Originally Posted by
LuckyMan
I love my lightweight Moab Ventilator shoes and wish I'd switched to them or something like them years ago. When they get wet during a stream crossing, no big deal; they dry quickly, unlike old-school boots. With these I don't need camp shoes. I'll probably never wear heavyweight boots again, but I now carry a much lighter pack than I used to. Those who still carry heavy loads might need boots.
Whatever you buy, I highly recommend sizing them in person (best is late in the day after you've done some walking because feet swell during the day) and not buying a new brand online without trying them. I always wore a size 12, but with the Moabs I needed a 13 for the first time ever. The sales clerk at REI claimed that manufacturers' shoe sizes are arbitrary and meaningless - I always thought a certain size meant it was X centimeters or inches, but he claimed that there's no universal standard and that a size is whatever that particular maker says it is. Can that really be true?