After less than 20 miles last week on the CT the rubber at the toe started separating...anyone else seen this?....back to REI they go....felt ok but did get 2 odd blisters....may go back to the trusty wildcats...
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After less than 20 miles last week on the CT the rubber at the toe started separating...anyone else seen this?....back to REI they go....felt ok but did get 2 odd blisters....may go back to the trusty wildcats...
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personally I don't ever wear any Zero Drop shoes
they're the big fad with many...but put more stress on your achilles tendon when hiking/running fast or on hills
My 2.5's are doing the same thing.
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Interesting. I was hesitant to pull the trigger just last night on the LP 3.0's Didn't notice where the yellow toe bumber ended. Now, I'm hearing from two hikers the toe number peels. Hmmm?
I don't think it a catastrophe that some Seam Grip or Shoo Goo couldn't fix. Still after only 20 miles say you?
Actually one started within first 10 miles and by day's end both.....Altra says take back to REI...I hate dumping a mfg defect back on retailer but surely mfg makes them whole. I may give them another shot as they did seem to grip better than the wildcats and felt lighter on my feet...
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I had the same problem on my 2.5's. First one toe started ungluing in the first 10 miles, the other some weeks later. After the ends came loose, the situation stabilized. I still use this pair and have put some miles on them. They are a bit unsightly, but they are still the most comfortable shoe I have ever hiked in.
I've had my 3.0's for about two months now and I haven't had any wear problems as of yet. The tread is wearing a bit faster than average, but I expected that given the soft rubber that the use to give the shoes their amazing grip.
As Scotty said they are incredibly comfortable and I love the zero drop, but I have unfortunately had some stability issues in the shoes since the last and top of the sole are so narrow compared to the body of the shoe. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the design or just with the individual fit.
Long story short I'm still on the fence about them.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
I've had quality/durability issues with several models of Altra running and trail shoes. I had a pair of "The One" wear through the side fabric near the top of the base of the big toe on each shoe after less than 60 miles of jogging on the National Mall in DC (i.e. not a demanding environment). I thought that was pretty ridiculous. On the other hand, I just finished about >320 miles on the CO trail in a pair of LP 2.5s and I thought they held up pretty well after a lot of snow, mud and scree fields. They have a bit of separation at the toe, but less than in your pic I think. I still love my Altras (I'm ashamed to admit I even bought another pair of the Ones). They're just so comfortable . Of course shoes are about the most subjective and fit-specific topic imaginable. 0 drop and barefoot style shoes take a bit of getting used to, but I absolutely love them.
Don't feel bad. Last year I bought a new pair of Asolo Fugitive hiking boots (in June) and by September they did this:
Remember, these are brand new boots with only a couple trips under their belt. Shoddy crap? You decide. I surmise much backpacking gear nowadays is made haphazardly by thumbless lemurs in overheated jungle factories surrounded by outgassing particle board.
False. Constantly wearing shoes with toe drop causes the calf to shorten placing stress on the Achilles' tendon. Returning to zero drop without properly caring for the calf will then cause problems additionally but the root of the problem is the shortened calf muscle.
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https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White
my orthopedic surgeon disagrees with you, he specifically recommends against zero drop shoes
given that all of us should work on stretching exercises for both heads of the calf...and the hamstrings, to help avoid injury
anytime you hike on an incline uphill....the achilles tendon is placed under high stress.
zero drop shoes puts that tendon under more stress than using a shoe with 8-12mm drop.
using zero drop shoes is popular with track athletes, and that's fine on the track
but hiking with them is asking for problems
Tipi, have you had your pronation diagnosed? Have you had this critical flex pt wearing issue in other shoes when carrying your typical heavy haul wts? If so and if you're not neutral you might consider reinforcing/correcting your pronation with shoes and/or after market footbeds/orthotics specific to your feet and those scenarios. You could begin by top dressing the stitching in those areas with something like Seam Seal or a diluted layer of Seam Grip that helps reduce the wear particularly on the top of the stitch loops in that flex pt area.
If you let that go the stitching can and likely will further unravel. Could fix it with some Seam Grip.
These are about my 8th pair of Fugitives in the last 12 years and this is the first time one of them blew out a seam so I don't believe pronation is the issue. Just poorly made. I made the mistake of using an awl with thick thread and fixed it, although the awl poked thru the gtx boot "sock" resulting in ample water leakage. Covered the whole mess with seamgrip but it didn't help.
Walking barefoot is excellent. I used to wear the VFFs exclusively for about 3 years and that and the stretches I described earlier corrected all my issues similar to what the OP was about. Arch issues, Achilles issues, and IT band issues. I went this approach after years of arch supports and IT band "rolling/massage" as proscribed by every doc and physical therapist I had ever been to and having issues only get worse. I started out realizing that taking my inserts out and eventually spending the rest of my day in socks (at work as a personal trainer) actually felt better. I happened to go to a seminar for trainers taught by one of the most incredibly knowledgeable people in this area that I have ever found. I started putting things together and then specifically had an opportunity to discuss this with him and fine tuned the protocol for myself and learned how to customize it based on static and movement assessments for clients for many years. True success is when you no longer have to "take the medicine" to get rid of the pain. True success is restoring your body to proper alignment and maximal function. This is a huge difference between functional approaches and those who think the "solution" is to give you a "crutch."
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https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White
Appropriate footwear is subject specific. There is no one correct shoe type for all people all the time under all scenarios.
My friend is also an orthopedic surgeon and agrees that the zero drop and five fingers type shoes are problematic.
He chuckles and says they're the best thing for his business since moguls.