Replacing footwear/Spare footwear

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Ravaillac

Joined
Feb 14, 2005
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Most people agree that footwear is an important part of equipment.
There are many threads about best footwear.
You might want some sort of spare footwear, in case your main pair gets destroyed (torn, burnt), lost, soaked...
Lacking boots might range for a reasonable inconvenience (in summer, in good conditions) to an health threatening situation (in adverse weather).
Like most people, I think, my main boots pair is too heavy/bulky/expensive... for having another one with me "just in case".
Barefoot training is probably a solution but not everyone is ready for that kind of commitment.

So how do you people prepare for that kind of problem, particularly in winter?
 
Bring a roll of duct tape, get creative with the insulation and wrap the hell out of it.
 
Ravaillac said:
... my main boots pair is too heavy/bulky/expensive... for having another one with me "just in case".
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Same for me. My hikes in forests lead me to go through large creeks and swampy peat bogs. Good opportunities to soak my feet, what i hate whatever the season. To keep my feet dry i've made waders with strong gardening plastic bags reinforced with duct tape. Strong enough for occasional use, can be repaired easily, lightweight, doesn't take room in my bag. Not very elegant however.

dantzk.
 
I think sandals are a good choice to have with you. They feel great at camp. It's important to find a good pair. In winter, you could use plastic garbage bags, natural insulation, and lots of duct tape on the bottom. If you are careful to only step on snow, they may hold up for a while.
 
I carry the five toed vibrams. They are not the best on rough trails with lots of small sharp rocks but i done more then 10 mile hikes in them. The nice thing they are easy to put away in the pack.. and i actualy like hiking in them
 
sasha said:
I carry the five toed vibrams. They are not the best on rough trails with lots of small sharp rocks but i done more then 10 mile hikes in them. The nice thing they are easy to put away in the pack.. and i actualy like hiking in them
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I forgot about those!!! They proved their worth when I was in Arizona recently; not a single thorn got in my foot :D
They also get pretty warm too when you get moving.
 
I live in the south so snow is not a problem. I always have my crocs in my pack, they are super comfortable, large enough for a pair of wool socks, very light and almost indestructable. Chris
 
To be honest I've never worried about it. This seems like one of those "what if" scenarios that is of such low probability for happening that I just can't see carrying more weight in specialized gear to prevent it. Especially when you have supplemental multi-use gear. Like Triq said use some duct tape and be creative. I can see cutting a section of sleeping bag off and wrapping it around my feet with duct tape. Make some sandals out of a split piece of wood a la samurai sandals? I'm sure there's other solutions.
 
Shotgun said:
To be honest I've never worried about it. This seems like one of those "what if" scenarios that is of such low probability for happening that I just can't see carrying more weight in specialized gear to prevent it. Especially when you have supplemental multi-use gear. Like Triq said use some duct tape and be creative. I can see cutting a section of sleeping bag off and wrapping it around my feet with duct tape. Make some sandals out of a split piece of wood a la samurai sandals? I'm sure there's other solutions.
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I also have huaraches that I have from a good friend in Boulder. They are super light weight and are great warm weather camp shoes. Usually, I just have my boots, but I will sometimes pack something else for camp shoes. It is really more for comfort than a 'what if', but everyone has their reasons!
 
I buy quality boots that dont fall apart when hiking. I can not imagine a realistic scenario, where my boots are damaged or lost. Maybe soaked, but that wont keep me from hiking out or drying them.
 
DeadFall27 said:
I also have huaraches that I have from a good friend in Boulder. They are super light weight and are great warm weather camp shoes. Usually, I just have my boots, but I will sometimes pack something else for camp shoes. It is really more for comfort than a 'what if', but everyone has their reasons!
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Yeah I've heard of people who have shoes specifically for river crossings or around camp and that's cool. It's the specific "what if" that the OP asked about that I don't understand. Like PropTP I just don't see it as a realistic problem I'm going to have to deal with. Could it happen, you bet. It's just one of those things that's so low on the totem pole of concerns that I don't even address it.
 
Shotgun said:
It's the specific "what if" that the OP asked about that I don't understand. Like PropTP I just don't see it as a realistic problem I'm going to have to deal with. Could it happen, you bet.
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Well, I've witnessed quite all of those actually happen.
Soaking/cracking/leaking is the most obvious, even good brands have "lemons", or fatigue failures.
I've seen boots burnt by campfire (left/forgotten too close for drying). I've seen boots lost in river while river crossing.
Those are generally not real problems for short outings, but for longer hikes/whatever, you may want to have some spare.
As for myself I try to have some light "other purpose" shoes that may be used as replacements.
 
Maybe I'm strange, but I don't usually hike in my boots unless it is dead winter with snow on the ground. Living in the south east and hiking mostly in the warmer weather I hike most often in my Keen Newports and I couldn't be happier about them. River, walk through it; rain, so what. They dry fast and aren't uncomfortable when wet. My only complaint with them is that small stones like to slip in under my feet, but I cope because they are so much nicer to hike in than boots. I have been meaning to get a pair of the vibram 5 finger shoes to give them a try. If I carry a pair of shoes other than my Keens it is usually a pair of flip flops for in camp.
 
Summer:
Light sandles so I can change out of my boots at the end of the day
I can also walk in them if need be

Winter:
I have Polarfill Booties that go inside my over Gaiters
And I can walking them too
 
My Huarches and a Flip Flop Modification in the video. If you are just interested in the flip flop, forward to 4 minutes...

[video=youtube;sqtzdOZvWpw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqtzdOZvWpw[/video]​
 
Barefoot doesn't work in the real world. If you have to run barefoot around here you are screwed.

Broken glass, cactus, mesquite thorns. It just isn't gonna happen. Sure I could walk very slowly for miles. Even a backup pair of cheap tennis shoes makes more sense than bare feet.
 
I never realy felt a need for spare shoes or boots. Occasionally I have carried spare tennis shoes in the canoe just to have a dry pair in camp. I've never burned my shoes or lost one (or both). I guess it could happen but never has.
 
down here, during a tropical storm, high humidity and rain team up against you...if you venture out, you are going to get wet...GoreTex doesn't work well as there is not enough partial pressure difference to make the fabric coating work very well....your feet are going to get wet unless you are wearing rubber boots...my hurricane clothes are nylon shorts and nylon shirt that will dry a whole lot faster than cotton.... a good pair of Teva style sandals made for aquatic use keep your feet from rotting...in 1972, we had 110" of rain in 40 days in the Philippines... the locals did ok with just a pair of flip flops...I had to buy a couple of complete sets of uniforms...we were authorized to wear jungle boots with all uniform combinations
 
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