keen's for thrue hikes?

[balloonatic]

hi ya all.
i have a question this year i will be doing my first thrue hike of the a.t. and i am wondering about foot wear. I love my keen newport sandels they are the only shoes i wear and did some hiking in them in montana and Georgia last year and was fine but i did not hve my full pack on.

so I am asking for your advice in if the keens will work or if i need to actually where real shoes or boots for the first time in a couple years.
balloonatic

[4shot]

while not my style (I still wear boots) I did see several people hiking in sandals so it is certainly doable, especially if you have backpacked in them and find them to be comfortable. I would certainly want warm wool socks in the beginning or suggest that you wait until Va. (assuming NOBO and not sure of your start date) and warmer weather.

[uberart]

I made it the whole way on one pair of keen newports. No problem, 2 pairs probably better. Hike fine wet and dry, great ventilation when its hot to prevent blisters. Adequate protection. You will get rocks stuck in their occasionally. But a couple of times a day, is a welcome time for a break anyways.

I saw some hung on a tree, from the wear and the place, it looked like a northbounder made 1700 miles on them.

[Serial 07]

a fine choice...i was thinking about doing the same in '12...but i think i would rather have the style that has a bit of the netting to prevent sticks and rocks and whatnot from gettin' in there...but, very doable....i thru hiked in 2 pairs of targhee ii and loved them...

[Tinker]

I did the last 20 miles of the Hundred Mile Wilderness, the approach to Katahdin, and the ascent and descent as well as the walk out to the Golden Road in Keen Newport H2s after my leather/fabric Keen hiking shoes stretched out so much that they rolled around my feet on sidehills (didn't take long - the leather stretched quite a bit). I had no problem with the all-synthetic H2s. I've been leery of leather Keens as true hiking shoes since then. I do own a pair of casual all leather Keens which are fine for everyday around town use.
Hiking in sandals, however, does have a couple of drawbacks: debris can get in between the webbing and under your foot, and the straps can put more concentrated pressure on the areas where they contact your skin.
Wearing socks helps a lot with both issues.
I haven't hiked extensively in the H2s since my Hundred Mile Wilderness trip.
Trail runners (Asics) are my current shoes.

[Johnny Thunder]

i hiked to marion in the mid-top newports. could have gone further. the flat bottom was a bit of a problem in georgia because it rained so much and stuff was slick. that's it. if i could find the non-event low-tops i'd buy them on the spot.