Hiking Boots or Trail Runners?

ttretta · Post by **ttretta** » Oct 28 2015 8:52 am

I've been researching both options and would like to see what AZT users are doing (I know some opinions were flowing in the Vasque Boot Test forum).

So what is your preference?

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Nov 05 2015 9:31 pm

@MtnBart01
Interesting. Yes, there is the getting used to factor but my main problem in recent years is they stopped making my size. So I have had to find some long narrow shoes with square toes...

Not sure I mentioned but I sent Altra a message awhile back regarding tougher hiking shoes and they said they are coming out with some in the spring. So, we'll see.

rcorfman · Post by **rcorfman** » Nov 05 2015 10:18 pm

azbackpackr wrote:Now, if Altra will just come out with a real hiking shoe. The Altra Lone Peaks worked well for my rim-to-rim 5-day backpack last week, but it was all on trail. They just are not tough enough, and don't have enough grip on the ground for real hiking (off trail, that is.) They are not stable enough, and the thin fabric sides and toes would not protect your feet very well for scrambling and bushwhacking. So, there are drawbacks.

I just got a pair of Lone Peaks. I put about 20 miles on them, then put a hundred more on backpacking from south rim to the State line CG on the Arizona Trail, then maybe 10 more miles since. So after about 130 miles, there is very little wear on them. Really, they almost look new. Last summer, I got a pair of Altra Revolution 2.0 shoes. I wanted the Lone Peaks but they were between versions and not available. The Revolutions have a thinner sole, so they aren't as padded. I backpacked over 300 miles in them and probably have that much again in day hikes. The soles are worn and there is some minor tearing where the shoe bends by the toes but I still like wearing them. I would have no qualms taking them off trail and I have on several occasions.

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Nov 06 2015 3:58 am

@rcorfman
I banged my toes and feet a few times on the rocks. That's what made me think I'd like a little bit heftier protection, plus a little bit grippier soles. (Apparently, "grippier" isn't a real word.)

Farwalker · Post by **Farwalker** » Nov 06 2015 12:23 pm

Yea Joe as a matter of fact I do. I've gotten 2,550 miles on my Danner Explorer boots and 1000 miles on the Cascadia model which still look great and have plenty of tread, and I'm considering resoleing the Explorer model only cause I wear the outside down a lot, otherwise they could go another two thousand and be fine. Most folks these days are not used to wearing a solid pair of boots for a decade but regular Danner, Whites and Red Wing customers are. When I lived in Idaho and worked in timber sales it was normal for people there in the business to spend a great deal of money on quality boots and wear them till they needed resoleing.
Youngsters talk a great deal about "sustainability" and recycle reuse and all that but go through multiple pairs of tennis shoes a year......different strokes for different folks I guess. ;-)
My favorite boots ever I used walking from Canada to Mexico were a pair of Vasque rappelling boots....they took 300 miles to break in but were awesome....I could hike forever in those carrying 60 pounds in my pack, this was in 1980 mind you..they don't make those any more. After I got done in New Mexico I was robbed and the boots were stolen along with what few valuables I had left in life at the time, but it hurt most to lose those boots!
I have two pairs of Altras, love the fit, but just can't do more than five miles in them, my feet feel trashed afterwards. And I DO enjoy the relaxation of the zero drop. (I also have used five fingers since they came out, just on soft trails) It will be interesting to see the new "hiking" model they come out with.
Folks on the long trails seem to really like the Altras and it's nice to know the company has responded.

Tough_Boots · Post by **Tough_Boots** » Nov 06 2015 1:09 pm

@MtnBart01

So you've gone from vff's to slippers. What's next-- crocs?

Farwalker · Post by **Farwalker** » Nov 07 2015 7:44 pm

Never! I've just tried it all cause I've had PF......the five fingers were a big mistake for me. I'd like to be as natural as possible but I'm no longer a spring chicken. And I've got bone spurs....but I can still hike and that's all that matters.
The interesting thing is that most long distance hikers have learned to use one main pair of hiking shoes and have something else to wear in town or hiking that's different cause it's healthier for the feet to mix it up a bit. Some do use crocs as the second pair and some like me use Chacos. I met one young man on the PCT that was hiking in crocs....he said nothing else worked for him. I can't imagine he made it very far.

RowdyandMe · Post by **RowdyandMe** » Nov 11 2015 12:06 am

Well I just order a pair of Merrill All Out Blaze Sieve. I decided to try out a shoe with the bungee lace system and these do have the Vibram bottoms.
I have a pair of cheap low top shoes for around the house. And I have notice that the bungee lace has been making my ankle feel better. And after fall twice today I hope they get here soon.

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Nov 11 2015 3:26 am

@Farwalker
Ugh, Chacos. Like walking with a brick on your foot. Way too much "support" in all the wrong places. Hurt my feet big time. That being said, I do have a pair I use for when I'm rowing whitewater because they are stickier than Tevas when wet, so I can jump around the raft and onto shore without slippage.

Otherwise, I wear Tevas 365 days a year. I wear them as slippers with socks in the morning. I wear nice ones to work. I wear them kayaking. I wear them to run errands, to go on short walks and hikes, and I always carry a pair with me on backpacking trips to use for camp shoes. Currently I have three pairs, but I'm looking at new ones again already.

CannondaleKid · Post by **CannondaleKid** » Nov 11 2015 7:28 am

Widowmaker wrote:I decided to try out a shoe with the bungee lace system

Just an FYI... While the bungee lace system may be very convenient and feel better in the store, beware, all is not well with this design. The problem?

If the laces are elastic at all they will allow foot movement inside the shoe, which is the recipe for blisters and toe-nail loss. Trust me, I know this from personal experience.

I bought Merrell Chameleons with the same type of lacing system and thought, wow, this is so cool, quick on, quick off, and they feel great!

UNTIL after the first hike. I didn't realize it while hiking, but especially on steep downhills my feet would slide forward due to expansion of the elastic laces, which was the direct cause of losing all ten toenails on one hike. That happened 8 years ago and while all eventually grew back, only one toenail has grown back semi-normal.
(I'll never forget it... the day-after-Thanksgiving 2007 Soldier Camp hike with Darth Stiller. Remember it Chris? With your new X-Terra?)

The shoes themselves weren't bad, but I cut off the bungee system and went with regular laces... I can handle lacing up my shoes if it means no blisters or lost toenails.

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Nov 11 2015 8:12 am

@CannondaleKid
Oh, pshaw. Toenails...who needs 'em? ;)

CannondaleKid · Post by **CannondaleKid** » Nov 11 2015 8:28 am

azbackpackr wrote:Toenails...who needs 'em?

That's what I thought until going without for almost a year. And I found out, yes, they DO serve a purpose!
(Left big toe nail STILL not fully returned)

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Nov 11 2015 9:26 am

@CannondaleKid
I lost several back in fall of 2011. It's a terrible thing to not have anywhere to put the toenail polish.

But all 10? Yikes. And yeah, sometimes they don't grow back correctly. My big ones did but a couple of the little ones are kind of messed up. They grow, but they are not really stuck to the toe very well. They tend to fall off.

I know, eeeyew!

RowdyandMe · Post by **RowdyandMe** » Nov 12 2015 5:27 pm

@CannondaleKid
Well I am hoping for better luck. I did hike in the cheap ones I got for around the house and they seemed just fine. And I always order hiking shoes 1 full size larger for going down hill.

RowdyandMe · Post by **RowdyandMe** » Nov 24 2015 7:19 pm

Where is a good place to buy trail runners in Phoenix? Rei, Sportsmans Warehouse and Cabelas don't seem to carry my size in anything I like.

rcorfman · Post by **rcorfman** » Nov 24 2015 8:49 pm

Widowmaker wrote:Where is a good place to buy trail runners in Phoenix? Rei, Sportsmans Warehouse and Cabelas don't seem to carry my size in anything I like.

I bought my Altras at Tortoise & Hare Sports.

RowdyandMe · Post by **RowdyandMe** » Nov 24 2015 9:19 pm

@rcorfman
I went to their website but it looks like they only deal with womens shoes

SpiderLegs · Post by **SpiderLegs** » Nov 24 2015 9:49 pm

I buy most of my shoes off of Amazon.

rcorfman · Post by **rcorfman** » Nov 24 2015 9:51 pm

@Widowmaker
They do carry men's shoes and clothing.

MariaHoffman · Post by **MariaHoffman** » Nov 24 2015 11:27 pm

I just cast my vote to Trail Runners as it's more comfortable for me!

azbackpackr · Post by **azbackpackr** » Nov 25 2015 4:48 am

@MariaHoffman
Love your profile photo! :welcome: