Heavy hiking boots or lightweight hiking shoes?

Macchina

Macchina

Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
5,215
After hiking a few week long trips, with 60 pound packs, I have come to appriciate a good pair of hiking boots. I have had lightweight Merrels, trail running shoes, medium weight fabric boots, and full leather Sundowners. I have used the Sundowners exclusively for the past few years, and love them for hiking and wearing around town. My brother swears by trail running shoes, but I cannot hike very far in them. I prefer a very rigid shank in the sole, and moderate ankle support, plus the waterproofness that comes along with properly treated leather. What kind of boots do you prefer, and for what reasons?
 
Medium Ankle, a bit heavy, tan color, leather, and definitely water proof. Those have been the only kind I have ever had. I love em.
 
Currently, Lowa Banff model -- good high rubber welt. I've worn them for three days straight in rain and mud and never got a wet foot. Loads of support. My wife has Lowas as well, a lighter model. Merrells are also excellent boots -- I've had several pairs -- and the Vasque Sundowners have a great rep.
 
I have not been that impressed with my Merrels. I've owned 3 pairs, one had a sole fall off after getting wet a few times, another killed the soles of my feet after the cushy insoles flattened, and the last pair I still have and is of decent quality and comfort, but the shank doesn't seem to provide much support. Maybe I'm just picky on the last two. I love my Sundowners, favorite pair of Boots/shoes I have ever owned. I bought the made in China ones, and haven't been dissapointed yet (4 years).
 
I also have a pair of Lowa Banffs. I bought these to wear carrying a heavy pack. I need the ankle support. For day packs and hiking I wear a much lighter boot or a trail shoe. My favorite light boot is the current hot desert boot. My trail shoes are Bearpaw.

In theory the lighter the boot the better off you are. In practice you have to match the boot to the terrain and weather. For tailgate camping and short hikes I often wear White's.
 
Depends on the load and how much snow or ice cold water running down the trail. I try to keep my load below 25 pounds and my boot du jour is the Montrail Namche. I also use Vasque Velocity trial runners (WALKING) and Salomon mid-high Gore-Tex GTX light hikers that I can't remember the model name. I have a pair of Nike Air Wallowah Gore-Tex boots that are my "heavy" winter boots.
 
I really Zamberlains - good weight, tough and waterproof. I'm a bit oldschool and like to see vibram soles on the hiking boots I buy.

Also, my most recent pair of safety boots with a fiberglass toe and shank are quite good. I wouldn't want to pack with the workboots but I'm impressed at how light and comfortable they are for day jobs.
 
As with so many other things, choice in footwear is largely based on individual choice. Being prepared for the conditions you expect to encounter is a major consideration too. On an outing to a local park with well maintained trails I'll often just wear my Teva sandals. I like to wade a little in the creeks and river in my favorite park here in the city and the sandals are plenty to protect me from sharp rocks or glass or fish hooks that may be lurking under the water. I don't carry more than a waist pack and I'm usually not out for more than a few hours. I've been known to go for short hikes barefoot, but I still always carry the sandals, just in case I run into something more than my feet can handle. For any kind of day hike or backpacking I kind of go to the opposite extreme with all leather waterproof boots. I just like the piece of mind that comes with having my feet and ankles well protected. I honestly can't explain why I don't feel the same need on shorter hikes. It's about time for a new pair of boots, and I've been thinking that I may try out something a bit lighter this time around.
 
I have hard feet to fit, very wide. So far, the best have been a pair of Vasques from REI, don't know the exact models, but very sturdy and gortexed. I like them a lot.

I've hiked in light and heavy, and, for most hikes, prefer heavy. My feet get very sore if the sole conforms to rocks too much. I have found lighter boots to be next to useless for me.

As one person said, this is a very "individualistic" subject. YMMV.
 
Vasque's don't agree with my or my wife's feet. If we walk more than 10 miles in a day over rough terrain blisters.

I have some Merrel trail shoes but they also have their limitations.

If your pack is heavy you need ankle support.
 
michaelmcgo said:
I have not been that impressed with my Merrels. I've owned 3 pairs, one had a sole fall off after getting wet a few times, another killed the soles of my feet after the cushy insoles flattened, and the last pair I still have and is of decent quality and comfort, but the shank doesn't seem to provide much support. Maybe I'm just picky on the last two. I love my Sundowners, favorite pair of Boots/shoes I have ever owned. I bought the made in China ones, and haven't been dissapointed yet (4 years).
Click to expand...

I was also dissapointed with my Merrels, the soles wore down really fast leaving me with uppers that looked brand new ontop of soles full of holes !!!

I like hiking boots, leather or fabric. I am currently using a pair of leather Mendl Burma's and they are great. Before these I had some Fabric ( Cordura ) Karrimor KSB's and they were great boots as well....I still wear them for the beach walking !
 
Heavy pack or rough terrain, heavy boots, light pack, light terrain, light boots.
Gore Tex boots are great until they get dirty, as when they get filled with silty water or mud. then the pores of the Gore Tex get clogged, and you are then walking in very expensive plastic bags. Lined boots take a long time to dry. Consider unlined leather boots, and wear a good synthetic sock system or wool/ synthetic combination. That way your boots are "custom lined", and easy to dry.
 
I need higher boots.I hike through swamps and brooks all the time so I need something high to get me through water.
 
While I havent tried a lot of different boots I wore danner boots for 20 yrs in the army and 17 years on steel and concrete in corrections. Heavy loads long marches up and downstairs all day long. I am a big boy and Danners have gave me exellent support and waterproofing and most of them are resoleable.
 
I wore a pair of merrell chameleon gtx II everyday all day for over a year. Hiking, walking, working, digging holes, etc. They were mega comfortable and were the longest lasting shoes I've ever owned. The soles wore thin and got a bubble but the uppers were still in good shape. Right around a year old the gore tex sprung a leak and they got super stinkfoot. A bleach filled washing machine didn't help.

When replacement time came I chose something with more ankle support because all the trails around here are loaded with loose rocks. The lowa GTX mids. They are well made and comfortable but the leather is pretty soft and take abrasions easily. The soles are awesome for the trails but might be short lived if they are used mostly on asphalt.

What I've been eyeing up lately are the limmer oxfords. Any experience with them?
 
A couple other things to consider:

Waterproof shoes. I've read some extensive tests and the problem with waterproof lightweight shoes is that they take a long time to dry out once wet-- as in crossing streams. I think the real issue is with low top shoes.

Ankle support. IMHO, unless the boot is like an 8" traditional boot, it really doesn't contribute much to ankle support. If your ankles are rolling inwards, the footbed has much more to do with it and a good pair of orthotics are the answer there.

I found that trekking poles were really the answer to turned ankles. With poles and ultralight pack loads, I havn't turned an ankle since using both. Poles take some getting used to, but once you have them, stream crossings get drier, and negotiating roots and rocks becomes a ballet rather than a stumble-fest. You know that feeling you are going to do a nasty face plant when coming down root ladders and rocky drops on a trail? Trekking poles cure the problem.
 
Depends really on the time of year, terrain and load. I do insist on a Vibram sole unit of one kind of another and Gortex if there's a waterproof membrane. I've always found Vibram to give excellent performance and if manufacturers use something else it's a corner being cut IMO.

For lightweight/summer I have a pair of Merrell Chameleon Wrap XCR. Seem good but I've not had too long to give them a proper test. Bear Grylls seems to like them but some posters above seem to have had bad experiences.

For bigger hills and backpacks and worse weather my main boots are Meindl Nepal Pros. Had these many years now and they are pretty good, enough flex to be reasonably comfortable but will still take a crampon.

For those times when I'm going to be above the snow line more than not, I have some Scarpa Vegas. Really uncomfy until you get onto the snow and ice and then they rock. The sole unit is just wierd, it's very sticky rubber and give loads of grip. It takes some getting used to that you can jump 6 feet with a pack onto a sloping slab of wet lichen covered rock and they will stick, when the instinct is you can't do it without slipping with the boken bones and death it would normally entail.

Best boots I ever had were a pair of Karrimor KSB 3 GTXs, in black (they did them in black because they supplied them to the SAS). Slightly lighter weight than the Nepals but supremely comfortable out of the box. I wore them for just about everything for almost 15 years until they finally gave up. Note these are not at all the same as the Karrimor KSBs currently being marketed. Unfortunately Karrimor went bust a while ago and was bought up by "Sports World" and since then their good name has been abused and used to market products which are cheap tat which is a real shame :thumbdn:
 
I have some Nike trail running shoes that I wear on most of my day hikes. WHen I'm wearing a pack, going on longer treks or walking in rough terrain, I wear my Danner Acadias.
 
Danner Radical boots (mid height) have been working well for me for the last 3 years or so. I like the sole, as it is isn't really flippity-floppy, and it has a hard plastic piece lend torsion control.
 
Danners have been my choice for about 25 years now. I wear the Explorer for heavy hikes, the fabric models around town, and Keens for the water.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top