For about 5 years I have worn the Asolo Power Matic 250’s. I love the boot and I have put on about 400 miles on them. The soles are showing wear. Additionally, my toes are starting to touch the boot on downhill descents. I hear your feet grow a little when you get old. They also seem to get wider along with other parts of the body.
The solution was to purchased some new boots. I chose the Asolo Power Matic 200’s. The form factor of the boot is almost identical. The lacing system is the same as well as the sole. They are just a size larger than my last boots. The thought of a bigger boot scared me a little. I thought i would float in them.
When I purchased the boot, I went to a couple REI stores and they did not have size 13 to try on in the boot I wanted. I checked on line and could not find a size 13 either. I called REI and they did a search. There was one pair in the Columbus Ohio store. I called and purchased the pair in Columbus and had them shipped.
I started by wearing them around the house in the evening. They seemed to work fine. Then on a short walk around the block and everything was good. The next step was to wear them to work all day. I survived that step without any problems. I wore them to work a couple of more times. It was then on to a couple of longer walks around the neighborhood. All of this was on fairly flat ground.
Tonight, it was a field test going 4.2 miles with a 1,600 foot elevation gain. As for the hike, it was good. The trip up the trail was the same as any trip uphill. Slower than I would like. I did take time to notice some new things. As we had a lot of rain a couple of times a few months ago, the was a lot of movement in the soil on the trail. I happened on to a shell in the gravel. Was it a transplant or was this part of some shoreline of an ancient sea? Who knows.
My hike continued up the trail and I noticed something that I had never taken a good look at. What I thought was white sage had yellow flowers. Pictures of white sage do not have yellow flowers. So the question is, what is it? I will have to do more research.
As for the hike, it went well. Up hill had no problems and the downhill had no slippage towards the toe. The boots worked great. My time for the 4.2 mile loop was 3 minutes faster than last time. Not an earth shattering change, just nice to think I am getting faster.
It was blazing hot when I started and I made it down before the sunset. I will have to do this again soon.
