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Hiking shoes

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
OMG! this post opened up a can of worms for me. I have 6 pair of hiking boots, 2 high top, 2 low top, 2 with Goretex, (1 trail runner, 1 hiking). I have so many because I keep some at the condo and the Goretex are great for slopping around in rain and snow. The brands are Scarpa and LaSportiva. I tried them on to verify that the heels were a narrow fit. Sadly, every pair are stability shoes. I tested them out outside and after about a 15 min of walking in them all of my aches came back, low back, ball of foot and my injured ankle started screaming. My feet kept rolling to the outside, especially my injured ankle, I guess because it's still weaker. The longer I had them on I could feel the arch supports. This is totally opposite of what my PT said I needed.

So, @tinymoose, yes, Scarpas and LaSportivas have a narrow fit in the heel, at least in the models I have. Too bad you can't wear a 5.5 I'd ship them all to you.
 

Ringrat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
A hiking, approach or trail running shoe should work better. They'll give you the grip and torsional rigidity you're looking for. Stiffness to bending the sole is a personal thing, you can get a wide range.

I wouldn't say that boots are out at all, it's a very personal thing. A lot of people wear hiking shoes for day hikes, but many people (myself included) wear a lighter weight hiker. My light hikers come to just above my ankles. I don't really wear them for the ankle support, but it sure helps with keeping junk out of the tops of them while I'm hiking. With shoes I'd feel compelled to wear gaiters more often. On longer day hikes, overnight or longer trips, or day hikes (even short ones) in more committing terrain I'm in hiking boots that are very stiff and quite tall.

The main thing is to find something that fits you and meets your goals.

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There were plenty of keen and other boots for sale at REI when I bought my Keen's. I just didn't feel I needed the ankle support.
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@tinymoose, look at the site I shared on running shoes. There is a category called "trail runners". Many trail runners have excellent traction and waterproofing. For example, I was looking at the LaSportiva Wildcat. Reviews said it had insane traction on wet and muddy ground, useful for trail hikers, etc. Some have good ankle support even though they weren't high tops. As sad as I am about my hiking boots I think for now I'll be looking for a good trail running shoe that will meet my needs. Luckily, I do have the Merrill Access Trail Shoe. It's a great shoe but doesn't hold the heel like my Scarpas and LaSportivas do.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
A friend of mine who hikes tons reported that she thinks recent Keen footwear is a lot lower quality and not as supportive as it used to be. Maybe in the last couple of years. Something to consider.
 
My Keens are soooooooooooooo comfortable. I wore them to the casino friday night. I always wear them when lots of standing/walking involved. I'll probably pick up another pair of walking shoes at some point so I have a spare.
 

Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
I love the idea of keens but they don't really fit my feet well :smile: my feet are big (women's 11), but not very wide relative to length. So i actually tend to fit men's european hiking boots best - they accommodate my long feet, but provide the possibility for more narrow foot beds. waterproofing is really important for me

for light day hiking, i actually have Salomon's women's ellipse in a size 10 - these, for whatever reason, are freakishly long and are the only women's shoes i own in a 10! (most are 10.5, 11 or 11.5). they are great, and super comfortable. in fact, i wear them a lot as casual shoes:

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For day hiking that is a bit more rugged (lots of elevation gain, in the alpine, scree) or for backpacking, or multi-day hiking trips, I have men's Salewa mid-mountain boots in a 9.5:

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I LOVE these boots - they are amazing. not a blister since i've had them! and i love the vibram sole - it sticks to anything. i've done 5 straight days backpacking with 20 km days, between 300 and 1000 m elevation on all those days, and not a single hot spot. they have these in a 'low-cut' shoe option, and i think that is what i'm going to get when my salomons wear out. I can't say anything bad about the salewas they are great. they were pricey (I bought them on sale for about $280 CAD) but they are the best pair of boots i've ever owned.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
I have a pair of these (Kenetrek 400g mountain extreme) for hiking - which are by far the best boots I've ever owned (and good grief, they should be for what I paid). Ridiculously warm in winter, yet I haven't felt overheated in them in summer either. They told me it would take 100 miles or so to truly have them broken in and I'm getting there and they are more and more comfy all the time.

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That said, for more casual hiking, I usually go with something like my river shoes (J-41 lagoon shoe), which are comfy, great when doing creek crossings, but they get gravel and such in them easily. But I wear the hell out of them - I've had them in black, red and white. Sadly I lost my red pair on my first trip to Costa Rica (you know you're having a good beach trip when you realize you lost your shoes, but aren't even sure which day you lost them). But I wear these a LOT.

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Christy

Angel Diva
One of my AK friends posting some hiking photos on FB and I noticed everyone was wearing Xtratufs (if you don't know what Xtratufs are, they are expensive brown rain boots that everyone in AK wears). She wore them when I visited and we hiked, but they were backpacking in these photos. Reminds me how personal footwear is. I don't think I could hike much less carry a multiday pack in rain boots but maybe if I lived and hiked in the rainforest, I'd figure it out. And you won't see any Pacific Crest Trail through hikers in anything but tennis shoes--not even hiking shoes. They want the absolute lightest footwear there is. When we do shorter backpacking trips on the PCT we in our hiking boots are a novelty. My feet would die, but it works for them.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
I will say, when I've gone on bird banding outings, everyone else in my group has gotten their shoes/ hikers filed with mud and those Kenetrek boots stay dry inside even in mud almost to the tops.
There's definitely something to be said for that.
 

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