One pair of shoes/boots for the entire AT.

[jersey joe]

I was able to get up to Caratunk Maine with one pair of Asolo boots.

[Railroad King]

I had a pair of LaSportiva Trango Trek boots. They lasted the whole trail but lost most of their waterproofing and had a hole or two near the top by the end. Wore out the original insoles and bought Superfeet in Daleville. Superfeet is amazing and lasted the rest of the way. One of the shoelaces got worn out in New England somewhere and an end broke off so I had to buy new boot laces at an outfitter. Overall it was only about 35 bucks in maintenance costs.

[Roland]

It's been mentioned a few times, but it bears repeating.

There are a number of heavy leather boots that will go all the way. The trade-off is weight. Not only the starting weight of the boot, but the additional "live weight" when the boots are wet. Boots which are sturdy enough to go all the way can absorb a lot of water and that adds considerable weight to every step. Plus, they take much longer to dry than synthetic materials.

[Phreak]

I haven't thru hiked the AT but I had a pair of Salomons XA Pro that had close to 1500 miles before I replaced them. Both hiking and trail running.

[fw2008]

This is an interesting thread, considering that I may be doing a TH next year.
I now own a pair of Asolo Gore-Tex boots with Vibram soles. I don't know the model, as they are 12 years old. The soles are gone now, so in looking for a new pair of boots, I want to keep a possible TH in mind.

I once owned a pair of Vasque boots, which were the most comfortable boots I have ever worn; didn't even require any break-in. But those weren't thru-hike boots. Much too light I think.

The Asolo on the other hand, with the leather uppers and thick Vibram soles would probably make a decent boot to start a TH in.
Those boots do, of course require a full break-in. I made that mistake when I bought them.
I wore them for 3 days at work, then went on a weekend hike on the AT in Killington, VT.

After the first day, I was hurting so bad, I should have stopped the hike, but I persisted, and finished the 2-day trek.
Overall, I probably did about 20 miles over the 2 days.
After that, I could hardly walk, even in running shoes for a week, and for much longer in the boots.

These boots kept hurting the back of my ankles for a long time, but suddenly one day in the Catskills, they stopped hurting. So I guess it took about 100 miles to really break them in.

That's why, if I am even thinking of a TH next year, I need to buy my boots during this summer, so that they are fully broken in by the time I start.
I don't normally do all that much hiking in summer, but I have to re-condition my body some long distance trekking.

FW

[sbhikes]

If they have vibram soles you might be able to have them resoled.

[Sleepy the Arab]

I have a pair of standard Limmers with about 3300 miles on them. I'll probably be taking them on the Long Trail this year.

[prain4u]

Some of us have extra wide--or extra narrow--foot sizes. Sadly, not every brand of footwear comes in extra wide (or extra narrow) widths. Few outfitters carry every brand of footwear or every "rare" size. Thus, some of us are forced to be a bit more deliberate and intentional in pre-planning our footwear replacement needs for a thru hike--as we are not always able to find something that fits when we walk into an outfitter or shoe store..

Therefore, I really appreciate what people are saying on this thread regarding different brands of footwear and how long they lasted for them. It will give me some basic data to take into consideration as I make plans for replacing my own extra wide footwear on a 2012 thru hike.