Gear Review - Tracker Winter II SG

by Jeff Marsh

Thanks to our friends at Vivobarefoot Canada, I got a chance to test out their Tracker Winter II SG hiking boots as our Sudbury winter turned to spring. This was the perfect time of year to put the waterproof and insulated Tracker through its paces in the melty slush and rocky trails of our back forest… and around town as well. I’m not a professional shoe critic or fashionista (by any stretch, Ha!), but have had a good number of hiking boots over the years and wear hiking, work, or winter boots daily. So you can think of this as a boot evaluation from a typical, active, boot-wearin’ dude.

First Impressions: Even I can recognize that the Tracker is a good-looking boot, with a rugged, Michelin-made molded rubber sole fused cleanly to the smooth and simple leather top. The added width up front does catch the eye, and gives it a nicely distinctive look. It comes with high-quality laces and sturdy heel tab that compliment the leather colour nicely. The debossed branding is modest and classy. The light weight is surprising for such a robust leather boot, coming in ~250g less than my now clunky-looking Merrells. The size 10 (my normal shoe size) was slightly too big for me, but after inserting a felt insole under the factory insole, the fit was super comfortable and snug (as if the leather had been wrapped around my foot by hand). 

Outdoor performance: When walking around outside, the difference in feel (from a normal boot) provided by the thin, flexible sole and wider front is immediately noticeable. It really does feel more like walking in a moccasin or barefoot, but with the snug comfort of the leather top and all-terrain assurance of the rugged sole. It’s hard to describe, but after a while I did get the feeling that walking in the Tracker was a more enjoyable, full-body experience than I was used to. *See the ergonomic philosophy of the VivoBarefoot design here.

On our forest trails, the waterproof and insulated Tracker gave me no pause in hiking through the patches of slushy spring snow or mud puddles. The robust rubber tread provided good traction and confidence in the steeper rocky sections, over downed trees, etc.. Possibly the best part of wearing the Trackers for my morning dog walk through the forest is that, I don’t need to change shoes before I head into town. The Trackers quickly supplanted my previous boot and shoe combo as my everyday, go-to shoe for the rest of the spring.

Final Word: The Trackers are incredibly comfortable to walk in and have a uniquely snug fit, which I grew to really enjoy in a way I hadn’t experienced with other hiking boots before. They perform great on my hikes in the forest, and getting around on our snowy, icy, slushy, muddy yard and driveway, but still have the classy look and unusual comfort to head straight into work, meetings, or a nice restaurant (just wipe the mud off first). So for someone like me, that lives in the country but still needs to look presentable around town (and doesn’t want to change shoes 5 times a day!), the Tracker has shown itself to be the ideal everyday, year-round boot to handle all the seasonal conditions rural Ontario can throw your way (and look good in the process!).