The piece of gear no one really talks about...Hiking Shoes!

Danner, Merrell, and Dunham all make excellent hiking boots. If your foot is hard to fit, try the Danner Arcadia boot. At 8", its really a patrol boot, but it laces to the toe for a better fit. Also, in a quality boot, all the seams are at least double stitched. Its just one of the thing I look for in a boot.
 
I use a bunch of of different feet, light, heavy, rubber bottomed and whatnot, but the meat and potatoes of pairs are usually Karrimor or Berghaus. These two companies have been pecking at each other in the sub £100 /$200 for ages. Their models change a bit but to me they are interchangeable. When I need a new set the thinking usually goes; “It's going to cost me £90odd, I wonder whether it will be the Karrimor or the Berghaus that will win this time”. The thing I like about them is the fit and forget aspect. I love the lightness and to my feet they have a feeling of optimally broken in from the start, and they stay that way to the end. Hardly ever a sweat foot or a wet foot – and to me, not to be paying any attention to foot comfort 'cos they are just working is beyond price. Last time I played these won - http://www.freetime1.co.uk/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=331


Down a completely different route and I think it may be worth flagging up Brashers. I've not tried these but they are extremely popular here. The shoes are pretty popular with the tweeds and waxed jacket mob, and the boots are legend amongst the trail walker, bobble hat, and mint cake set. Essentially, Brasher built his reputation on the concept of a boot built on a running shoe last. Given that he was a runner with a bit of a thing about boots often being needlessly heavy and uncomfortable...

Anyway: Bit on Chris Brasher

Brasher feet
 
Everybody has their favorite boots.The best thing is to get professionally fitted at a gear store/REI/ or boot shop.Vasque and Montrail fit me best and there are other quality brands that just don't. It's all about what boot is best for YOUR feet.Size and volume are not universal.
 
I have a habit of wondering off trail periodically, until the ranger gives me hell, so I am usually wearing boots. I agree that if you are on the trail than comfortable shoes are fine. I tend to wear my safety boots, with the fiberglass plate and toe. The fiberglass guards make the boots much lighter compared to steel ones. I end up replacing my safety boots every two years due to wear and tear in the field, so I usually have something reasonably new.

My favorite hiking boots were Zamberlains, they were a bit more comfy than the safety boots I usually buy, but not that much more comfy. In the end the $230 Zamberlains lasted 2 years just like my safety boots do, so I never replaced them. Might as well go for the $120 boots that work almost as good. All boots need a thorough breaking in period.

Make sure you walk with them for at least a couple of weeks before taking them out in the field. The worst thing you can do is a buy a pair and leave them in a closet until you go hiking - you'll come back having used all the molle skin out of your PSK and looking for more.
 
My feet are 11-11.5 US and wide with it.

For light weight treks I tend to use something like the North Face M Hedgehog GTX XCR then if i'm carrying weight I like my old Scarpa Mantas. Wore them in 2002 in Afghan in the Hindu Kush area which I found to be very similar terrain to Pickle Meadows in the US. Dry, rocky and steep with a bit of cold then these boots are excellent. For wetter weather I prefer my Lowa Mountain Boots, they have never let me down and many Royal Marines have a set.

I know the Lowas are probably more than you want to spend but if you look for German Army boots on the bay then you should be able to get a set within your budget. (Not all the German Army boots are marked Lowa but it is the same boot at a fraction of the normal price)
 
I use hiking shoes as my everyday shoe when I'm off work because I never know when I'm going to jump out of the truck and onto a trail (or even off the trail :D). I always prefer the "hi' cuts in stead of the "lo" (in my day we used to call them 3/4 tops). I've generally had very, very good luck with the Danner versions of these. Another brand to look at is Ecco. A little pricey, but very, very comfortable. Just the other day I got a pair of Teva Tamur because I've enjoyed their X-1 trail running shoe. So far, I really like them. Give these brands a look if you have the time.
 
My wife has wider feet than normal and has since discovered Keens...she loves them and wears them to work (school teacher) and is on her feet all day. For hiking, she wears them as well. I tried a pair, and I've got to say I am impressed for trail hiking and off trail scrambling and bouldering. Not sure about the strength of your ankles, but if they are okay, you could get by with low-cut hiking shoes if you're just carrying a light pack. Once you start adding weight and doing more off-trail, I would recommend getting the higher ankle support.

As others mentioned, you really need to get several models you're interested in and then go hit an REI or other outdoors store and try several pairs on. I picked up a pair of Vasque hiking shoes and they are quite comfortable and well built as well. I've also either used or had friends use Salomon, Danner, and Merrell.

ROCK6
 
I have arthritis in my hips, knees, ankles and feet. I wasn't comfortable for years, until I found Danners. I use the Radical 452 GTX and the 453 GTX and they are almost bombproof while being comfortable.
Another shoe I found to be good(comfortable) is Keen. I have not put on a more comfortable shoe, but I destroyed them in less than 3 months. I wish they were a little tougher.
I know this is about shoes, but I have to mention that I can't do any shoe without good socks. My feet get cold easily, and they overheat and sweat easily. Smartwool sacks have made my picky feet into happy feet no matter what shoe I wear.
 
For my feet the 2 best brands are merrill and Ecco.

One of my favorite for backpacking and hiking, but now worn out was my Merrill gore tex strech chameleons
 
I love my Meindl boots. I didn't choose them because of the brand, but after trying dozens of boots in different shops, only those from Meindl did fit really well. It depends on your feet alone which shoes you should buy - IMO.
 
For everything other than winter hiking/snowshoeing, I've mainly gone with low cut hiking shoes. I've tried very hard to pare my pack weight to about 30 lbs or less and I felt that I didn't need heavy boots anymore. I've had the best success with Scarpa approach shoes with a Superfeet insole. They can be a challenge to find though. My pair of Merrell hiking shoes wore through at the heel but other than that they are some stout shoes. I feel really confident with them as they are a really stable platform. I tried a pair of Lowas but they were too wide for my feet.

I've found that my ankles are stronger from hiking in lighter shoes. If I was lugging around 40+ pounds on my back, I'd go for some over the ankle boots, but I feel good in the lighter shoes I've had. I don't feel like I'm hoisting cement shoes at the end of a long hike anymore.

As for goretex, it's everywhere. I don't think it's necessary at all on leather boots if you treat them with something like Sno-Seal. I find that my feet sweat a lot so my feet get wet no matter what I do. I just change my socks more often (SmartWool mostly).

Lastly, I can't say enough about good aftermarket insoles. I know it's hard to spend $30 on insoles when you've laid out a chunk of cash on shoes, but most insoles that come in the shoes are garbage. Flimsy, no good stuff that may or may not work for you, but the Superfeet ones I have in lots of my shoes give me a solid platform and they seem to keep my heel in place. Try some out even if it's in the store while you walk around and look at cool lightweight cook sets and ferro rods.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that in wet conditions my gaiters work fine with low-cut hiking shoes.

Whew! I'm done.
 
For 3-season trail WALKING I use New Balance Gore-Tex lined shoes, size 11.5 EEEE. Available at Cabela's and other stores. The Gore-Tex is nice for the occasional puddle or light rain.

In the winter I go with a lightweight uninsulated Rocky 8" boot.
 
I use a pair of Vasques. They took 15-20 miles to break in, and have so far lasted well in the stitching and tread.

You can probably go to REI and spend 2 hours trying on various shoes, and should be able to find something that fits well for your foot and price range.
 
Like others here, the only comfortable shoes that I've ever worn were ECCO's. I have wide feet with narrow heels, the ECCO's took no break-in, and I wore them for years, even hiked up to the climbing area of the Matterhorn in them. Fantastic shoes, I need to find another pair. They were $200 back in 1999, and worth every penny.
 
Lot's of good info here, thanks all. Will definitely be checking out the brands mentioned; and yes, ultimately I guess I'll end up in the shoe section of REI for a couple of hours just trying a bunch on. But at least now I have an idea of the brands and types of shoes/boots to which I should pay particular attention. Good points about the socks and insoles, I had never really thought about those. I just bought a pack of generic hiking socks from costco that felt better than my regular socks, but i'll definitely have to look into SmartWool.
 
Get the Vasque Sundowner. I have 10+ years on these boots and they are still kickin'

SNDBG.jpg
 
The only problem with the higher end wool socks (many are Merino wool) is that they're expensive. My sock collection just might cost more than my pack!

Good think Eastern Mountain Sports has a "buy three, get one free" deal.

I used to hate getting socks for christmas. My wife knows that I've changed my mind now.
 
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