Asolo 520 TPS – Leather Hiking Boots
Asolo’s 520 TPS boots are fantastic. I bought them after I started to get planar fasciitis in my right foot. I went to REI for a boot fitting with one of their boot experts (these are people are hard to find but priceless). Since buying these boots, my planar fasciitis has disappeared 100%. I logged about 500 miles of trails last year without any foot pain whatsoever.
The boot…It’s a leather boot with a gore-tex lining. I recommend that you replace the thin factory foot bed with a green Superfeet liner. The boots need about 50 miles of break-in but are comfy out of the box. They have a slightly unusual Vibram sole pattern but it does not affect traction in any negative way. I am just beginning to see some wear on my soles, but expect to get a few hundred miles out of them before I need to resole. The last is not steel, but is stiff without being heavy. Heel snugness is excellent, and the lace lugs are positioned in such a way that you can really crank them down if heel lift is a problem for you.
The boots are very comfortable. I wear them with a single medium weight wool sock and have NEVER gotten a blister – but your mileage may vary. Weight is not bad, at 3lb 7oz for a size 9, mens and they feel very light. Even though they have a gore-tex liner, I do recommend that you waterproof the leather with Snowseal periodically to protect and moisturize the leather. I also use these boots in winter for snowshoeing at low elevations and they are comfortably warm.
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Best boots on the planet. I bought a pair of Asolo Fugitive GTX in Pamplona Spain about 5 years ago, and wore them “hundreds” of miles in the Whites and Maine. I had a hard time wearing them down, but finally did. Christmas of 2015, my wife asked what I would like, and I said a new pair of Asolo boots, she gifted me a pair of the 520s. An upgrade from the Fugitive, and I will never wear anything but Asolo on the trails. These boots are amazing!
I realize this is a 13 year old post and so perhaps things have changed at REI. How does one find and schedule time with a boot fitting expert at REI? When I go there the staff are friendly and somewhat knowledgeable but I usually know more than they do about boots and they certainly have no training in boot fitting.
You call the store and ask.