View Full Version : Oboz Ignition Trail Runners
Anyone have any backpacking experience with these? I just bought a pair on sale from REI's winter sale for $29.95 (retail = $99). Outside Magazine voted them "rookie of the year." I just went for a 3 mile neighborhood walk tonight, but wondering how they would do on a week-long backpack trip?
http://www.feedthehabit.com/outdoors/oboz-ignition-trail-running-shoes-review/
another review:
http://www.snewsnet.com/cgi-bin/snews/Oboz_Ignition_trail_runner.html
Also found this doing a little 'google searching':
Oboz hiking shoes and Oboz trail running shoes embody their name derived from "Outside Bozeman". Oboz shoes are inspired by the lands surrounding Bozeman and designed for outdoor fun. At Oboz they believe in fusing life and sport by building shoes that equip people for their outdoor adventures - shoes with meaningful innovation, solid performance and recognizable quality. Oboz believes that a business should contribute to a greater common good. In partnership with Trees for the Future, Oboz has committed to planting one tree for every pair of shoes they sell. Through programs like this, Oboz aims to do more than make shoes, but to also make a difference.
johnnybgood
01-24-2009, 22:03
I like their mission statement , sounds like a green conscience company.
I picked up the same pair in the same sale. I figured i couldn't pass up a pair of 30 dollar sneakers even if they were garbage. I got them last week and they seem well built. I'm not sure the shape of the footbed is going to work for me though. There is what feels like a little hump on the outside of each foot right around the midsole area. Just kinda feels weird. Might be that my new balance's are just crushed from a few too many miles, but with the snow on the ground i probably won't be able to put these through their paces until springtime or an extended warm front. But for 30 bucks they were a great deal.
From what I've gathered, several renown footwear engineers from top footwear companies formed their own company in early '08, thus the obscurity of the name 'Oboz.' It seems the 'runner's world' is pretty impressed by them (above links and several others I read). Just not sure how they will fair in our 'hiker's world!' I'm thinking about using them on my spring hike of about 55 miles in early April.
They seem to run a little small as I got 10s, normally wear 9 1/2s and they fit with a regular sock just fine, but I'm not sure I could wear my thick/thin sock combos with them. Anyway, I mainly got them for my daily walking (on sidewalks) where I tend to wear out a pair about every six months.
john oboz
01-25-2009, 22:34
Hi guys,
I happened upon your posts about the Oboz Ignitions and though I'd try to answer some questions. I'm the president and founder of the company.
The Iginitons you just bought are our 2008 model which has a couple of updates for 2009. You may have noticed the bootie is a bit difficult to get on the first few times, but after a short while it will get easier. We made it easier on our 2009 shoes.
I saw Gregor mentioned the footbeds and feeling a slight bump or hump on the sides. Gregor, we had a few dozen pairs that came in with our multi-sport footbed instead of our trail running footbeds by mistake. If your footbeds don't have round dots on the bottom they are the incorrect ones. If the bottom is basically flat they are supposed to be in our multi-sport shoes which are a hair wider across that area. You could try trimming them -just slightly in that area or if you wear them a while they will just break-in.
They aren't really designed for backpacking with loads but some people do. Just try some shorter hikes with any weight first.
Check out our new website at www.obozfootwear.com (http://www.obozfootwear.com)
If you have any other questions let me know. We appreciate your support. We're a small company dedicated to quality and service.
Cheers
Thanks for dropping in to WB John! I am quite impressed by my 2008 Ignitions, and yes they are tight going on but getting easier. I love how they feel once my foot is in. I look forward to seeing where your company goes and some of your future innovations. I'm sure you'd get a lot of feedback here on what we like/don't like about current available backpacking footwear choices (with absolutely no consensus of agreement I'm sure! :D ).
For me, I want a hiking shoe similar in design to the ignition, with great tread, as they seem to have although I haven't had the opportunity to try them on trail conditions, i.e. wet rock, etc. The common complaint about trail runners / cross trainers is the traction isn't as good as the traditional hiking boots. I'd say a majority of seasoned hikers / AT thru-hikers today prefer a running style shoe to the heavy, over-the-ankle boots of yester-year. Hope you give some thought and effort to filling this niche, because I don't think the near-perfect trail runner used for backpacking exists today. Those of us who wear them realize there are compromises involved.
My main concern in wearing a TR for backpacking is that the sole is firm enough. There was a huge difference when I switched from New Balance to Montrail Hardrock in terms of the sturdiness of the footbed.
Obviously many TR's are not built for backpacking and just feel too flimsy in the sole.
Hi everyone,
This is Boo, I work with John at Oboz. Just wanted to let you know that you can join the Oboz Trail Team and let us hear your feedback and stories directly...just go to obozfootwear.com and click on Oboz Trail Team. Thanks!