Hiking Shoes/Boots
- Thread starter WonderBraa
- Start date
Had a pair of Asolos similar to this many years ago. Great boot maker.
(Picture is link)
These merrels fit great, are light like a sneaker, and kind of like a shoe/boot...like $90, but can usually find them for less online....maybe $70ish.
Those won't be as durable and good for mud like something like those Asolos.
Timberland chocoura trail is also a very comfortable out of the box boot that will withstand more abuse than the merrels. Just a solid value priced boot. I got a pair I've beat to hell for 5+ years, only thing traction is not as great on smooth rock surfaces. But for under 100, it's a great boot.
Those won't be as durable and good for mud like something like those Asolos.
Timberland chocoura trail is also a very comfortable out of the box boot that will withstand more abuse than the merrels. Just a solid value priced boot. I got a pair I've beat to hell for 5+ years, only thing traction is not as great on smooth rock surfaces. But for under 100, it's a great boot.
I love how cute the poors are. Anyway, you can get a pair of these La Sportiva Baruntse's for around $660:
In all seriousness as I love to hike, here is a current article on the best of the best in hiking footwear for 2017. I also wear Timberlands but they're old and I'm going to buy something off this list in a day or two. I generally prefer shoes over boots but I wear and own both. I love their #1 recommendation and am looking at those hard:
http://www.switchbacktravel.com/best-hiking-boots
Lot of really good information in there to answer all your questions. Even a nice section explaining each type and a discussion on boots vs shoes. Good stuff.
Alpine hiking is my favorite. Sequoia National Park is my favorite destination so far that I've ever been to in hiking. More specifically the Lakes Trail is the best I've ever been on. I can't wait to go back.
http://www.switchbacktravel.com/best-hiking-boots
Lot of really good information in there to answer all your questions. Even a nice section explaining each type and a discussion on boots vs shoes. Good stuff.
Alpine hiking is my favorite. Sequoia National Park is my favorite destination so far that I've ever been to in hiking. More specifically the Lakes Trail is the best I've ever been on. I can't wait to go back.
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Anyone that is interested in a fabulous camping/hiking vacation destination then I cannot recommend Lodgepole campground at Sequoia and the hiking in that area enough. Try to get a reservation along the creek. I've made two trips up there and still haven't scratched the surface of how awesome that place is for hiking. It's not even just the sequoias that makes it great, it's the elevation and the glacier valleys and lakes. Just stunning to see.
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New Balance 779 for moderate hiking. Well-made.
My favorite walkers are New Balance 813s. Got a pair on now. Super comfortable.
My favorite walkers are New Balance 813s. Got a pair on now. Super comfortable.
Need to know more info. Do you like low-cut shoe? Do you feel you need ankle support of a high-cut? Or best of both worlds with a mid? Do you have a budget in mind? What types of hiking will you do? 3 or 4 miles on flat areas once in a while, or 15+ miles and lots of elevation change with a backpack every weekend?
Unless you will be doing some serious backpacking I'd stay away from leather boots. Too heavy. If you're just starting and want a reliable, decent boot you can't go wrong with Merrell brand as suggested above, or with Columbia brand. Quality boots in the $75 to $100 range.
Personally, I prefer a high top boot. I really like the Salomon brand. Bought mine two + years ago after extensive research. I hike nearly every weekend, and I still love them. Paid $150. If you are interested in higher end boots like Salomon you also can't go wrong with Keen, Vasque or LOWA brand boots. All are in the $120 to $200 range. I tried them all on, and they are all really nice, high quality hikers, Keep in mind that each of these brands offers several models, so the numbers of available boots to choose from is almost endless. I'd stick with the brands I've mentioned above. All have decades of knowledge in making boots and will stand behind them if you have a defective pair. Never settle for off-brand hikers.
There's really no right answer to your question. Best advise I ever read....the perfect hiking boot is the one that best fits YOUR feet. Visit several stores like REI, Bass Pro, Dick's, or a local outfitter store. Try on lots of pairs (with a good hiking sock on your feet), walk around, pay close attention to any potential rub spots or tightness. Talk to the sales staff. The most important element to hiking is taking good care of your feet. Getting the wrong boot will ruin hiking for you.
Happy trails!
Unless you will be doing some serious backpacking I'd stay away from leather boots. Too heavy. If you're just starting and want a reliable, decent boot you can't go wrong with Merrell brand as suggested above, or with Columbia brand. Quality boots in the $75 to $100 range.
Personally, I prefer a high top boot. I really like the Salomon brand. Bought mine two + years ago after extensive research. I hike nearly every weekend, and I still love them. Paid $150. If you are interested in higher end boots like Salomon you also can't go wrong with Keen, Vasque or LOWA brand boots. All are in the $120 to $200 range. I tried them all on, and they are all really nice, high quality hikers, Keep in mind that each of these brands offers several models, so the numbers of available boots to choose from is almost endless. I'd stick with the brands I've mentioned above. All have decades of knowledge in making boots and will stand behind them if you have a defective pair. Never settle for off-brand hikers.
There's really no right answer to your question. Best advise I ever read....the perfect hiking boot is the one that best fits YOUR feet. Visit several stores like REI, Bass Pro, Dick's, or a local outfitter store. Try on lots of pairs (with a good hiking sock on your feet), walk around, pay close attention to any potential rub spots or tightness. Talk to the sales staff. The most important element to hiking is taking good care of your feet. Getting the wrong boot will ruin hiking for you.
Happy trails!
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Love my Merrells. They are a good hiking boot.
Also have a pair of Timberlands, but haven't tried them out yet.
Also have a pair of Timberlands, but haven't tried them out yet.
Did not expect to get such great answers....mainly bc this is the paddock and we are all 90% d!ck head. But I appreciate all the feedback.
I'm torn on if I want shoes or boots. I've always been a boot guy but might be a nice switch up to try shoes. It would be for up hill/down hill hiking for the most part. Probably 8-10 mile range at a time.
I'm torn on if I want shoes or boots. I've always been a boot guy but might be a nice switch up to try shoes. It would be for up hill/down hill hiking for the most part. Probably 8-10 mile range at a time.
Hard to go wrong with the Merrells then. They have a wide variety of shoes (low cut and high top)
Shoes suck *** for hiking, imo. Scuff your ankles up, **** gets in your shoes, etc etc. Thats why I like lightweight, shoe-like boots. Those merrels are the best I've had. They're like a tennis shoe, but give a little more ankle support and stability.
I don't hike nearly as much as I used to, but as others pointed out, it all depends on the terrain you'll be hiking on. You want different shoes/boots depending on the type of hike and the terrain.
Day hikes on good trails? I prefer low-cut trail running shoes. Light and comfortable.
Backpacking? You'll need stiff boots with lots of support for the extra load you'll be carrying.
Winter snow hiking? Boots with insulation and that are waterproof.
Hiking on trails with lots of water/mud? Boots that are waterproof.
If you're going to do a mix of those types of hikes, you'll want to get a pair of low-cut shoes AND a pair of boots. Or just get lighter-weight boots and use them as an "all-purpose" shoe - not ideal for anything, but good enough for all types of hikes.
Day hikes on good trails? I prefer low-cut trail running shoes. Light and comfortable.
Backpacking? You'll need stiff boots with lots of support for the extra load you'll be carrying.
Winter snow hiking? Boots with insulation and that are waterproof.
Hiking on trails with lots of water/mud? Boots that are waterproof.
If you're going to do a mix of those types of hikes, you'll want to get a pair of low-cut shoes AND a pair of boots. Or just get lighter-weight boots and use them as an "all-purpose" shoe - not ideal for anything, but good enough for all types of hikes.
I've camped at Lodgepole by the creek a couple of times. One night I went to sleep in my tent earlier than my friends, who stayed up drinking by the campfire. Around 1 AM heard lots of grunting and heavy breathing by my tent. Thought it was just my friends messing with me. Rolled over and went back to sleep. Woke up at sunrise the next morning and saw bear footprints all around my tent. My friends said it walked right past them all at the campfire, circled my tent, then moved on.
Big difference between a cowardly black bear and a grizzly. That's why I don't hike further north in grizzly country. I saw plenty of tracks but never an actual black bear at sequoia. The rangers at Lodgepole will get on you in a heartbeat if you leave food out instead of immediately putting it in the bear proof containers. I believe they put down any bear that comes into camp so they're sticklers on food handling.
Yep. I've never hiked in grizzly country - as you point out, that's a different animal entirely.
I've seen several black bears in the Sierras.
One big one by itself about 50 yards away while walking in the Giant Forest in Sequoia.
A family of a mother and two little cubs crossed the road right in front of our car on a different trip right by the Giant Forest.
A scrawny black bear at the Mt Whitney portal that came right up to the picnic table next to me and proceeded to have a buffet from the morons who left a bunch of food on their table and went back to their car for a minute. Once they saw it they tried to scare it away by banging pots and pans. It looked at them as if to say "I've seen that trick before," then went right back to eating their food. Finally it grabbed a bunch of their stuff and ran off with it. It was probably 15 feet from me the whole time but paid no attention to me at all.
I've seen several black bears in the Sierras.
One big one by itself about 50 yards away while walking in the Giant Forest in Sequoia.
A family of a mother and two little cubs crossed the road right in front of our car on a different trip right by the Giant Forest.
A scrawny black bear at the Mt Whitney portal that came right up to the picnic table next to me and proceeded to have a buffet from the morons who left a bunch of food on their table and went back to their car for a minute. Once they saw it they tried to scare it away by banging pots and pans. It looked at them as if to say "I've seen that trick before," then went right back to eating their food. Finally it grabbed a bunch of their stuff and ran off with it. It was probably 15 feet from me the whole time but paid no attention to me at all.
Some things you want are a Vibram sole or something very similar. You also want waterproof so your feet don't get wet when you run into a stream or mud. Traditional boots are great for hiking, but the hybrid Merrell and Keen type shoes are really nice cause you can wear them to work in the snow and what not or around town with jeans in the rain.
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I looked at the Salomon site. Seems like they have some nice choices. Are they more expensive bc they are actually that much better or just paying for the name?
Just pick out something at SierraTradingPost.com and save a bunch of money.
I'd guess you get a little more in the quality dept, but it's mostly for the name. For your money (around a hundy) I don't think you can go wrong with Merrells.
I've got a buddy that owns an outfitters store if you really want a bargain.....
Also go try some on before you purchase online. I hate shoes, they all fit so different. Definitely go bigger if you're in between sizes.
That's a great point. You'd be better off to walk on sharp gravel barefoot than to hike 17 miles is poorly fitted shoes. They will carve your feet up. I think that is so obvious for military or experienced hikers that nobody brings it up. A half-size too big with your foot moving around in there will be like ramming your foot into a grinder after so many miles.
You could have saved everyone some time and trouble if you had said earlier that you intended to hike uphill AND downhill.
In all seriousness as I love to hike, here is a current article on the best of the best in hiking footwear for 2017. I also wear Timberlands but they're old and I'm going to buy something off this list in a day or two. I generally prefer shoes over boots but I wear and own both. I love their #1 recommendation and am looking at those hard:
http://www.switchbacktravel.com/best-hiking-boots
Lot of really good information in there to answer all your questions. Even a nice section explaining each type and a discussion on boots vs shoes. Good stuff.
Alpine hiking is my favorite. Sequoia National Park is my favorite destination so far that I've ever been to in hiking. More specifically the Lakes Trail is the best I've ever been on. I can't wait to go back.
Which boot did you go with?
Salomon Men's Quest 4d 2 Gtx Backpacking Boot, Iguana Green/Asphalt/Dark Titanium,
$160.55
Amazon Prime eligible
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
Get them in a couple days.
Salomon Men's Quest 4d 2 Gtx Backpacking Boot, Iguana Green/Asphalt/Dark Titanium,
$160.55
Amazon Prime eligible
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
Get them in a couple days.
Those look comfy. Looking forward to a verdict on them once you get a chance to get some miles on em.
this is also what I bought. Very comfortable.
Salomon Men's Quest 4d 2 Gtx Backpacking Boot, Iguana Green/Asphalt/Dark Titanium,
$160.55
Amazon Prime eligible
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
Get them in a couple days.
The fine folks at J&H had said that asolo was having lots of delamination issues with their soles. They (Asolo) were once great about replacing them, but haven't been as easy to work with.
Just FYI.
I have a pair of New Balance trail running shoes, only going to be appropriate for warm weather but especially when it is warm I don't like a heavy boot. Don't know that they'd hold up to tons of wear and tear but they were very comfortable on an 11-mile hike in the Smokies (ran a couple miles of it on the flatter parts) and several shorter outings last year.
I'm sure they're just fine for the Navy Seals, but for the Paddock?
I put a couple miles on mine (not carrying a pack, though). So far, so good.
Taking them to Grand Tetons in August for a week of backcountry hiking/backpacking. Going to Gorge for a day and a half at beginning of April.
