{"id":6008,"date":"2012-09-08T08:05:12","date_gmt":"2012-09-08T15:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gearguide.info\/?p=6008"},"modified":"2012-09-25T22:59:26","modified_gmt":"2012-09-26T05:59:26","slug":"aku-sl-trek-gtx-boot-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/2012\/09\/08\/aku-sl-trek-gtx-boot-review\/","title":{"rendered":"AKU SL Trek GTX Boot Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>First Impressions<\/h2>\n<p>Headquartered in Montebelluna, Italy \u2013 at the foot of the Montello mountains \u2013 the folks at AKU know their hiking footwear. They should. The company has been at it for more than 50 years and continues to make its proudly handcrafted products in Europe. Expert bootmaker 206522 made our SL Trek GTX boots. And out of the box, they cut a dashing figure in orange and black.<\/p>\n<h2>Features<\/h2>\n<p>The SL Trek GTX boots are part of AKU\u2019s hiking product line and are designed for use both on and off trail. The company also makes products in the mountaineering, backpacking, approach and multi-sport categories.<br \/>\n\n\t\t<style type='text\/css' scoped='scoped'>\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tmax-width:100% !important;\n\t\t\t\theight:auto !important;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div class='single-gallery gallery-wrap fixed'> <div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-6008 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-gallery'><div class='gallery-item gallery-icon'>\n\t\t\t<div  class='gallery-icon linked'><a href='https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SL-Trek-GTX-Left-Side-1.jpg' class='lightbox-gallery no-ajaxy'><img src=\"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SL-Trek-GTX-Left-Side-1-426x351.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery size-gallery\" alt=\"SL Trek GTX Left Side\" title=\"SL Trek GTX Left Side\" loading=\"eager\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption'>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <span>\n\t\t\t\t\tSL Trek GTX Left Side\n\t\t\t\t\t  <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class='gallery-item gallery-icon'>\n\t\t\t<div  class='gallery-icon linked'><a href='https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SL-Trek-GTX-Tread-1.jpg' class='lightbox-gallery no-ajaxy'><img src=\"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SL-Trek-GTX-Tread-1-426x351.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery size-gallery\" alt=\"SL Trek GTX Tread\" title=\"SL Trek GTX Tread\" loading=\"eager\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption'>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <span>\n\t\t\t\t\tSL Trek GTX Tread\n\t\t\t\t\t  <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class='gallery-item gallery-icon'>\n\t\t\t<div  class='gallery-icon linked'><a href='https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SL-Trek-GTX-Right-Side-1.jpg' class='lightbox-gallery no-ajaxy'><img src=\"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SL-Trek-GTX-Right-Side-1-426x351.jpg\" class=\"attachment-gallery size-gallery\" alt=\"SL Trek GTX Right Side\" title=\"SL Trek GTX Right Side\" loading=\"eager\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption'>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <span>\n\t\t\t\t\tSL Trek GTX Right Side\n\t\t\t\t\t  <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class='clear'><\/div>\nThe SL Trek GTX combines a number of killer features into a very comfortable and capable package. AKU constructs the upper from a combination of nubuck leather and Gore-Tex-lined breathable mesh which we found to be both supportive and kept us cool in our tests. To improve protection and stability of the boot, AKU wraps the exterior in a proprietary polyurethane exoskeleton \u2013 essentially a plastic reinforcing grid \u2013 that covers both sides and toe of the boot. Further reinforcements include a leather toe cap and heel counter.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Specs<\/strong><br \/>\nUpper: Nubuck leather, nylon mesh, polyurethane exoskeleton reinforcements<br \/>\nSole: Vibram Mulaz<br \/>\nWeight: 3 lbs 2 oz per pair (Mens size 11)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Underfoot, the SL Trek GTX uses a lugged outsole made of Vibram Mulaz. It gripped well in our hikes, and like a good approach shoe, has a smooth patch at the toe for smearing over rocks. Nice.<\/p>\n<h2>Fit<\/h2>\n<p>The SL Trek GTXs fit perfectly right out of the box. The boot is a bit stiff and requires some break in, but we never experienced any hot spots or other problems. Support is good and the toe box had plenty of room. Purchase your regular boot size.<\/p>\n<h2>Final Verdict<\/h2>\n<p>Handcrafted. Good looking. Rugged. The AKU SL Trek GTX has it all. No expense seems to have been spared when constructing the boot with Gore-Tex and Vibram, high quality leathers and innovative exoskeletons covering the SL Trek GTX from heel to toe. Fit was perfect too.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s not to like? Well, U.S. distribution is very limited. At this writing, they\u2019re only available through CampSavers on the East Coast. You can order online by clicking this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.avantlink.com\/click.php?tt=cl&amp;mi=10008&amp;pw=34293&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.campsaver.com%2Fsl-trek-gtx-shoe-men-s\">link<\/a>. And they\u2019re a touch expensive, so keep an eye out for the retailer\u2019s sales.<\/p>\n<h4>First Impressions:<br \/>\n[Rating:5\/5]\nFeatures:<br \/>\n[Rating:5\/5]\nFit:<br \/>\n[Rating:5\/5]\nFinal Verdict:<br \/>\n[Rating:5\/5]<\/h4>\n<h4>Thanks for reading another outdoor gear review from GearGuide. And thanks to AKU and KGPR for providing product for this review. Written by Matt K.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Handcrafted. Good looking. Rugged. The SL Trek GTX has it all. Italian boot builder AKU seems to have spared no expense when making this hiking boot.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/2012\/09\/08\/aku-sl-trek-gtx-boot-review\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[18,35],"tags":[438,22,23,439,435,221],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/AKU-SL-Trek-GTX.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6008"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gearguide.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}