I stopped buying Vasques when they went to the more athletic shoe look. They might be better for hiking and more comfortable, but if I’m wearing a hiking boot I have old school expectations. I still have my old pair of clunky Frankenstein-shoe looking Vasques with the steel toe and massive lug sole. Love them. Every bit as durable as the LL Bean duck boot.
All that *tech* styling turns me off too. That’s why I can’t part with mine.
RE: Your cargoes: I just thought about Patagonia, North Face brands. More pricey, excellent quality. Sometimes you can find them on sale, at a season’s end.