HEY THIS EVER HAPPEN TO YOU?

“i bought these nice boot right? they felt good in the store... then when i packed with them its like my feet grew...i lost like two toe nails because of it...”

“Yes, that's why they have an incline board at most outfitters. That's not foolproof though. Sometimes you never know until you use them in the manner for which they were intended.”

“Did you allow for thick socks when you tried them on?”

“yeah i wore my winter hiking socks...THIS is why i hate boots!!!”

“Yea! It's a guessing game at best. An expensive guessing game!
I've given away at least a half a dozen pairs of new boots that just wouldn't do. (I wear boots to work.)”

“maybe i just have weired feet”

“What kind of boots were they?
My last 2 pair of boots, Vasque's and Merrills fit OK from day one. I didn't even have to break them in.

But, then again I'm a pretty BAB”

“Another candidate for the Black Toenail Society!

Yep, your feet Will swell up (but they probably won't get Longer). Your toes might be fine on most trails, then get banged up on a particularly steep one. Some folks swear that your feet will get muscled up if you hike a good bit.

If your toes got hammered on a moderate trail, your boots may well be too short. Or they weren't laced tightly enough to hold your foot in place... ?

There are many variables to consider.”

“It was really steep”

“BAB?

I'm scared to guess, LOL”

“Bad ASS Backpacker Ü

or Babe, whatever you prefer”

“What's so Bad about yer Ass? (aHem)

[I'll have to add that one to the list]


Well then... a really long, steep section of trail will really put boots to the test. Somebody here was wondering why we still had toenails in the first place. We might be better off if they didn't grow back.”

“I read somewhere about a long distance hiker who went ahead and had his toenails removed. I can seriously understand that one. Probably gave him an idea of how a declawed cat feels.”

“eWWW. Evolve or perish”

“did you try them on early in the day? It was suggested to me to go shopping for boots in the evening when your feet are more likely to have reached that" on them all day" size that they get when you hike. Also, the guy at the outfitter had me carry a pack with some weight in it and play on the incline while trying them on too.
that used to happen to me , even with regular shoes......it seemed to have worked for the last pair of boots i bought.”

“Boots are curse! I hate em with a passion. I was fortunate when I bought my last pair 6 years ago and will nurse them for years hopefully. I usually wear old running shoes unless its cold. Try buying boots from a dealer that allows returns regardless of use...REI for example.”

“I have Montrails and they are great. I have used them in dry and wet hikes, postholed up to my waist at times on a steep decent Christmas Eve, and they held up and did not make my feet sore at all. But I spent hours trying on different boots and trying to make them fail in the store. Osolo, Riachle, Vasques, and others that never made it past the bench....”

“The one thing I always do is I always use two soxs.I thin one and a thick one.So my boot size is alwas 11 1-2 but my reg shoes are 11.Thats what I live by when it comes to boots.”

“Did you socks bunch up at the toes
while you were walking?
They may not have been sized correctly.
Try LL Beans Knife Edge,I'm on my 4th pair-I wear them every day.
And you can return them if you don't like them.”

“Your feet change size during the day. Smaller in the morning and larger in the evening.

As mentioned above buy boots in the evening after walking around all day and where the heaviest socks you would wear on the trail.

While hiking change socks frequently, adding and removing layers and changing thicknesses as needed. I change mine about every two hours or so. Also trim your nails before starting out whether you need to or not.”

“Loosen and tighten the shoelaces helps too..looser going uphill and tighter going down...that way your toes won't jam into the front.”

“hmmmm the best shoes ive ever used on trail were Hi-tec trail runners...inexpensive and comfterble as hell...im going to search for them...i wore them to pieces”