Help - Vasque Sundowners - size problem

“I went down to Rei today to try on some Vasque Sundowners. I'm planning on purchasing a people, probably on-line since Rei stores are still selling them for $210, yet their web site sells them for $170.

Anyway, normally I'm a 9 1/2. I tried on a 9 1/2 and they were just a tad too big. I laced them up and when I walked, my heel would rise up. Unfortunately, they didn't have a size 9 for me to try on. My question is, for hiking boots, how do you determine the ideal fit? Today I was wearing rather thin socks, but when I hike I'll have thicker socks, so that may make a difference.

Thanks for any tips.”

“Buy them a little "too big." Your feet will swell up when hiking and with thick socks you'll need at least a half size over your town shoe size.”

“Always try on hiking boots with the socks you intend to hike in.

Also are you sure the models are the same? The sundowner classics normally go in the $170 range, but the sundowner MTX model is usually over $200.”

“DO NOT buy boots if they feel tight, even the slightest, in the store.”

“BTW, I have the sundowners . . . darn good boot that has held up real well. They take some time to break in. I always wear two pair of socks with them. They are the same size as other shoes I wear, but if I wear only one pair of socks they do feel too big. But thats not to say it would be the same for you Blahchool.”

“Something to consider when buying shoes is volume.... along with size and width....a boot with a small volume can pinch and constrict even though size and width is correct.

Luckily you can adjust volume by using an insole that is thicker then the one supplied, or even adding the one from a current pair of boots on top of the one in the boot. Many boot manufacturers adj boot size by supplying inserts of different thicknesses...Montrail is one.”

“Good point mtnsteve, I did add the superfeet insoles to my sundowners . . . and it really made them much more comfortable.”

“Actually Stevehiker, If you get a pair of boots fitted for you by a knowledgable person (or a pair of custom leather boots made for you) you would find out that when buying leather boots they should just fit. The fact is that yes your feet do swell while you hike but the boot leather is the smallest it will ever be when they are nbew out of the box. In fact one of the biggest reasons that people get blisters on there feet is because they buy boots that are "a liitle big" in the store and after they are broken in the are To big. When boots are to big your feet slide around too much, wa la blisters. These boots, the Sundowners are leather and fitting them should be done with someone who knows what they are doing not someone who thinks they do. We all may have our 2 cents to give you Blahchool but keep in mind you are the one who has to do the miles in the boots not me or anyone else. I have the Sundowners MX, I bought them last spring and when I got them I thought they might be a bit small because they just fit but now after about 100 miles in them they have more than enough room and I never get blisters.”

“I think Campmor has the Sundowners on sale for 140.00 right now.I've only gone on a few hikes with the pair that I own and I felt some blisters coming after a few hours of hiking. I only had 1 pair of socks on so next time I will have to try hiking with 2 pair. They did feel a little loose in the store and I thought that thicker socks would do the trick but now I know I need to double up. At this point I would not try and hike the AT in them!!!!
I have a difficult time finding boots that fit, especially since I Really notice that my left foot is bigger than my right.”

“What is a wa la blister?”

“You may be right sirpete but I've made the mistake of buying leather shoes that felt a little tight in the store, and the result of wearing them is I now have bunions. I still would err on the side of getting a size that feels a tad "big" than too tight.”

“Steve, feeling a little tight at the store and fitting are definitly 2 different things. My point is that the myth of a little big with leather boots can backfire on you. I wouldn't buy a pair of boots that were tight either, nor would I buy a pair that were big in the belief that my feet would swell to fit in them.

Synthestic boot, now thats a completely different story.

LOL Hobbit.....”

“I was told by a boot fitting guru (after I bought mine), that the Vasque Sundowners are large sized. As a result, I need to add an additional insole or use an extra thick sock.

I have since re-tried a smaller size and wish that I not been so stuck on "this is my usual size" when I got mine, in the first place.

Pay attention to the fit.... not the number in the boot. With your toe pushed to the front, you should just have a finger width behind your heel.

Narrow widths are available in the Sundowner”

“Sundowner? The only place that I have heard that term is in the nursing home where my Grandmother is. They say the "sundowners" are those dementia patients who get a little wackier in the evening. Weird that boots are named Sundowners.”

“Be sure when you buy your Sundowners that they are the originals made in Italy, not the ones made in China (on contract from Vasque). The Chinadowner has been described as "fitting on your foot like a stovepipe." I think the MTX (top line Sundowner) is still made in Italy, and is still a good boot. The way to tell is to look at the color of the logo on the sole. It should be green. I believe that the Chinadowners have an orange logo on the sole.”

“My sundowners are the same size as my regular shoes. They fit fine.”

“Well, I did push my toes to the front and I was able to get my finger behind my heel. At that point there was no extra space. So the thickness of my finger is the extra space, which I'd say is about 1/4". And if that's true, the straight 9 would probably be too tight.”

“Try a new insole, good hiking socks and research some different tying/lacing techniques. Sundowners aren't the greatest on loose slippery surfaces if you ask me. They don't have a good enough bite but over all they aren't bad.

Feet do swell after a little "loaded" time on the trail. It may not be uniform or problematic. Those boot require very little of a break in period, at least my have. And they really don't stretch a whole lot. The stretching, if any, is the boot "molding" or establishing some memory to your feet. The more you wear them the better they should fit, if the fitting was good to begin with.”