Boots

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mikeal

Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
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I debated putting this in Gadgets and Gear, but I thought I would reach a more knowledgeable audience here. Feel free to move though.

I am looking for a new pair of boots / trail shoes.

- Most of my hiking is in South Florida
- I'm doing six days on the AT in North Georgia this summer
- I have wide feet
- I prefer boots to trail shoes (weak S. Florida ankles)
- No outfitters around here unless you are fishing or hog hunting.

I found a pair of Vasque Breeze GTX XCR in wide ($60 off!!). They felt fine in the store, but wearing them around the house I can feel them squeeze the wide part of my foot.

So, I am looking for suggestions for :

- Boots or trail shoes that fit my flippers
- under $100
- Nothing too heavy, but I'm no ultralighter
- I'd rather have boots that drain well and dry fast than gore tex

I'd appreciate any ideas.

Mike
 
Hi Mike,

I am no boot expert, but I think if you are going to keep the budget under $100 for wide sizes you can look at some military surplus. The Infantry Combat Boot is pretty comfortable and breaks in quickly. However, it is Gore-Tex lined if I recall correctly. Gore-Tex does not bother me, but I can see how others do not like it.

Since you are going to be on the Appalachian Trail for the summer, you might want to consider jungle boots. They are light, inexpensive, break in quickly and will be OK for a few days' trip on the trail. Wide sizes should be relatively easy to find at surplus centers.

Good luck!

Scout
 
It's funny that you should say that. Jungle boots are on my 'to buy' list anyway. There is no better boot for S Florida hiking. To be perfectly honest, I'm hesitant to wear them on the AT because I'm going with a group of boy scouts and I would hate to make a stupid, painful footwear choice and have them waiting on me while I limp along. Oh- and the first day is all downhill (leaving form Tray Mountain)
 
I usually am against what I am about to post, but I would recommend saving the extra $50-ish and getting a pair of Danners. I just bought a pair recently and have them thoroughly broken-in and love 'em.
 
I'm a firm believer in that old saw "you get whatyou pay for". There is nothing more important than taking care of your feet. That being said, how much weight are you carrying? That is one of the most critical issues. If you keep it light enough you don't have to worry as much about having a shoe sole that feels like an iron strap with laces. The shoe insert makes a big difference as well. Don't trust a cheap piece of foam that feels okay in the store. Look for something that molds to you foot and provides some decent heel cup support. I think the jungle boot idea is great as long as you have speed laces (I'll explain why) and good inserts.


If you get hooks for your boots, you'll be able to use a lacing trick that will save you a lot of grief. What you do is , after making sure your heel is firmly seated in the boot's heel cup, moderately tighten the boot up to your ankle then tie in a single overhand knot at the bend of your ankle. This does a couple of things. First, it keeps your heel from slipping around too much and causing blisters. Second, it keeps your toes from ramming into the end of the toebox. That way, you don't lose any toenails to the lovely "ram toe". Third, it allows you to use a larger size boot that will accommodate the spreading out that your foot will go through while hiking. Always feel for your longest toe when trying on boots. give yourself at least half an inch of space to allow for spreading. I have 3/4 of an inch of extra space in front of my toes. I also like the breathability of jungle boots. Even here in the Smoky Mountains, your feet can get darned hot in the summer.


The insert needs to fit you arch like a it was custom fitted. The only way to do this is to open the package and try them on the floor under your full weight. I recommend Superfeet inserts BUT, according to the packaging, I would use the "e" size. Once I tried them on though, I turned out that the "f" size was appropriate for me. If the store that you bought your insert from won't help you with this, then that store rep probably doesn't know what he or she is doing. A word of warning here. Don't expect to jump off on the trail with new inserts. You have to break in your feet which aren't accustomed to having so much support. That took me about a week. I would wear them until it hurt and then give my feet a break. Next time I would wear them for a bit longer.

Hope this helps,

Paul (tenkara)

BTW.... Cotton Socks Suck! Get 2 pairs of Smartwool hiking socks and you'll never regret it... even in South Florida (they thermo regulate).
 
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buy the best!!!!! go cheap and you will regret it. i wear red wing in construction work. danner also good. ( real ) paul
 
+1 on taking care of your feet! If that means spending $50 more to get the boots that fit you, do it! I have a pair of Montrail Torre 2 boots that are very comfortable. I also tend to prefer boots/shoes with a wider toebox. I have been looking at some of the stuff Keen is producing now, including hikers. They look a bit odd, but I swear by my Keen sandles. What I like is the width at the toes and the lightweight factor. Something like this:

http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/ss09/shoes/men/trailhead/klamath mid
 
I have very big and very wide feet. New Balance and Dunham have been providing my hiking, working and playing footwear for years. If you have wide feet, they'll take care of you! I just got a new pair of Dunham "Cloud 9" hiking boots and love them.

I get my New Balance and Dunham stuff from "A Perfect Dealer." They provide great prices and VERY fast order turn-around and shipping.
http://www.aperfectdealer.com/cgi-l...es.html?L+scstore+vbgn2292ffeb57eb+1240848299

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Some good trail runners like New Balance would probably be perfect for your trip, and can be found at just about any shoe store.
 
I bought a pair of Irish Setter Elk Tracker boots a few months ago and really like them. They are around $180 to $220 though. Do to the poor weather and some medical problems it's taken me a while to get them broken in but now that I have they are extremely comfortable.

Got a pair of Hi-Tec Altitude II boots back in July of 2004 for around $60 and they have lasted me almost 5 years. Got another pair on close out back in 2006 and have only used them a few times. I'm keeping them in resurve for when the other pair wears out. The current model is the Atitude IV's.

When I can I'll be buying some Military Surplus boots. Used to have a pair of the black leather boots that I really liked. Girls collect shoes, it's starting to sounds as though I collect boots... LOL!!

Heber
 
I tend to overpack, none of my gear is lightweight, and I don't know if we are going to resupply, so I figure I'll be carrying 35 - 40 lbs.

Wolftracker - I tried on a few pairs of Merrells, but they were all too narrow. I think my feet are in the EEE range.

Tenkara - Great info, thanks. A pair of green superfeet is next on my list.

I tried skipping a couple of eyelets at the wide part of my foot and wore them around the house today. They felt alot better. I'm going to try one size up and tenkara's lacing scheme though.

I also found a pair of New Balance 850's in 11 EEEE on sale...
 
You are very welcome. You are right on with the green ones for heavy loads. I have to say, though, that I'm about to head out for 2 weeks on the A.T. with one resupply and I'm shooting for a pack weight no heavier than 25 lbs total including food and water. I also use hiking sticks which do an incredible job of saving your knees as well as increasing stability. Even a cheap pair from Wal-Mart is better than nothing. But you have to use them in pairs. The idea is to turn yourself into a 4 legged hiker. It gives you a bit of an upper body workout and saves your joints. I believe that a pair of properly utilized hiking sticks can save about 5 tons of pressure off of your knees over the course of a day. I recommend them to anyone that comes into my shop. Their are spreadsheet packing lists that are readily available that will help you calculate your base weight. I use one to figure out what I really don't need. Take a look around. whiteblaze.net is a good resource. Hiking is much more fun when you are not worn out. Of course, I understand that light pack weights may not the Scouting way...
 
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All the years I lived in South Florida, I used Vietnam Jungle boots. When the Panama treads came out, I was grateful.

Make sure you get the real deal; genuine U.S. issue jungle boots, or better. The ones by Altama are nice. Don't get the cheap knockoffs.
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but while were on the subject of boots...

I'm looking for some fast draining jungle boots, but with steel toes. The steel toes are mandatory for work, and I learned the hard way the goretex boots are only good for strolling through little puddles and certainly dont do a lick of good when youre up to your armpits in muskeg:eek:
Price isn't really an issue, but keep it reasonable, <$200.
 
I second (or third) the suggestion on the trail runners. Either that or some lightweight hikers. I have done a lot of hiking and, in my experience, waterproof just doesn't matter. If you are going to be hiking through water, you are going to get wet. Only exception to that is wearing rubber boots.

Do yourself a favor and buy a good boot if you can afford it. But if you can't I would suggest one of the better Hi-Tec models. Even though they make good apparel, stay away from Columbia footwear...total crap. Having professional experience with combat boots, I would caution you away from them. The Marine Corps issues Danners now for a reason. Dunham and Vasque are good as well. I have never worn Merrell, but friends have told me they wear quickly.

Good luck with your decision and have fun on your trip.
 
Ankar Sheng said:
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but while were on the subject of boots...

I'm looking for some fast draining jungle boots, but with steel toes. The steel toes are mandatory for work, and I learned the hard way the goretex boots are only good for strolling through little puddles and certainly dont do a lick of good when youre up to your armpits in muskeg:eek:
Price isn't really an issue, but keep it reasonable, <$200.
Click to expand...

I just googled the Altima boots mentioned and they sell a steel toe jungle boot.
 
I returned the Vasques for a pair of Merrell Chameleon Evo mid heights and green superfeet. These feel much better and are more like what I was looking for. Lightweight, some ankle support, minimal padding to hold on to water. The superfeet felt pretty odd, until I read the directions and trimmed them. Now they only feel slightly odd. I may go a half size larger, but it looks like these will do the trick.

WolfTracker - I guess I didn't try enough different kinds last time...

Thanks everyone!

Mike
 
Ankar Sheng said:
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but while were on the subject of boots...

I'm looking for some fast draining jungle boots, but with steel toes. The steel toes are mandatory for work, and I learned the hard way the goretex boots are only good for strolling through little puddles and certainly dont do a lick of good when youre up to your armpits in muskeg:eek:
Price isn't really an issue, but keep it reasonable, <$200.
Click to expand...

Bro! Where are you working with that requirement:confused:
 
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