Update: Some changes to the Transistors have been made since last spring when I first laced them up. Vasque says they have addressed the volume issue and have trimmed the upper, which should improve fit quite a bit. Vasque also wanted to stress that the intended audience are "those who transition from road running to trail and typically want to stay in the same shoe. This user is generally running shorter distances and staying primarily on fire roads and soft terrain." In other words, smarter runners than me, who don't feel the need to run so far that their feet turn to meatloaf. -Sara
Vasque's Transistor FS has been around since the spring, but it's taken me that long to figure out what to do with them. A barely-there trail shoe? Interesting.
I've finally decided that these are not great shoes for me and on my usual trails. The Transistors are extremely light, which may be wonderful for a casual weekend 10k on the path, but they don't give me the support I need after pounding through 30-plus miles on tough terrain.
moreVasque uses their FootSync Fit System, which, in theory, should make the shoe feel like it's better-conformed to your foot. But all I feel is a too-wide midfoot and a too-small toe box. These shoes are so wide that when I lace them up tight (I have an average width foot), the edges come completely together.
The second goal is to get your foot closer to the ground, which should make you feel more connected to the trail. I feel connected all right; I feel every rock and limb and root that I step on. The Transistors don't have any sort of insole, so I felt as if I were wearing something very similar to FiveFingers. Which would be great, if I wanted to feel like I were wearing FiveFingers, which I don't.
I'm sure there is someone out there who will love and benefit from these shoes, but that someone just isn't me. I like my trail shoes to be between a neutral and a stability, and the Transistors just don't have enough to them to give me the support I'm looking for.
I try, try, tried to like them. Before each trail run, I would slip them on, walk around and instantly wish I were wearing something else. I bet I would like them more if my trails were the pine needle-covered-little-pieces-of-heaven trails out west, but here on the rocky East Coast, I need something with a little more substance.
Find them at most major retailers, MSRP $100.
Sara Davidson is an ultramarathoner and our resident women's gear hater.
