hiking boots

[Chik]

My recollection may be faulty, but I think the break-in period was very short.

boots.jpg

[j44ke]

My recollection may be faulty, but I think the break-in period was very short.

boots.jpg

Looks a bit like a Super DNA boot but with better lacing hooks and rings. And a lot more of them.

[Chik]

Looks a bit like a Super DNA boot but with better lacing hooks and rings. And a lot more of them.

Yeah, the whole lacing setup is incredibly robust, including the laces themselves -- they're still the originals and aren't showing any sign of tearing any time soon. That said, hardware like that does come with weight penalty.

The design patent that was granted in 1970 was for the top (collar) and the back of the shaft. They are actually functional, not just ornamental, and make the boots very comfortable to wear without compromising on support. I think the claimed design features contributed to having a very short break-in period.

[lumpy]

The real trick is to get a boot with the right fit for YOUR FOOT. There are lots of good brands, but finding a boot with the right amount of width, arch support, etc., is tough. There's no substitute for going to a retailer that stocks a bunch of different brands and trying them on. Salomons and Merrells fit very different feet. For me the big drawback to running shoes is that if you are someplace very rocky like the White Mountains, the sole can be too flexible and you can bruise the bottoms of your feet.

A flexible sole can also be uncomfortable in winter if you are using traction devices, like Microspikes. If you are going to be out and about in winter in the northeast you should consider getting a pair. Often our local trails (Western Mass., but true in much of the NE) have long stretches of hard water ice or a glaze on the rocks and being able to put on spikes makes hiking faster and safer. Microspikes are the standard in my circle of friends. YakTrax will walk off your feet.

Strongly second Jorn's suggestion of gaiters if you are going to be out in the snow.

[skouri1]

hmm, makes total sense. I know people are very particular about running shoes (me too) so I guess hiking would also require a good fit. having said that, ive hiked plenty in crap sneakers and survived. I was just shocked by how stiff these old EMS I have are. maybe they just have a junk insole. I think i will slip some superfeet in until I can find my way to a shop where I can actually try some different brands on.

[ides1056]

These are the best approach and walking shoes I have ever used. Rock DFS mid.

https://www.rei.com/b/aku/c/boots?s_...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[AngryScientist]

Came back to put in a plug for these Altras. Went on a snowy hike in the Catskills yesterday and these performed flawlessly. The level of grip on snow covered rock was truly impressive, and they are light and fast. Good stuff.

https://www.altrarunning.com/shop/me...ariationId=302

92CFDCC2-9B72-4F46-B69B-73C21A668016.jpg

[bigbill]

My Marine son wears Danner. He has three pair, one hot weather https://www.pnasurplus.com/product/d...anchor-emblem/ and two pair of waterproof, https://www.pnasurplus.com/product/d...emblem-coyote/

He does routine 15 mile hikes with a 100 pound pack (he weighs 155). If the waterproof get water inside (wading through a swamp), they take forever to dry. He has really wide feet and the Danners work.

When I was in the Navy, I was a Red Wing guy. I had two pair that I'd rotate then send back to Red Wing when I'd get back from deployment. It was around $60 to get them resoled.

[BBB]

My eldest son, who recently turned 14, has grown a lot in the last 12 months or so. He now wears the same size boot as me. He has a pair of La Sportiva walking boots and he finds them quite comfortable. They can be seen in the video below, which he put together following a recent hike we did:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=spjtAjOoyOY&feature=shares

[caleb]

Is this the place for our Catskill winter hiking pictures? Good.











I wore Danner Rainforests, which are probably overkill, but I never broke an ankle or got a blister in them.

[j44ke]

My eldest son, who recently turned 14, has grown a lot in the last 12 months or so. He now wears the same size boot as me. He has a pair of La Sportiva walking boots and he finds them quite comfortable. They can be seen in the video below, which he put together following a recent hike we did:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=spjtAjOoyOY&feature=shares

La Sportive makes some great boots, but in the US, brand-wise they become one of the "extra" boot makers as far as retailers are concerned. La Sportiva, Salewa, Garmont all make good boots, but the popularity of more generic (or fashion) boots from Merrell & Timberland etc. bump them off the edge of the shelf in the retail space. Too bad actually. You can get them mail-order of course, but fit is such a big part of hiking boots it is a hard way to figure out what works.

[COVRTDESIGN]

I now have 6 pairs of the Salomon X Ultra 4 Mid Gore-Tex boots from different years. I don't think I will go to anything else for hiking and everyday use.

Screenshot 2023-01-24 at 1.57.46 PM.jpg


I have 4 pairs of the X Ultra 4 Gore-Tex shoes as well. Great price, great color choices, and incredibly comfortable.

Screenshot 2023-01-24 at 1.59.19 PM.jpg

[BBB]

La Sportive makes some great boots, but in the US, brand-wise they become one of the "extra" boot makers as far as retailers are concerned. La Sportiva, Salewa, Garmont all make good boots, but the popularity of more generic (or fashion) boots from Merrell & Timberland etc. bump them off the edge of the shelf in the retail space. Too bad actually. You can get them mail-order of course, but fit is such a big part of hiking boots it is a hard way to figure out what works.

Speciality camping or outdoor stores would carry La Sportiva surely? But, you're right you do need to attend in person and try them on, and preferably with the help of someone in the shop.

[jimcav]

I forgot to mention that circa 2003 maybe I got a pair of Lowa renegades just to have something that wasn't as warm or as desert tan as my Navy-issued Gortex Danners. Other than some hikes along the Potomac River in Maryland (which included a decent amount of rocky scramble) I mainly used them in winter visiting Indiana helping my folks clean up their property. They fell apart in 3 years--maybe it was a bad batch, but I never tried Lowa again.

[j44ke]

Speciality camping or outdoor stores would carry La Sportiva surely? But, you're right you do need to attend in person and try them on, and preferably with the help of someone in the shop.

When I worked in outdoor equipment retail, we had probably 5 brands of hiking boot. Vasque, Merrell, Asolo, Lowa and maybe Scarpa (or just their climbing shoes.) Each with several models in a range of sizes, men's and women's. Takes up a lot of space. So the brands we carried were at the time well-known, sold well and got frequent reviews in magazines (remember those?) And they fit American feet on average which tend to be wide and flat (not Scarpas.) But I was working for a regular local retailer, not a national retailer with bigger market and more reach like REI - which does indeed carry La Sportiva now - and not in the era of Internet shops like Backcountry, Moosejaw, etc. I guess same as any bike shop carrying these but not those bikes.

[ides1056]

You really have to try several brands because they don’t all have the same footbed. Scarpa always worked for me, and I have boots they made that are thirty years old. As for boots wearing out: ten days in the Sierra Nevada and I needed to replace the soles on one pair. Granite is brutal. I wear out every hiking shoe I own within two years because they are everyday wear for work and the life I lead in New England.

[Peter Polack]

I now have 6 pairs of the Salomon X Ultra 4 Mid Gore-Tex boots from different years. I don't think I will go to anything else for hiking and everyday use.

Screenshot 2023-01-24 at 1.57.46 PM.jpg


I have 4 pairs of the X Ultra 4 Gore-Tex shoes as well. Great price, great color choices, and incredibly comfortable.

Screenshot 2023-01-24 at 1.59.19 PM.jpg

Is your first name Imelda?

[9tubes]

I live in Seattle. A few years ago I asked the folks in REI's flagship store about the debate between lightweight trail runners vs hiking boots. They said the trend was away from the super lightweight shoes and towards something more substantial. It depends on where you hike but the trail shoes don't offer a lot of protection from roots and rocks. I found that my feet liked the light weight of those but my feet felt sore and beat up at the end of the day. I switched to the modern lightweight versions of traditional boots and I was much fresher at the end of the day.

Hiking boots are just like cycling shoes, the first, second and third considerations are how well they fit. There are plenty of good brands at the top end. Just go to a real mountaineering store and find which one works with your foot. Unless you wear them daily as a park ranger they will last a long time, so my suggestion is to make your feet happy and spend the extra.

I have a pair of Zamberlans and love them. They are sort of like the Sidi of hiking boots, and be warned that they are narrow and fit like them too. Every time I wear them I marvel at how they seem to make walking easier. I don't know why, maybe the rocker in the sole?

[COVRTDESIGN]

Is your first name Imelda?

Imelda Romualdez Marcos? The Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986?

[BBB]

When I worked in outdoor equipment retail, we had probably 5 brands of hiking boot. Vasque, Merrell, Asolo, Lowa and maybe Scarpa (or just their climbing shoes.) Each with several models in a range of sizes, men's and women's. Takes up a lot of space. So the brands we carried were at the time well-known, sold well and got frequent reviews in magazines (remember those?) And they fit American feet on average which tend to be wide and flat (not Scarpas.) But I was working for a regular local retailer, not a national retailer with bigger market and more reach like REI - which does indeed carry La Sportiva now - and not in the era of Internet shops like Backcountry, Moosejaw, etc. I guess same as any bike shop carrying these but not those bikes.

That all makes perfect sense.

My feet fit into Scarpas with no drama, but in general the narrower Italian fit does not work for me at all (in hiking boots or cycling shoes).

Subject to the fit issue, I'd like to try La Sportiva approach shoes for when a hiking boot is a bit over the top. These look good:

https://www.bogong.com.au/la-sportiv...ach-shoes.html