Zamberlan 1006 Vioz Plus GTX Boot | Review - Outdoors Magic

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Zamberlan 1006 Vioz Plus GTX Boot | Review

The classic, solid, full-leather Vioz Plus is a traditional stiff-soled, mountain-walking boot that gives great underfoot support at the expense of weight.

‘A proper traditional tank of a super-solid walking boot, albeit with added refinement to the ankle collar and top-notch build quality’

Outdoors Magic: Great build quality, stiff sole, good all-round grip, full-ish rand, slightly narrower fit, solid, reasonable comfort. Wider lasting in forefoot.

Outdoors Tragic: A little heavy and clumpy. Not cheap.

Outdoors Grabbit? The Vioz Plus is aimed squarely at folk who want a proper, traditional, solidly-engineered boot with lots of underfoot stiffness, but with decent comfort levels. If that’s you, it hits the marks nicely. The chassis is comfortable enough for walking thanks to a curved rocker, but properly stiff making it a little clompy, but stable on uneven terrain. It works well with heavy loads too. And while the leather uppers are quite solid, the flex-zone ankle cuff and internal padding keeps things comfortable. It’s not a light boot either, but the full rand should help it last for years of normal use.

 

Full Specification

Full leather hill and mountain walking boot / Hydrobloc full-grain  leather uppers / full rubber rand except at heel / Flex System ankle zone / Gore-Tex lining / Zamberlan Vibram Darwin WL outsole / Double Density PU Wedge midsole / Wide last for extra forefoot space

Full Review Below

Solidly engineered with full-leather Hydrobloc uppers - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Bespoke Zamblerlan/Vibram Darwen sole unit gives reliable grip - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Wear your flag with pride. Zamberlan is yet another northern Italian boot-maker. Note the ankle flex zone - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Zamberlan 1006 Vioz Plus GTX Boot | Performance

The Vioz Plus is another of those northern Italian full-leather, high-ankled boots described as suitable for ‘backpacking’. And with the Asolo Power Matic that means a stiff, solid sole unit to cope with clumsy foot placement on uneven ground and the pressures of heavy loads.

In other words, a traditional, stiff-soled mountain walking boot, albeit with modern refinements like internal padding, flexible ankle cuff and a Gore-Tex lining.

The Vioz Plus hits that target nicely. It’s a well-made, solid mountain citizen complete with a bespoke Vibram sole unit and masses of leather. It gets a nearly full rand too as an encouragement to longevity and a rocker sole to allow for relatively smooth walking progress.

The rest of the boot gets a protective rand, but the heels are left to their own devices. We don’t know why – Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Intriguingly, Zamberlan has used a last wider than it’s normal, narrower fit to give ‘better comfort and room on the front part of the foot’, so even if the brand’s normal boots are little snug for you, the Vioz Plus may fit.

It is a bit of a heavy lump, something we could feel over the course of a day out, but the padding and flexible ankle cuff design means that like the Asolo, it’s surprisingly comfortable in a supportive, high-ankled way.

The rand’s an odd one: it stops short of the heel, which could be an issue if you’re plunging heel-first into crystalline snow we guess, but overall it feels like the boot is built to last.

Hiding in the long grass ... - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Zamberlan 1006 Vioz Plus GTX Boot | Verdict

In all honestly, the Vioz Plus was a little too heavy and stiff for our tastes, but not everyone has the same priorities and the boot’s combination of solid comfort and underfoot stiffness will appeal to traditionalists who want old time values, but with modern era comfort.

We can’t fault the build quality, despite the odd partial rand thing, and we suspect the boot’ll last well under normal use.

Gore-Tex liner and a dependable, toothy Vibram sole add waterproofing and reliable grip respectively and the wider then usual last means the boot may fit more users than Zamberlan’s standard shape.

In a nut-shell: sold, reliable, but a little heavy and clumpy. Best on rugged mountain paths.

More Information

See zamberlan.com

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