Gear Review - Tracker Leather AT (Womens)
by Laura Ratcliffe
Typical shoe size (US/Can) 7.5 W, Vivo size 38 W
Highlights: comfort, lightweight, form fitting, laces glide through the eyelets easily and the shoe is very responsive to tightening and loosening the laces. They needed a couple weeks wear for the leather in the tongue to be worked in, but that's not really an issue.
This was my first pair of “barefoot” shoes, and I have to say it's been a delightful experience.
As a mom of a baby and a preschooler, this has become my daily go-to shoe. My typical days involve running between the car and the house packing go bags and looking for lost water bottles, then off to walk the dogs through the bush with a kid on my back, over to play groups, school pick up, crawling around the ground with kids, and then jogging next to a bike while pushing a stroller on the park trails.
These shoes seem to rise to all of these occasions. The most noticeable thing to me at first wear, was how comfortable they were. They are light and easily move with my foot as I walk. At the end of the day, where I would usually have my shoes off in a flash, I just keep wearing them. They are also not bulky, and have a smoothly shaped form that doesn’t catch on things. Crawling into the backseat of my car to nurse a baby, or catch a pre-schooler playing keep away, might not be something other people do on a daily basis, but it has become very important for me that I can move around without my shoes getting in the way.
Of course these shoes are designed for the forest and they do shine there as well. Our trails have steep rock, slippery pine needles and muddy spots to navigate, and I'm very comfortable and confident in my footing wearing my Trackers. My feet stay dry while hiking through dewy grass and ferns and the sole grips well on the rocks and forest floor. My feet feel stable and I can confidently hike while wearing a baby.
