Just because their feet are small doesn’t mean they can’t handle grown-up sized adventures. Enter the Vasque Monolith Low UltraDry Hiking Shoes for boys and girls; a pint-sized hiking shoe packed with grown-up technology.
On Performance and Design…
Before loading up the family for a summer of adventure in Lassen Volcanic National Park and Trinity National Forest, we picked up a few pairs of the Monolith Low UltraDry from our friends at Vasque and headed off into the great beyond.
First things first, if you’re a parent then you know that you can spend all the money in the world on a product, but if the little ones don’t find it comfortable, it will never get used. So towards those ends, Vasque deserves huge credit for crafting a kid friendly hiking shoe that offers a comfortable fit that feels agile and ready to perform straight out of the box.
From the moment their little feet slip into these mountain kicks, your little adventure buddies are going to feel compelled to move faster, cover more ground, and conquer more of their world. For those asking the question, ‘how comfortable are they?’ The best answer came from our 9 year old Gumption Tyke who provided the unprompted answer: “I feel like I can hike FOREVER in these!”
Once they hit the trail, the athletic fit of the Monolith Low UltraDrys encourages your kids to keep moving swift and easy as the morning mist threading between the pines. Young branches whip across shoulders and polished roots reach for little feet, but you can take comfort knowing that the all rubber sole protects from abrasion and is molded with a trail traction compound to keep cumbersome kids on their feet.
The breathable mesh upper ensures plenty of ventilation for summer trips. And while breathability is great, our summer vacation reminded us that our little trompers had a knack for sniffing out mud puddles we didn’t even know existed. So whether it was mud puddles or unpredictable mountain thunderstorms, the Vasque UltraDry waterproof membrane provides guaranteed protection from Mother Nature’s wet side. All the while, the speed lace system allows for quick fit adjustments and the flat lace makes it easier for small fingers to tie.
And props to the Vasque design team for integrating form with function as the outdoorsy aesthetic of these kicks provides a distinctive design that looks as stylish on the school yard as they did blitzing past heavy-footed hikers on the trail.
Bottom Line…
Nimble, flexible and comfortable, the Monolith Low UltraDry Hiking shoes lets your kids break trail without breaking the bank. Offering the durability of a hiker, agility of a sneaker and out of box comfort, these shoes are a win for the entire family.
*Gumption Gear Review received the items featured in this review from Vasque at no cost and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The items featured were provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.