Monday, 10 September 2018 12:38

Aku Tengu Low GTX: Tested & Reviewed

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In the first of our Walking/Approach Shoe group test, Bryn takes the Italian made Aku Tengu Low GTX through their paces on his wild camping adventures.

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What Aku say:

Trekking boot that suits for mix surfaces. The upper is made with ultralight weight and durable materials combined with Gore-Tex® elastic sock to deliver both comfort and precision fitting. The lasting board and sole unit features the exclusive Elica Natural Stride System technology to enhance the bio-dynamic performance.

Specification:

UPPER: AIR 8000® + SUEDE

UPPER PROTECTION: LIBA® SMART PU

LINING DESCRIPTION: GORE-TEX® EXTENDED COMFORT (ELASTIC)

OUTSOLE: VIBRAM® CURCUMA

MIDSOLE: DOUBLE DENSITY EVA

LASTING BOARD (STIFFNESS) 4-2 MM NYLON + DIE CUT EVA (MEDIUM)

FOOTBED: CUSTOM FIT SOFT

WEIGHT (GR. ½ PAIR): 435

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Aku Tengu Low GTX are a robust trekking and approach shoe. They lean more to an overall mountain walking shoe in my opinion. The Tengu has extremely good grip on wet and dry rock and unstable tracks. The sole is stiff, offering excellent stability and rides over sharp stones easily. However, it isn't a sticky and tapered approach shoe, akin to the style of Scarpa. You can edge on the soles, but I find them more useful as a three season walking shoe for rocky conditions. The lacing is nicely adjustable and when descending in them, I felt very well supported across the top of foot.

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A nice feature is the flexible cuff that replaces a more traditional tongue on the shoe. This feel really comfortable when you're bolted into them on ascents and descents. The cuff also helps to prevent annoying grit and pebbles getting inside the shoe, owing to its snug fit around the top of my foot. The Goretex works well and I've stayed dry, but it's worth bearing in mind that a low cut shoe can only stay dry for so long.

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My overall impression is a seriously hard-wearing shoe that suits rocky climbs. I have used them during our hot 2018 summer and they are far too warm in hot weather. Now we've entered a cooler spell I've been really comfortable. They are a reasonably heavy shoe at 546g each, but the pay-off is the solid sole and overall feeling of stability and confidence.

 

Look out for the overall scores at the end of the week in comparison to the other shoes in the group test.

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