Last summer I recall reading a post in which people were talking about their favorite hiking boots. We're a diverse crowd around here, so of course you had people hiking in things from giant mega waffle-stomper style boots, to bare feet!

As we're sliding again toward spring and summer, I wanted to get some footwear advice. I have a few different options in my bag of tricks: sturdy full-support hikers, light weight trail runners, chacos...

My BOOTS are a pair of relatively new (2 or 3 years old?) Montrail hikers. Without remembering the specific make, they seem pretty equivalent to these: http://www.rei.com/product/723500.

I just bought a pair of Merrel Cross-trainers (they didn't get the most phenomenal reviews on the REI page, but I'm loving them!) http://www.rei.com/product/763943

And finally, I have a trusty straight-ahead pair of Chacos that I live in during the summer. http://www.rei.com/product/733616

My favorite pair of light-weight hikers (with ankle support) gave out last summer, and aren't really holding it together for anything more than a walk around town any longer.

I feel like I recall people talking about doing shorter overnights with trail-runner type shoes? Maximum I would do in our area is a 7-10 mile day with a fully-loaded pack. Probably can count on a little elevation gain. I'm not at all hard-core, though. Our "big hikes" last summer were the Cape Scott Trail in Vancouver, BC (flat, 15km days, MUD MUD MUD) and Goat Lake in the Goat Rocks Wilderness.  I'm confident about the Merrels as day-hikers, but would they support me ok with a multi-night (1 or 2) pack? I'd love to lose some of the weight of my sturdy shoes, but I don't want to trash my feet/ankles. I've not had problems yet with either (just knees). I've also been having some trouble with one of my "big" boots--the tongue has gotten a little askew and tends to really hurt (though not blister) after several miles (Cape Scott was a miserable hike back out).

Anyhow, I'm looking to learn more about what I can/should do with what I have, and I'm interested in hearing your experiences. What do you think?

Ya know I hear folks talking about ankle support for multiple day backpacking hikes etc etc. I backpack in trail runners. I have personally seen thru hikers on the AT wearing sandals so I don't know if the big boot big pack mantra fits. I suppose it all has to do with what your ankles, hips and knees can tolerate??

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"There is this to be said for walking: It's the one mode of human locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches like a frog." --Edward Abbey

Another thing to consider is the quality of the trail. I where trail runners a lot, but I was wishing for my boots yesterday. The uneven footing and loose stones left me looking for a lot more ankle support.

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What do you suppose is around that next bend?

Thanks, that's a great point! I imagine that I'd have been fine on the Goat Lake hike in runners, but the wobbly, uneven, muddy logs up in BC would've made mince meat out of my ankles without the support. I guess the tricky thing is knowing which to bring in advance--no point in carrying the big boots on my pack if I don't need them (still adds significant poundage), but how to know?

Any ideas on doing something about the awful way the boot tongue fits?  I've thought of getting them soaking wet and wearing them  for a while. It's like the way the tongue creases puts awful amounts of pressure on the top of my foot. I've tried lacing them differently, to no avail. It only happens on one boot. :-/

My favorite pair of boots are my Danner 453 GTXs for a pair of high tops they weigh almost nothing and they cost a mere $130. Not having put more than 150 miles on them yet I don't now how they will hold up. Like I said they're light. But the tongue is still right where it started and I put thirty miles on them right out of the box without nary a blister. I also have a pair of  "The North Face" trail runners that I pretty much live in and I hope I can find another pair just like them when they finally wear out.

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Everybodys got somthing to hide......Except for me and my monkey!

If you wear low cut shoes in an area with lots of loose gravel and dirt, then it gets into your shoes and socks and you have to take them off and dump out the dirt and makes your feet filthy.

If you wear lightweight boots that go up a little on your ankle, and wear gaitors, then it helps keep stuff out.

If the soles are a little stiff, be they boots or shoes, then it's more comfortable to walk on rocks.

A lot of people hike and backpack--even on off-trail trips involving some mountaineering skills, and even carrying what I consider obscenely heavy weights--in well-fitting, supportive trail runners. My son wore his trail runners last summer while acting as "sherpa" for his kids, carrying his surfboard and packing his wet suit. He was (or I should say, his feet and ankles were) quite comfortable, even on a very muddy trail. carrying close to 55 lbs. I'm not one of the trail-runner crowd because I have ankle and other issues and need the support, meager though it is, of a boot that covers my ankles. However, I try to get the lightest boots I can find.

The heavy footwear for heavy loads myth breaks down when you realize (according to several sources I've read) that every extra ounce on your feet is the equivalent of 2.5 pounds on your back.

Footwear is such an individual thing that you'll have to decide for yourself what works for you. Don't wait for a long trip to find out, though. Load up your overnight pack and do some day-hikes on Gorge (or similar) trails, using different footwear each time, and see how you do.

Low gaitors, as Jerry suggests, keep a lot of gunk out of your shoes.

My daughter hikes in sandals and no socks, which shocks me--but she's comfortable! I don't know how she avoids getting her feet sliced on rocks!

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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey

i just use my running style shoes, but im gonna have to start using something else for my bushwhacks that i want to go on this year, cause my right shoe has a hole near the toe

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jamey pyles

Another thing that has worked for me is the different insoles - I use studier ones when carrying heavier packs,  light or no added insoles for lighter trekking. And socks are a whole' nother science experiment, much less the varying degrees of changing how tight the laces  ;)

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Jane Garbisch - Site Sherpa

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"We are here on the planet only once.... might as well get a feel for the place."
- Annie Dillard

Chacos do very well in a variety of conditons while backpacking--steep trails, logs, creek crossings, even mild bushwhacking; a particularly useful factoid when nursing a blistered heel.

Steve

For what it is worth, I always wear my boots, even when dayhiking.  I prefer the ankle protection they provide.  If I haven't had them, I don't know how many twisted ankles I would have had.  Of course, I tend to hike lesser travelled/maintained trails, with more roots/rocks/rough terrain, so maybe it is better that I am prepared.  I've been on some of the very well maintained trails in the gorge, and I could probably wear my tennis shoes with no problems......Some of them are like walking down the sidewalk.

I bought a pair of Salomon's from Next Adventure for Christmas, and so far, I love them.  Waterproof, breathable, and very comfortable (and pretty light).  I do agree, same as socks, that footwear is a very personal decision.

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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW-What a ride!-Dean Karnazes-"Ultramarathon Man"

Wow, Grannyhiker, your point about the ounce on the boots adding 2.5 pounds on your back is great! What a relief to hear that this is a standard "notion" about hiking. First-hand experience definitely supports this, though I'd always just added it up to being more out of shape than I'd anticipated. Great to hear that this is a rule of thumb!

I think 2.5 pounds per ounce sounds like a bit of an exaggeration.  That's a ratio of 40:1.  My boots probably weigh close to 64oz, so that would be 160 pounds on my back...

I almost always wear boots, mostly because I am not a very careful stepper (you can call it clumsy if you like).

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Dan - Site Cartographer

Maybe it's more the reference to "pressure" or "load" on the joints. What I have read  (yes you can throw donuts at me! ;) is in reading about being overweight (so "any " extra weight being carried by the frame)  adds wear and tear to the knees, and probably the other joints too.... "Losing just one pound of body weight results in a four-pound reduction in the load placed on the knee joint each time a person takes a step, according to a new study of overweight and obese people."..

http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/1362/62

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Jane Garbisch - Site Sherpa

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"We are here on the planet only once.... might as well get a feel for the place."
- Annie Dillard

Jane, I completely agree that shoe weight is important- I was skeptical of the magnitude, not the overall idea.  I think the 4:1 ratio you mention for body weight sounds more in line with what I have come across for shoe weight, which I remember being somewhere around 5:1.

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Dan - Site Cartographer