How Many Pairs?

“A friend of mine refers to me as the Imelda Marcos, of hiking boots. He He He

I've tried to explain that it's a gear issue, not a matter of style etc. I have different boots for different trips. How many people have just one fishing rod, or golf club.

There's the heavy duty BP/mountaineering, the waterproof BPing (this is B.C. after all), the light trail shoes & the day hikers.

Of course there's a couple of mistake purchases, that I'll probably never wear, but someone might. And there's at least one pair that have been retired, but I just can't bring myself to toss them out........ they sure bring back some memories !!

So, how many have you got, and how many's too many? LOL”

“Hmmmmmm Let see.


1) REI Monarch: light day hikers.
2) Lowa Klondike: Midweight backpacker
3) Vasque Glacier: Heavy backpacker, light mountaineering (very old, but very comfy)
4) Koflach Degre: Plastic Winter Mountaineering.
5) Scarpa Lazer: Alpine Touring, Ice Climbing, Winter Mountaineering.


Is that enough.
Or Should I add in

6) New Ballance 805: trail running
7) Merrel Reflex Low: Daily wear, day hiking.

I guess I'm guilty too...”

“Only 2. Had the Asolos for probably 6 years anyhoo...

And I probably could use some new ones. Will of course keep the old ones... :-)”

“I've got two pair, probably soon to have 3.

1. Rocky's Goretex. They began to disintegrate shortly after I bought them. Fixed them twice, then gave up.

2. Vasque Sundowner GTX. Good boots, but they are tearing up my feet. Gotta do something.

I think I'm going to go to REI in Nashville here pretty soon and get me another pair. Gotta get something that actually fits my feet.”

“Vasque Sundowners (on my second pair)

Timberland lightweight boots

A pair of cheap Bass hiking boots I bought at an outlet store after leaving for a camping trip and forgetting my Vasques. They are comfy, but an eyelet pulled loose. I don't wear them, but keep them in the trunk of the car just in case.

New Balance 608 walking shoes (three pairs - one for trail, one for home, old pair in trunk just in case)

An old pair labelled Trionic (made in Italy) that I don't have the heart to toss.”

“Ya never know, eh Bit? My Sundowners have been awsome since I pulled them out of the box. My Merrell Grand Traverve, on the other hand, are a perfect fit, but I can't wear them without removing half of my heels”

“Part of my problem is my feet are way different in size, so if I get 8.5, the left is too tight, but if I get 9, the right is too loose. Just gonna have to get fitted for the boots.”

“BP: Try using a footbed that will stabilize your heel and allow you wear a "larger" boot than usual. I recceomend Superfeet.

Use a superfeet footbed in both boots. On your smaller foot, half hitch the lacing over your instep and lace the upper tight enough to hold the heel in the heel counter of the boot. You should be stable enough to hike comfortably. Ask the footwear guys at your local REI, they should know how to do this.

Trust me, it works....”

“You're not alone, Bit. Nobody's feet are identical, neither are boots. The left usually is close to my size, then I get the guy to bring out about ten different rights, until I find the one that's closest. Sometimes they're very different.

I was telling my ski boot fitter, that they really ought to just sell lefts and rights separately”

“I've done all that Dave...my feet still get torn up. The Superfeet did help a lot though. Now my feet don't ache as bad when I get home, lol....”

“Glad to hear that you've tried, sorry it didn't work out. May be time to see a cobbler and get a custom boot.

They're not as expensive as you may think. The're a great one here in SLC that I can reccomend.”

“As the late great Frank Zappa once said,"Can't dance,my feet are far too wide",my footwear inventory is anything but a waltz.Finding a last to fit my ;narrow heal-multi D
ball foot is an ugly ballet.
I have a drawer in my garage full of half used tubes of shoe goo,bits of foam and all kinds of shimming,patching and supportive crap.
Anyone who knows and has experienced the high dollar world of custom gear and has had success,please divulge your findings.”

“The frustrating thing about it is everytime I solve one problem, another one crops up. The last trip I was on, my feet were doing OK, not giving me very much trouble at all...then the last day of hiking, my heels started to hurt from walking on some rocks! My achilles got really inflamed. I don't know if that's a boot problem or a foot problem though. When I took the boots off my feet were mostly ok, although they still hurt some. The next day was alright, but still some pain. It's driving me nuts.

Custom boots are starting to look better and better. But I think I'm going to have my doc look at my feet too, see if there's some problem there. (other than they are flat)”

“One pair of hiking boots for me, an REI pair - don't remember the model name. The salesman said they were the kind he has, and described them as both comfortable and indestructible - so far he was right on the money. I used to have a pair of lighter weight K-Swiss boots for easy day hikes, but this happened to them after umpteen years of use.”

“Forgot to mention - Cameron hikes in sneakers that are a bit sturdier than regular ones. We had bought him hiking boots a couple of times, but he just grew out of them too fast. The East Rosebud trail (26 miles in 4 days, lots of rocks poking out of the trail) was about the upper bound of what those shoes can handle, but anything less and they feel OK for him.”

“Hodge - it's Saturday. Why aren't you out hiking?!”

“Martyb - Can't hardly see out the window, today! It's been raining pretty much non-stop, for two weeks, now. Guess we're paying for that dry October.”

“Bit, I think you're right about the Dr.I never have heal problems except the side motion created by the excessive width in the heal.I can live with that by shimming.and my high arch can be solved with glueing hand made pads under the foot beds,but still finding the width up front in the toe box seems to only come in the freak shoes and boots that have an inch of dust on the store room box.”

“Bummer, Hodge. I find that I am generally opposed to rain when it conflicts with hiking. We were up in Vancouver early last December and got rained on a bit. I thought all you Canucks just went out and did what you do even if it's raining!

Oh, BTW, Sunny and 70 here today!”

“Ya, but after the first ten or twelve days, the rain does start to kinda suck the motivation right out of ya :-(

BTW - One of my pals, in Vallarta sent me some pics, from the hurricane, down there. They got totally pounded !!”

“Three;
1 pr. Cabelas All Leather Mountain Hikers,
2 pr. Vasque Sojourn GTX

The Cabelas boots are great for trails that are not too rocky and the Vasques will go anywhere. Great boots all, never a blister or hot spot.”

“One pair Mintrail torres, heavy duty

One pair REI Monarchs, mid duty

3 pairs of NB 704, trail runners

1 pair of winter (snowshoe and hunting boots) Sorel's.

AND I just got rid of 1 pair of vasques.

But, I really do need all of them. =)

Oh, do down booties count? 1 pair of them too.”

“Two for me, thank you...
1) Asolo 520 GTX mid-weight boots, and
2) Merrel Reflex approach shoes

I also have a $30 pair of Adidas running shoes that I've worn backpacking in the summer, and I just got a pair of Vasque Arctic winter boots for extreme cold-weather romping.”

“One pair NB 979
Two pair NB 803 Trail Running
Two pair NB 715 running
Two pair Columbia Hiking
One pair Novado hiking boot (these cost about $20, and they are the cushiest and most comfortable for long hikes..20+ miles.

The Columbias, for what they cost, are OK, but the balls of my feet get sore on long hikes, and they suck on steep downhills...hell on tips of toes and toenails.

I still can't believe the Novados...Chinese made, very cheap, very durable, and very comfortable.”

“My mother thinks I have a disease...just got a new pair of Montrail Vercors...wearing them all day to start the break in process...made in Italy...

am retiring my HiTech 50 peaks BP/mountaineering boots...bummer...but I won't toss em...9 years they have taken me many places...

Hi-tech suede/nylon day hikers...great boot

New Balance trail runners...

Bass Day boot...there nice too

And I now have a new Osprey Aether 36 pack pack...I need help...please!!! I can;t help myself.”

“Almost forgot...I always buy a new pair of Dr. Scholl's Dyna Step Sport inserts for every shoe or boot I buy. When I try the new boots on, I first put in the inserts (each new shoe should get new inserts...they form to your feet and the shoe). I had heel pain for years, and last January a bone spur was ground off the outside of my heel, some calcified Achilles was removed, and some torn Achilles was put back together. Rehab has been long and tedious...the scar was in the wrong place for a hiker/runner, and I have just now got back into running hills. Long distance hiking came around September, but the Dr. Scolls give extra cushion in the heel and great arch support. In addition they allow you to buy a shoe a little larger than you normally would. That gives some extra toe room. My legs used to ache all the time. An orthopedist made some orthotic inserts, but they were very hard. The Dr. Scholl's cost about $12, as opposed to $300 for the orthotics (I returned them, #&%!$ed caused they hurt so much, so he didn't charge me), and are most comfortable. My legs no longer ache.

Susan and I do very long day hikes..20+ miles, and sometimes the elevation is quite substantial..Mt. Gorgonio is 22 miles RT and the elevation gain is 4700 feet. The Dr. Scholl's do the trick for me.”

“Breaking in hiking or running shoes is a myth. I don't know if that applies to heavy duty backpaking boots.

Considering the new materials and technology in hiking and running shoes today, you should be able to take your new shoes out of the box and do what you have to. They don't have to be broken in.

If you buy a pair of shoes, and they don't fit well, and you keep them because you think they have to go through a break in period, don't buy them. What come out of the box should feel comfortable, fit well, and allow you do run from the git go. Try them out around the store. If they ain't perfect, don't buy them. Also there isn't a great amount of cause-effect when paying big bucks for athletic foot apparel. If it cost $20 and it workkd for you, so much the better. Too many people believe you have to spend great amounts of money for terrific shoes...that's also a myth. My favorites for long-distance hiking, $20 Novados.

Athletic shoes are like the new cars, they don't need to be warmed up..start the engine and drive off...put on the new shoe and go climb a mountain. True.”

“Sorel Dominators (for the cold)
La Sportiva TRKs (hellacious ankle support, but still pretty light)
Vasque Summits (nearly identical to Sundowners, need resoling)
Merrell trail shoes

That's not tooooo nutty is it?”

“gotta get in on this discussion, only one pair so far. merrell chameleon, made a ton of difference in my comfort from the very first day, going to be in my beloved sedona week of jan 12 and wondering if these are going to be good for that, wondering abt mostly the temperatures, on a warm wis fall day my feet can become alittle warm. any thouhght out there”

“8 pairs of boots for me. I bought 2 pairs of Lowa Tanarks just to have a pair in reserve when I wear the first out. They fit me so well I'm afraid they might change the last.”

“Montrail Trail Runners-3 years old
Saloman Adventure 7-8 years old
Saloman Backcountry 8-8
Steger Mukluks-8
A pair of Sorels-4

I also have two pairs of XC ski boots.”

“MARRIED:
AmyG and Dare
Marmot and Trail Artist
Nomad and Meerkat
Humanpackmule and Treebait
Sassafras and Birch

DATING:
Crazy Mike and Evergreen
me and stikmon

??????
Hodgeman and Pepperdog (hehehehe)
Geobeet and Psychosquirrel
Chili and his most recent Hooters
Dundan and his bag nights

Any other PAIRS?!??!

LOL, sorry Hodge, but you did ask for pairs........ :-)

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhahahha”

“I've got two pair of Asolo AFX 520's, one in light brown, one in dark brown. On top of that I have two sets of merrel trail running shoes.”

“Xcountry ski boots count too?
add to my list:
1 pair XC ski boots. =)”

“Another pair-

BBinkly and his doll.”

“I'm taking the 5th on this one.”

“ive got one , merrell reflex lows, use em for dayhikes, and backpacking, suits me fine, but ill probably invest in some heavies too, whats the advantage of heavy duty hiking boots on long b.p. trips?”

“There is none. (IMHO)
Heavy boots are only good for rugged terrain or if you have weak feet and ankles and need the extra support.”

“My feet hold up better with high boots in steep and rocky terrain. Fewer hot spots and fewer dead toenails.”

“I forgot Skullcap and GOOSE!!

oops!!”

“WHAT!??!”

“potions room...I most deeply apologize to all of you out there...she will be needing her rest and will be most fine in the morning...this will all pass and more than likely, she will not remember a thing about it.”

“Hey, the topic WAS **PAIRS**!!!”

“Just 2 pr. Vasque Clarion GTX for year round use.”