about breathability may be temporary, not a constant issue. I mentioned my another post where I discussed this in detail.
Teresa says
Wow! I so appreciate the information I found here. My college-age son hopes to spend the summer in the mountains of Montana and needs the proper gear. With the information you have provided, I can be sure that we are making informed buying decisions. The proper footwear is so important and will be our first purchase for his adventure. Thank you!
Jovo says
Hi Teresa, with Vasque St Elias boots nothing can go wrong. These are award winning boots, top rated everywhere. Thank you for visiting my site.