Vivobarefoot Tracker FG Boots Review – Men’s Lightweight Leather Hiking Boot
When it comes to nimble mountain ascents, the Vivobarefoot Tracker FG boot takes flexibility to new heights. At just 329-grams, these featherweight men’s hiking boots weigh almost next to nothing. Best of all, they feel incredibly natural on foot.
Beyond the attractive, lightweight construction, the flexibility is genuinely awe-inspiring. With two hands you can effortlessly bend and compress one of these boots in half. Try that with a traditional hiking boot, and you’ll be lucky to budge it inwards by a single inch.
Gone are the days of relying on big, bulky and sheer brute force to trek your way through the trails. With today’s modern materials and construction methods, you don’t have to sacrifice comfort or durability in order to get the best experience.
Vivobarefoot’s approach, while initially new to me at Outdoor Retailer in the past, is rather brilliant and I’ve come to admire it. Below, you’ll find my men’s Vivobarefoot Tracker FB boots review in full, covering all the details behind this lightweight hiking boot.
Quick Highlights:
- 100% waterproof construction with sealed inner membrane
- Hydrophobic leather proofing treatment
- 3.5mm Removable thermal insole with Outlast thermal regulator, reflective foil and insulating foam.
- Available in dark brown and black color options
- Firm Ground Sole with 3mm lugs for multi-terrain traction
- Mountain Lace for non-slip adherence
- 329-gram featherweight hiking boot
- PRO5 protection with 5x puncture resistant sole.
- Tried and tested from Toubkal to Tabletop Mountain
Dark Brown Men’s Vivobarefoot Tracker FG Boots Review
With a sealed inner membrane, the Tracker FB features a 100% waterproof construction alongside a hydrophobic leather proofing treatment. After lacing up a pair and trekking through snow, ice and murky puddles of water, they performed beautifully. Not a single drop of water managed to work its way inside.
Now while you might think that lightweight equals light on warmth, the opposite is true. The removable 3.5mm thermal insole with Outlast thermal regular, reflective foal and insulating foam provided plenty of heat while hiking in the frigid temps and bone-chilling wind. In other words, you can consider the Tracker FG to be winter proof.
Regarding traction and grip, the modern Firm Ground Sole offers a unique take on sole design. It features 3mm lugs which work great in multiple terrain conditions. During my field test, the Tracker FG tackled snow, sharp rock, and loose dirt stunningly.
For ice, of which there was a lot of, carbide tips would have been desirable, but in comparison to boots without them, these still managed to leave me plenty impressed.
Unlike other hiking boots I’ve tried in the past, I’ve noticed a distinctive forgiving quality to each step taken in the Tracker FG. I can leap, run jump step and so on without having to worry about having a rock-solid landing first. The unique sole combined with the flexibility lets me maneuver around more freely.
While the confidence in every step I took was high, so was the level of comfort. The lightweight and flexible nature of these boots paired with the Mountain Lace made these a dream. In my opinion, it’s a great fusion between the comfort of a running shoe and the performance of a hiking boot.
To up the durability, added PRO5 protection offers a 5x greater puncture resistant sole. Factor in the treated exterior leather alongside solid metal lacing hardware and you’ve got a pair of boots ready for countless miles of adventure.
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