Customer Reviews Vasque Mantra 2.0

I bought these shoes for a trip to Yellowstone, and they worked great! I was wanting something rugged, but not full-scale hiking boots, and these met my needs perfectly! I wore them for a few hours in the house a couple days before the trip, and that was all the breaking-in they needed. I ordered a wide, and at first I thought they might be too tight across the ball of my foot. But wearing them around the house loosened them up enough to be perfect! The shoes were comfortable while hiking up steep trails over rocks, walking on boardwalks, riding in the car, and even eating ice cream! I was concerned my feet might get too hot in hiking shoes, but they stayed comfortable, even on hot days. I love these shoes and will be wearing them lots more!

I usually wear a 6.5 Wide or X-Wide. I bought this in a 7 Wide because 6.5 was unavailable. Although a 1/2 size larger than I normally wear, it was waaay too narrow in the toe box area. It hurt my foot just to put it on. To make matters worse, the heel area was so wide that my foot wouldn't stay in the shoe. What is up with shoe manufacturers? My foot is wide, but not abnormal, and I am having a very difficult time finding a comfortable walking/hiking shoe. Make wider shoes, people!!!

Absolutely love this shoe! Tried about thirty different shoes. This arrived 3 days before our trip to Zion, I wore it in the house several hours - all I had for break in time- hiked about 30 miles in 2 days. No problems!

Great shoe. Fits well and does not require any break-in time. Very good in Chicago slushy conditions. Fit me. Much better than Merrill did.

After trying a number of 'hike' style shoes, I found these the most comfortable for everyday wear in our wet winter weather. And who knows maybe I will use them for a hike or two as well. I did have to add my own inserts but they slid in easily.

Finally a “wide”-sized low hiking boot that is in reality indeed wide across my wide forefoot but not too wide and slipping off at my narrow heel! Love it! I believe I will be able to wear this comfortably with very little break-in... I find it more comfortable than the Mantra 2 GTX (the Gortex waterproof version) that perhaps because of the waterproofing material made the uppers from the forefoot to upper ankle just a bit too stiff and thus potentially too tight if my feet swell at higher altitudes where I am planning to hike. Luckily I already have one model of waterproof Oboz (although they Zappos) that worked well for my foot shape that I will use when I anticipate wet conditions (but the Oboz in the low variety all had that heel slippage issue no matter what innovative lacing I tried). In summary, these are terrific for a low hiker for those of us ladies who need a truly wide toe box and narrow heel. Other reviewers say they wore them comfortably with very little break-in, so I am going for the same. Just wanted to post this review while I think of it after trying more than a dozen pairs of shoes in wide and in varying half-size increments! One small detriment is I have a gut feeling I could use a bit more stability in the sole (that is, it might be better for my arthritic big toe and born spur, if it did not bend quite as softly along the ground when hiking over rocks and undulating terrain — a stiffer sole combined with this roomy toebox, appropriately slender heel and soft uppers would have given it all 5 stars all around. Ps the earthy light green accents on the pale brown leather is quite nice looking!

I love this shoe for my wide, hard to fit feet. This shoes fits like a glove and seems to be better quality than the Merrells I have been wearing. I am able to fit my orthotics in them. I was concerned the toe box would be a little narrow but after wearing them all day for a few days they seem to be fine. I hope they last.

These felt good right out of the box. I have a wide foot but a narrow heel so fit is a problem. These boots feel great and I will pack them for my next hiking trip.

Great shoe, but they are WIDE but not wide enough for my Rx orthotics! Oh well. I have tried so many women's hikers so far and there are none that are wide enough to provide a wide enough toebox and insole, though I have found walking shoes, 2 different brands, that do. oh well back they go.

This is a firm feeling "boot" which I usually shy away from. But I've found that firmer shoes are now better for my rather high arches. This shoe really fits the foot well, with great lateral support. I ended up taking out the removable Vasque insole and putting in my Vionic orthotic, with a thin gel insole under that, and it makes it just right for me. For regular feet, the original insole might be perfect - it is more substantial than expected.

LOVE these! I have a narrow heel and high arch, and had quite the struggle finding a comfortable hiking shoe that didn't slip. These are a dream. By far the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever worn, and the grip and weight is amazing.

Finally!! Like others, I too tried on about 15 pairs of hiking shoes until I came across these.(Thank goodness for Zappos!) I have high arches and my foot runs wide. I love Keen normally but I had so many problems with their closed shoes. I tried several styles of Merrells too, but they felt hot or rubbed in odd places. I was seriously about to give up when these popped up in a search. I figured why not? At this point what have I got to lose? I go between a 7.5 and an 8 wide so I first ordered the 7.5. My toes were hitting the top so I exchanged them for an 8 and they fit perfect! The next day I wore them on a long hike through Sedona and my feet didn't hurt one bit! I'm going to Ireland next month and will really be testing them out but so far they did better than I expected for a desert hike. The wide felt great, not too clunky,there was no heel slippage, no odd rubbing anywhere and they stayed tied. I am so happy to finally find a pair of hiking shoes!!

Love this shoe because it fits like a glove. It did need few days to break in the nubuck. This is a quality shoe, very well made. They are not hot to wear in summer months and pretty weather resistant (not water proof). This is the most supportive hiking shoe I've tried so far, no foot roll when walking on tree roots or rocks. Vibram sole grippy and stiff so you don't feel rocks. I do wish there was a bit more cushion in sole but better than Merrell soles which I found too hard in the heel. I have had previous back surgery and have arthritis in one foot making shoe comfort critical. I have wide feet which measure at 8W and that's what I ordered, perfect fit! Keen size is 8.5M and Keen Koven ran half size large and wide was too wide. Extremely satisfied with Zappos return policy and customer service. That's why I shop at Zappos!

These shoes are awesome right out of the box! I have numerous foot issues and work on concrete floors and these feel like clouds! Can't speak to longevity, but really, if you have wide feet, bunions, etc, give these a try.

Beautiful fit right out of the box! I have very wide feet, a bunion and ball of foot pain - no problem at all with these boots! I was able to navigate a steep muddy slope in the woods with the great traction on these boots. I also walked for hours on cement and these boots had plenty of cushion. I absolutely love these boots!

These shoes have a wider toe box than most wide hiking shoes I have tried (Keen, Merrell). The fit is quite comfortable. I'll buy these again!

1st boot that has fit my 7.5 WW feet. I have return 10-12 pairs over the last few months in a effort to get a good fit. Most pinched my toes and I walked out of the heel. These fit! I would wish for longer boot laces though.

These were really big! My current Vasques are 9½ so that is what I ordered. They are boats!

The fit was true to size. (Wide size could have been a little wider.) Insole does not have much cushion for such a rugged shoe, & only moderate comfort in arch. I wish they would have used a heavier, cord type shoe lace - I can see these getting stretched out & breaking in time. Overall, though, you just can't find a shoe made as well in big box stores. It is what I was looking for in a hiking/utility shoe.

My foot: Bunions + tenancy to Plantar's Fasciitis. Standing on ruler, I am 10" long and 4.25" wide (at bunions). Heel and ankle are narrow, foot is slim on top. I have wide calluses on the big toe, and seek a wide toe box to minimize corns where the bunioned big toe presses in against the 2nd toe. I use a cork-supported custom orthotic for arch support, but occasionally find enough arch support in some shoes (Dansko). I ordered and compared three shoes: **Vasque Mantra 2.0 (10W) **Oboz Sawtooth Low BDry (10W) **Dansko Paisley (more of a sneaker, but I love the Dansko foundation) (40) I wasn't looking for a hard-core hiking shoe so much as I was looking for a trail shoe: I walk about 4 miles a day (dogs) on dirt roads with moderate ups and downs. I had begun to develop Plantar's again, and had discovered the reason: my old Patagonias were entirely flexing in their middle. I have learned that a shoe that will not flex in the middle is the shoe that prevents Plantar’s. I had to immediately dismiss the Oboz 10W (photo, left), as it FULLY FLEXES IN ITS MIDDLE. End of story for those of us with Plantar's. Even in its wide iteration, it is less wide than the Vasque 10W (touched the sides of my 4.25” bunions) without socks. But it was far more attractive than the Vasque, and I was sad to see it go. It appears to have lots of nice ventilation at the top, and the four tones of colors make it a spunky-looking shoe. I do note that the lace sides are very close together, which means there is little room for actual width adjustment. It has solid arch support (I might not need my orthotic insert) and the heel is narrower and nicely collared for less slip. The sole is not marked as Vibram, but the treads are deep—about 4mm. I also had to dismiss the Dansko Paisley 40 (photo, middle). It is not wide enough, although I considered ordering the 41 or 42 to see if I could gain enough width that way. Other Danskos have been wide enough for me, so this disappoints. The sole is by far the least flexible of the three in the middle, which is good news. It is also the best of the three for making the foot look smaller. Its arch support is not as full as I would like, although it accommodated my orthotic just fine, and thereby became acceptable in that way. From an aesthetics standpoint, this shoe is strangely laced far forward into the toe box, which I think makes it look less attractive. Not sure why Dansko made that choice—unless it is a nod to making it possible for the shoe to become more narrow than it already is (which seems to fly in the face of Dansko’s core fan base—people with foot problems like bunions). Its Vibram sole is not deeply treaded (2mms only), which surprises me. This makes it a city-only shoe, really, and significantly reduces the tread life—especially for those of us who are vigorous walkers and tend to strike harder on the heel. There is less padding at the heel, but it snugged my narrow heel comfortably. I ultimately chose the Vasque Mantra 2.0 (10W) (photo, right), despite its being the least attractive of the three. Its bunion area is generous (does not rub my 4.25 in SmartWool socks), and despite its slightly larger ankle, it (alone of the three) has double grommets in the ankle area, so I was able to lace it well enough there to achieve no slip. I notice that it has more fabric and less leather in the area that surrounds the ankle, and I wonder if this will result in more (or less) give in that area over time. The Vibram sole is 5mm deep. On my foot, there is a slight pucker at the bunion area, which tells me this shoe can accommodate a wider foot than my 4.25-incher. The shoe really only has two tones of color, as the tiny touches of lime green at the back and in flecks in the laces are so minimal as to not count, and even the two tones are barely distinct from each other. Sucking in my vanity (which wanted a more attractive shoe), I took it on my 4-mi. walk, and it did beautifully straight out of the box. Comfort and support reign supreme, after all, and this shoe delivers best out of the three.

Yet another "wide" shoe that is not wide. It seemed like a very nice hiking shoe and I liked everything about it except that I ordered the wide width and they were not wide at all, much too narrow for my wide feet.

I am disappointed with these shoes, expected them to be more comfortable. I'm on my feet all day at work and need a shoe with plenty of cushion in the ball of the foot. These shoes are lacking in cushion and overall comfort. Skethchers Work has some that only come in black or white (ugh) that are more comfotable, have better cushion for half the price. Will be returning these shoes.

The fit of these shoes is true to both size and width! They were comfortable the second I put them on! They are built well and I look forward to seeing how long they hold up with my daily moderate walks with my Golden Retriever! Thanks

This is my third pair of Vasque hiking shoes. They are terrific on flatlands and rocky trails. Comfortable right out of the box because they have a reasonably wide toe box but narrower heel. I wear a 9.5 in regular shoes but a 10 in these. The look isn't very snazzy.

I felt a size 9 was a better fit than the usual 8 1/2 that I usually buy because I wanted to wear these with my orthotics. Even though they are new, they feel comfortable already. Can't wait to hit the trail wearing them.