Boots

[Bagg it Tag it]

I'm a new user here and look forward to learning from the community here. A little background--I used to do lots of backpacking 15-20 years ago and tapered off 10 years ago or so. Now my son is in Scouts and in addition to helping the boys learn new skills I am back in the saddle so to speak with camping/hiking/backpacking.

I've got some great worn in Merrill Wilderness boots (classic old black leather indestructible boots). I went to a local park yesterday and hiked for 7 miles over moderate terrain. My feet are a little sore (didn't even have a pack on) and I believe that I can do a lot better with today's technology and lightweight materials. The myriad (hundreds) of types of new hiking boots and brands is pretty mind boggling. I want to go with a lighter boot. I think the Merrills weigh 3.5 lbs. Any really good suggestions? I "think" I need at least a mid height boot (ankle support) instead of a trail shoe. But I could be wrong what are some opinions?

[skinewmexico]

I think you should give trail runners a try. The ankle support of boots is considered to be a myth by a lot of people. If you really need ankle support, you can get substantially more by wearing braces. If you haven't backpacked much in 15-20 years (I went thru the same thing with my Scout), you'll find two schools of thought. One school thinks only minor changes have happened in the last 20 years. The other school thinks technology and materials have changed substantially, and you can cut your weight in half safely. Cutting weight sure helps on the ankle support issue. So enjoy!

[Old Hiker]

I'm waiting for a few more reviews of these two. I'm a great fan of New Balance sneakers, as I'm on my feet 7-10 hours a day and these are the best I've found and are made (for the most part) in America. I'm 13-Wide, so the different reviews on the size fitting make me a bit leery.

http://www.newbalance.com/products/MO1000/

http://www.newbalance.com/products/WO1000/

[Bagg it Tag it]

Thanks for the responses so far! keep 'em coming

[Red Hat]

agree with folks New Balance trail runners... I use the 800series (813 I think is the latest) most of the year and 977s in winter


According to www.shopnewbalance.com the latest versions are 814 and 978. check them out

[Bagg it Tag it]

I'm waiting for a few more reviews of these two. I'm a great fan of New Balance sneakers, as I'm on my feet 7-10 hours a day and these are the best I've found and are made (for the most part) in America. I'm 13-Wide, so the different reviews on the size fitting make me a bit leery.

http://www.newbalance.com/products/MO1000/

http://www.newbalance.com/products/WO1000/

Do you backpack with these shoes?

[mstone]

I'm a huge fan of trail runners. If you're concerned about ankle support, find a light weight pair of ankle braces. When I played football, I would wear the lightest pair of soccer cleats I could find and rarely worried about ankle damage. There are a number of exercises you can do to strenghten them. I beleive that boots actually add to ankle damage. That's a lot of weight to lug around. I also think that knee damage is more likely with boots as opposed to trail runners. This is very much IMHO!

[garlic08]

I'm also a NB 8XX user, but mainly because they come in three different widths and the EE is perfect for me.

[Jersey Tim]

Go to a running store and tell the salesperson you're in the market for trail runners, but you don't know what you like so you want to try on a bunch of different ones. Once you find a good fit, don't be slow to get them out on the trail under a pack; specialty running stores usually have good return policies, but in a limited time frame.

Near you, there's:
http://www.fleetfeetnashville.com/
http://athleteshouse.com/

[DripDry]

I am a big fan of Salomon XA PRO (http://www.salomon.com/us/product/xa...ultra-gtx.html)- I did 400+ trail miles in a pair in the last year. They make a mid which is nice if you can't make the leap to low runners mentally yet. Fit is everything though, and this year's versions seem much larger in the heel to me. Go to a good store and try on everything you can to make sure you get a good fit.

[Buffalo Skipper]

I am a little bit more of a moderate on this one. I like my mid boots, but I appreciate the new technology and lightweight. I have a pair of NB walking shoes, which I like on pavement or dayhiking. But for backpacking, I really like my Merrell Moab Ventilator mids. Unlike the old style, which is waterproof, these are exactly the opposite. The design is made to shed water once wet, and to dry quickly.

And at $90ish, they are not too expensive either. Weigh less than 16 oz each. The also come in a low cut cross trainer, which I may try when I eventually wear these out.

[Harrison Bergeron]

Everyone here will tell you to buy some trail runners. I don't know why, since with modern materials, you can buy a good pair of boots for the same price and about the same weight as a pair of trail runners. My Danners were $130 and weigh 3 pounds. The Vasque gortex trail runners they replaced were $150 and weighed 2.5 pounds.

My ankles don't hurt at the end of the day with my Danners.

If it rains, my feet stay dry with the Danners. With the Goretex trail runners, they stayed dry if it didn't rain for more fifteen minutes. Any more, and they'd soak through and then I was hiking in wet feet for the rest of the day -- with blisters.

The trail runners were a little cooler. But I still needed two pair of socks to prevent blisters, so they weren't that much cooler.

I guess if it's not raining and you're either a professional ice skater or you're hiking on flat ground, trail runners are great. Of course, under those conditions, a good pair of sandals would be even better.

To each his own. I tried it and it didn't work for me.

[leaftye]

If you don't want to make the jump all the way to trail runners yet, try these lightweight boots.



http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detai...050973129&L=27

[LIhikers]

Let me suggest you look into Vasque Clarion boots.
I've been wearing them for years with good luck.

[njordan2]

I wear Asolo Fugitive GTX. They are the best boots I have ever worn. I have gotten blisters in everything else, but not the Asolo Fugitives. If you have wide feet, be sure to purchase the wide size.

The next in line are Danner combat hikers. These may beat the Asolo's, but only time will tell. The Asolo's have around 600 miles of the AT on them and I just recently purchased the Danners.

The reason I bought Danner is that they have shoe string eyes all the way up them. Everything else has hooks at some point that I always snag on stuff. They seem to be built even more durable than the Asolo's. Also, they are made in the USA. A BIG plus in my book!

[Zeno Marx]

The next in line are Danner combat hikers.

Do you know if they have a non-Gore-tex version?

[TAS]

Everyone here will tell you to buy some trail runners. I don't know why, since with modern materials, you can buy a good pair of boots for the same price and about the same weight as a pair of trail runners. My Danners were $130 and weigh 3 pounds. The Vasque gortex trail runners they replaced were $150 and weighed 2.5 pounds.

My ankles don't hurt at the end of the day with my Danners.

If it rains, my feet stay dry with the Danners. With the Goretex trail runners, they stayed dry if it didn't rain for more fifteen minutes. Any more, and they'd soak through and then I was hiking in wet feet for the rest of the day -- with blisters.

The trail runners were a little cooler. But I still needed two pair of socks to prevent blisters, so they weren't that much cooler.


I guess if it's not raining and you're either a professional ice skater or you're hiking on flat ground, trail runners are great. Of course, under those conditions, a good pair of sandals would be even better.

To each his own. I tried it and it didn't work for me.

100% with you on this.

To each his/her own but at some point getting light can start to backfire on you?

John

[rockbottom89]

I am a big fan of Salomon XA PRO (http://www.salomon.com/us/product/xa...ultra-gtx.html)- I did 400+ trail miles in a pair in the last year. They make a mid which is nice if you can't make the leap to low runners mentally yet. Fit is everything though, and this year's versions seem much larger in the heel to me. Go to a good store and try on everything you can to make sure you get a good fit.

I'll second this, I just picked up a pair and they are stupid light. I've only put about 10 miles on them this weekend but I love them. They feel like trail runners but still have a decent amount of ankel support. The lace system is also really nice and the shoes are still somewhat flexible, eliminating any tight spots in the heel, which is a problem I've been plagued with in the past.

REI has them on sale till the 30th and you can get a pair for $120, they also carry the factory replacement lace systems if you're worried.

You seem to be in the same market I was in. I'm very pleased thus far.

[SassyWindsor]

If structurally sound, stick with the broken-in Merrill's. Treat with aquaseal and/or sno-seal, seal the seams, maybe some new laces and footbeds. FOR ME, trail runners are OK for day hikes, but that's about the limit, plus, if you hike much, the runners will cost way more than resoleable boots, in the long run.

[Tinker]

I've owned Limmer boots - custom made - can't get much heavier than that without going to plastic mountaineering boots (come to think of it, the plastic boots are probably lighter).
What I've learned since the year 1999. Goretex isn't for warm weather footwear - your feet will sweat and they will make themselves wet - then they take a long time to dry.
Low top shoes allow (or force) your ankles to strengthen. Then you don't miss all the rubbing on the back of your heel or pressure against the side of your ankles that you get from stiff leather boots.
If you are heavy the learning curve will be longer. Start by lightening your gear, then look for lighter footwear.
Part of what is necessary for hiking in lighter footwear is an acute awareness of what is underfoot. For some this might be a bother, but for me it gives me a closer connection to the terrain.