What's on your feet??

[timmy_toes]

Looking to see what other Ultra-light thru hikers are wearing to get an idea what to look into. Was gonna do sandals but that scares me and dont want to hurt my feet or shins. This one item is really driving me insane! My packs weighs all of 5 pounds fully loaded and plan on thru-hiking and leaving the first week of april. any ideas be great, but looking for super fast drying trail running shoes really with a wide foot box.

[Nutbrown]

I'm not a thru, but ran into quite a few that brought chacos as camp shoes and ended up just wearing them. Tevas too.

[skinewmexico]

Not a thru, but I really liked the GoLite shoes with the trail claws. I think they're still being made. I was going to try some Inov-8, but they just didn't fit me. Super light though.

[Don H]

Brooks Adrenaline trail runners with Superfeet insoles. 5 pairs did the whole trail.

[Franco]

I see shoes the way I see packs.
That is , at some point lesser weight becomes more uncomfortable so a disadvantage rather than a gain.
In packs I stop at a very basic frame in the 2 pound range so I can comfortably carry 25-30 lbs .
To walk with that sort of load something like my Innov 8 330 is about the right point for me
(the number is the weight per shoe 330=660g)
You will probably wear out 2 or 3 pairs doing all of the AT
Franco

[Franco]

BTW, on my last walk (6 days, cool and rainy for the first two,warm to hot the others, coastal walk, wet feet...) I was experimenting with socks and found the thin Coolmax better than a med type wool blend.
Franco

[Tinker]

Hmmmmmmm........... Wide toebox you say........... maybe something from Keen?

I like the fit of their shoes but they need to work a bit on the durability of their soles. I recently bought a pair of Merrill Moabb Ventilators which seem to be working for me. I'll have more to say about them once I'm completely over my gout problems (some say they never go away ). So far I have 50 trail miles on them (Pa.) and can say that they seem to handle the rocks better than my previous shoes, low end Asics trail runners.

[ndwoods]

I wear Brooks running shoes. They have the best insoles. I tried hiking in Tevas...when you go from water to sand the sand and dirt collects on the wet straps and rubs your skin raw!

[MaybeTomorrow]

Brooks for dry, Salomon techamphibian for wet.

[moytoy]

I'm not a thru hiker yet and I'm not an ultralight yet. I wear NB 814's most of the time. But you may be a hiker that is ready for minimalist type shoes. I'm thinking about ordering a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves for my camp shoes. A size 9 weighs 6.2 each. My thought is I can carry these instead of camp shoes and I have a hiking backup shoe. Anyway here is a link compairing the Merrell and the NB Minimus. http://www.irunfar.com/2011/02/merre...il-review.html

[keithclove]

Five Ten Camp IV

[Lando11]

Scott eride grip. Nice wide toe box, and dries faster then any shoe I have encountered. Usded them on my thru last year from manchester center, vt to baxter peak(and wish I had discovered them earlier). The only negative is the color (highlighter-bright yellow) and they are hard to find in person. Did find a website that has them for $50 tho, leftlanesports.com

[Juice]

I've been rocking the Brooks Cascadia's but I bought several pair of Asolo's online on sale with a discount and got 3 pair for less than $100. Ugly shoes but they fit and feel great. Now its time to destroy them!!!!!(evil laugh)

As long as they'll dry decently, shaving grams on shoes never made much sense to me as long as you're not going over 1.5 lbs per pair. Try on lots of brands and remember they're being pitched in less than 2 months.

[Sensei]

Brooks Cascadias with Superfeet insoles. Did the whole trail in two pairs.

[Donde]

Did most of my thru with Merrill Moab Ventilators. Now I hike in Vibram KSO's. But I shoes is my mind not a place to focus on weight. Focus on comfort and if it happens to be light great.

[Winds]

Did most of my thru with Merrill Moab Ventilators. Now I hike in Vibram KSO's. But I shoes is my mind not a place to focus on weight. Focus on comfort and if it happens to be light great.

Hey Donde, how did the Moab Ventilators hold up over the miles and did they have to be retired? I am contemplating getting 2 pairs for my thru. Some complain that they are actually too soft soled? What's your experience? Thanks.

[Donde]

They held up pretty well. I got about 900 miles per pair with a few glue jobs. YMMV.

[Winds]

Yikes, that doesn't sound good at all. So quality is lacking I see as some write about. I still have / use the Merrell shoes from the late 90's that were the grandfather to the Moab and they're still doing great, about 50% tread left. What is 'YMMV'?

[garlic08]

I'm surprised New Balance 8XX hasn't come up yet. I think they're on 817 now. I like them mainly because they're available in three widths from D to EEEE, they're pretty light, and durable enough for 700 to 800 miles before total failure. Lots of thrus like them, but some people think they're about as comfortable as the box they come in.

[Del Q]

I ran into Li Branfors in Boiling Springs, Triple Crown hiker...........did the AT and CDT in the same year..........he was wearing two pairs of socks and sandals 1-2 sizes larger, swore by them. He does BIG miles, like 30 on most days.