Vasque 'Here' and 'Now': Affordable Travel Shoes Most People Will Love

Those are the main selling points of two new-ish shoes from footwear brand Vasque, called the ‘Here‘ and ‘Now‘ (cute, eh?) Vasque was founded back in the 1960s as an American answer to the many hiking-focused brands making products to support Europe’s growing hiking culture. It’s known for highly rated hiking boots beloved by reviewers from publications like GearJunkie and Outside, which makes the Here and Now shoes both a bit different. Think of them as scaled-down version of the brand’s more outdoorsy shoes, offering a lighter, less expensive, and more well-rounded footwear option.

I tested both the Here and Now in wet, sandy, and varied PNW spring conditions. Photo: Suzie Dundas

I tested the Here and the Now, and while I had to give the Now a slight edge for comfort, they’re both useful options, with the bones of a hiking shoe but the finish of an urban sneaker. And the best part may be that they’re both only about $100. Compared to pricier options from brands like The North Face, Scarpa, or Hoka, you get a lot of bang for your buck. That’s the sale price, though — they’re usually closer to $130.

If you like shoes from brands like AllBirds, Astral Designs, or Altra, you may also dig the light and versatile Here or Now. Here’s why.

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On sale: Women’s ($98)
On sale: Men’s ($98)

The Here

The Here has an oversized, rounded outsole, for a more natural stride on trails. Photo: Suzie Dundas

The Here is probably the best trail-ready shoe I’ve tested around the $100 price point, and has a lot going for it to make most buyers happy, assuming you don’t mind the oversized outsole (though it’s all the rage these days, it seems). Both the Vasque Here and the Now have an internal “heel collar,” which is essentially a curved internal pad that sort of cups your Achilles tendon at about the height of your ankle bone.

Of the Vasque Here and Now, I actually found the Now more comfortable. To test the affordable travel shoes, I went on a hike wearing one of each. If the Here is a hiking shoe made for walking around cities,then the Now is a shoe for walking around cities that can also handle the trails. The Now has a wider toe box and is less snug overall around your foot, which I thought was more comfortable (and more breathable, making it better for hotter temperatures) than the Here.

If that sounds uncomfortable, fear not — it’s the opposite. The padding prevents the back of the shoe from causing any rubbing or blistering, making the Here comfortable right out of the box. It also adds a touch of support, and while I generally found the grippy outsole to leave me feeling sure-footed, it’s possible the ankle collar helped, as I didn’t have any ankle twists or slips while testing these on muddy, rocky hikes in British Columbia and the PNW.

As you can see in the photo above, the Vasque Here also has a very large, very thick outsole. It’s a feature first popularized by outdoor brand HOKA but now seen on shoes ranging from Keen to Danner and Salomon. The rounded, oversized foam base gives the shoe a rocker feel, similar to what you’d find on a ski or snowboard. The idea is that it better absorbs motion and prevents foot fatigue by distributing the impact of each step through the shoe (rather than passing it to your foot).  It also creates more traction (more surface area = more traction), and adds a bit of heel lift, which helped me move uphill with what felt like less effort.

Swapping my usually beat-up Birkenstocks for the Vasque Here on a week of two-mile daily dog walks left my feel, knees, and low back feeling less stiff than normally. Now, I get why my parents were always telling me to wear “sensible walking shoes” when we went on vacation.

Of the Vasque Here and Now, I actually found the Now more comfortable. To test the affordable travel shoes, I went on a hike wearing one of each. If the Here is a hiking shoe made for walking around cities,then the Now is a shoe for walking around cities that can also handle the trails. The Now has a wider toe box and is less snug overall around your foot, which I thought was more comfortable (and more breathable, making it better for hotter temperatures) than the Here.

On sale: Women’s ($98)
On sale: Men’s ($98)

Last season’s colors are also available on Backcountry.com, starting at $91 for women and $91 for men, depending on the color.

The Now

Photo: Suzie Dundas

Of the Vasque Here and Now, I actually found the Now more comfortable. To test the affordable travel shoes, I went on a hike wearing one of each. If the Here is a hiking shoe made for walking around cities,then the Now is a shoe for walking around cities that can also handle the trails. The Now has a wider toe box and is less snug overall around your foot, which I thought was more comfortable (and more breathable, making it better for hotter temperatures) than the Here.

The cushioning is a bit less, so you can feel slightly more under your foot when moving across rocks, sticks, and natural surfaces. But both pairs were fine for day hikes in the seven-to-nine mile range. I wouldn’t wear the Now for a backpacking trip where I was carrying a lot of extra weight, but for a few day hikes on vacation, either pair should do just fine. However, the Here’s more supportive fit, rocker motion, and additional arch support do make it better for hiking, and while the shoes felt the same on flat trails, the Here felt more secure and supportive on uphill sections of trail.

But the Now is also slightly more water resistant than the Here, which is mostly mesh on top. This is a bit of a double-edge sword: Your foot is going to get wet if it rains or plants drip on you, as I encountered while testing them in Squamish, British Columbia. But the Here’s heavy reliance on mesh also means it dries very quickly, making it an ideal shoe for rafting or days on the water. But if you want a hiking shoe to keep your foot wet in rainy conditions, the Now will do a slightly better job.

On sale: Men’s ($105)
On sale: Women’s ($105)

Like the Here, last season’s Vasque Now colors are also available on Backcountry.com, starting the same price: $91 for men and $91 for women, depending on color.

The downsides to the Vasque Here and Now

The tongue on both shoes can bunch up as it’s very thin. Photo: Suzie Dundas

The more I tested the Vasque Here and Now travel shoes, the more I came to like each, especially considering their affordability and reliance on recycled/sustainable materials. Most people on vacation aren’t avid hikers racking up a dozen miles a day, making a more burly hiking boot overkill — and certainly a bit hot and heavy for everyday urban or sightseeing use. And if you have bigger feet like me (size 10 women’s), a hiking boot takes up a lot of space in your luggage.

But at around $100 for either pair, you do sacrifice a few perks of higher-end trail shoes. Neither has a toe cap or side walls, leaving your foot more exposed to rocks, sticks, and everything else that can ding up your foot. Both have thin tongues with no padding, so you can feel the laces against your arch (not in an annoying way). And they’re not very stiff, so they don’t have as much support as a hiking-specific shoe.

My two other gripes: The heel collar on both is very comfortable, but it also means the opening around your ankle is wider, and I found myself taking off my shoe to empty out tiny pieces of dirt and pebbles occasionally on hikes. And the tongue on both gets balled up easily while you’re lacing them up, especially with the Here’s slightly longer tongue. I didn’t find that annoying while walking, but it means you have to tug at it a little when putting them on to get it to lay flat.

The Vasque Here vs. Now: Which to choose?

I wore one of each on a hike to see which felt better on longer trails. Now is the white shoe, and the green one is the Here. Photo: Suzie Dundas

Both are good travel shoes, and with similar prices, it can be hard to choose between them. And they have many design features in common, including the same grippy and deep tread pattern, the same padded heel collar, and mostly the same materials. The sizing is very standard for both, with neither running big or small. They both also weigh the same: 1.5 pounds for the pair.

But they do differ in a few other ways.