Mescalito Approach Shoe

Mescalito approach shoes

Timothy and Corrie have been rigorously testing the Mescalito and Mescalito Mid approach shoes on table mountain, in the Hex, Cederberg and Drakensberg mountains over the last couple of months. While they both expect to be wearing the shoes for another year or so they have come to some conclusions about the shoes.

1: tough

The western cape has some of the roughest terrain for footwear in the world. Fynbos and sandstone work hand in hand to half the lifespan of every shoe that dares enter their grasp. However, the Mescalito shoes are holding up really well. Both Tim and Corrie regularly choose to do bundu bashing and the leather uppers show minimal damage and the treads still have hundreds of kilometres left in them.

2: climbs well

Most of the mountain walking that they go on involve some level of climbing. And these shoes have been tested on scrambling routes ranging from A to D+ routes all around the western cape. The Climbing zones enable them to tackle hard scrambles without having to pack climbing shoes.

3: Narrow but not too narrow

Although the Mescalito is designed as a narrow shoe to be precise it doesn’t mean that they can’t be used for longer hikes.

Timothy Made use of his Mescalito mids for a 4-day Wildcoast hike in the rain and a 2-day Drakensberg Bell Traverse (Day 1: 12km Day 2: 37km)

Corrie has used his shoes for a Hex traverse and multiple other multi-day hikes in the western cape.

Is the mescalito the best shoe for the western cape?

For scrambling and mid-length hikes Timothy and Corrie would argue that there isn’t a better option currently on the market. The durable leather upper combined with the rubber rind and sticky Vibram sole makes this shoe arguably the best shoe for the tough Western Cape terrain. While the narrow toebox means that this shoe isn’t built for long hikes with heavy backpacks it does mean that the Mescalito is good at technical scrambles and hikes.

In conclusion, they would recommend this shoe for any avid table mountain hiker, scrambler or for someone looking for a tough shoe for walks in the fynbos.