Shoes

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sasha

Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
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Would anyone know what type of shoes does Bear Gryle ( forgot his last name) wear???? he seemed to mention once that they were climbing shoes.
I do like to wear Israely scote shoes which i find to great for what they were made. But i wonder if there is anything better out there?? Bear seem to go out of his way to climb something that normaly none of us will if we were stuck in the boonies.

Sasha
 
I don't know exactly what Bear is wearing but it is probably a pair of what is called "approach shoes" by climbers. They are kind of a running shoe, light hiker and rock climbing shoe hybrid; sticky rubber, agressive lug pattern, light weight and built to edge and smear on rock. Some brands to look at are La Sportiva and 5.10.
Here is a link to a nice pair of La Sportivas;

http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/359


Just my 2 cents; not of fan of Bear at all.
 
They always looked to me to be Merrell(spelling?) hiking shoes, I had a pair once and remember liking them.
 
I would have to agree with shotgunner11. Every episode I have seen he looks to be wearing some type Merrells, I believe something in the chameleon family. I have a pair of the hiking shoes and at a fast glance they look an awful lot like by buddies approach shoes. By the way these shoes are great I got the gortex ones for mountain biking and speed hiking when I lived in Greece. Wore them every day for a year and love them. I will probably buy the the boot version this fall.
 
They were designed by Fred MacMurry in 1961. They have special soles that let you climb down raging water falls and volcanos - instead of just walking around them.:jerkit: They also allow you to suck elephant crap.;) ;)

The film was call: The Absent Minded Professor - he invented flubber.:D
 
Are they not 'tenner shoes' -- you know,the black ones with the white disks on the ankles, that you wore for everything from berry picking to bike riding to car driving to mountain climbing? Oh, I forgot... that was in the 1950s...
 
Try on all the shoes you can at a good outdoor supplier. Each manufacturer uses a last made to what they think is an ideal foot and you will find one that suits you better than another. Some dealers like REI will give refunds on shoes that turn out to be uncomfortable.

I like Salomon, Montrail, and Vasque shoes myself. I also go for very light shoes as I carry ultralight gear. This is my boot-du-jour: http://www.montrail.com/Product.aspx?prod=99&cat=140&top=1

Bear Grylls was wearing these in Ecuador:
bearpaws.jpg

I think shotgunner is right on the mark, as they look just like these Merrells: http://www.merrellboot.com/Shop/Detail.aspx?NavID=FT-O-HIK&PID=11492

I could swear he was wearing some synthetic-sided high-top military boots on at least one episode.

Find what works for you and the conditions you want to use them in. Go for quality-- bad shoes can ruin a good walk.

Check out the reviews at http://www.backpackgeartest.org/ and http://backpackinglight.com.
 
im just now watching the show moab desert and he is wearing the same shows you got in the pic there Dale. He was climbing up a canyon and they sure to look to give him great grip.... Still cant belive he pees on the head gear.. Thanks guys i going to check some showes in a couple of weeks.

Sasha
 
I watched that same episode last night, I thought the same thing about the peeing thing. Besides the odor I would think it would be unhealthy to have urine that close to your mouth. I wore my pair (of Merrells) on a 10k gorge hike all down hill through shallow creeks. Everyone else had black and blue toes and blisters from there foot slipping and mine came out no worse for wear.
 
sasha said:
im just now watching the show moab desert and he is wearing the same shows you got in the pic there Dale. He was climbing up a canyon and they sure to look to give him great grip.... Still cant belive he pees on the head gear.. Thanks guys i going to check some showes in a couple of weeks.

Sasha
Click to expand...

Grylls makes a lot of people crazy with his stunts, like squeezing the "moisture" from elephant dung. If I had a nice clean white cloth to protect my head, I doubt the cooling from evaporating urine would provide much relief for any lenght of time and just make me more miserable. On one hand, he demonstrates the need to improvise and getting over any squeamishness if you want to survive, and on the other hand, he does stunts like climbing down waterfalls which would leave many people in worse shape--- or dead. It's entertainment first and good information last.

As far as the stickyness of his shoes, there are many good sticky rubber compounds out there. Note that Merrill doesn't make the soles-- they are Vibrams. The Salomon Contragrip soles have impressed me with their traction. Keep in mind that technique is the important thing. Before specialized rock climbing shoes were made, there were a lot of people using Converse hightop basketball shoes and the like. Grylls does know how to climb and he is lean and strong. I could hear my elbow tendons screaming just watching him go up a rock. If you want to climb, be in top shape and take some lessons.
 
I have a pair of Merril Stretch Chameleon hiking shoes.

I find them really hard to pull over my foot but once on they fit.

I've had them about a year and the rubber that goes over the toe is loosening at the top but they are still wearable.

I think they are excellent for going uphill very light. However on very steep downhills I found that my feet slid forward inside them and it jammed my toes in the front of the shoe. Also they were hard on my ankles on a really steep descent with a relativly heavy pack.

That said I'll probably get another pair, half a size larger and put some sort of a rubber insole that should take care of the sliding, and use them with a lighter pack.
 
I have the chameleon II's gortex non stretch. They provided excellent support when tied properly. I hiked with a 20# pack up and down hills with no problem. The vibram soles are excellent I have them on my matterhorn boots and are just now starting to tear up 3and half years later. The cleats on my mountain bike haven't tore the bottoms up yet.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Are they not 'tenner shoes' -- you know,the black ones with the white disks on the ankles, that you wore for everything from berry picking to bike riding to car driving to mountain climbing? Oh, I forgot... that was in the 1950s...
Click to expand...

Ha Ha! "Tenner shoes". I remember that from Pat McManus columns in Outdoor Life. Good times.
 
I'm pretty sure they're Merrils. Damn good boot too. I've seen a lot of guys wearing them.
 
My Chameleon XCR's have been on my feet just about every day for the past year. Trail running, backpacking, hiking, walking, etc. I wore the insoles out, and just replaced them with green Superfeet insoles.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the shoes to anyone!

David
 
Dude is a nut. Climbs all the time. Ate that snake raw. Wow. My wife almost vomitted....

LOL.
 
My hiking shoes almost worn out so im going to try to find some merrils in the area. I always do something like climbing up a rock or trees and up a dry water fall...... most of it while GEOCACHING.

sasha
 
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