[pct-l] womens shoes - NB 907's

[Greg Kesselring]

I would not hesitate to use them in the Sierras.  Most of my hiking has 
been in Washington State however.  But most of that has been near and 
above timberline with lots of off-trail that includes some summer 
snowfields.  The off-trail hiking is sometimes on dirt, sometmes grassy 
meadow, sometimes gravel, scree, or boulder fields.  So I've used these 
guys in all kinds of terrain.    Note that like any shoe with a fabric 
top, if you spend a lot of time on snow, that fabric will eventually get 
wet.  Gaiters will help though.  And the wet fabric dries really fast.

I use short gaiters to keep trail debris, small rocks and such, as well 
as snow from getting into the shoes around the ankle area.  Take a look 
at these:

http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/

Traction-wise, boots may offer more traction on snow (that would depend 
on the design of the sole of the boot), but I haven't felt it necessary 
to switch over to boots when I know I'm going to be crossing significant 
snowfields.  I do hike with poles, though, and that adds quite a bit of 
stability on snow and anywhere else where traction and balance are 
essential.

Like you, I need width in the toe box.  I believe my feet actually 
measure a "d" width, but my 907's are "ee" width and they work great for 
me.  The extra room in the toe area is useful not only for giving my 
previously inured toe joint the room it needs, but it also lets me hike 
with two socks, a liner and a regular sock.  I'm using injinji's for the 
liner and smart wool for the outer sock. 

I removed the footbed liner that the 907's came with and replaced with 
spenco insoles for extra cushioning AND superfeet for whatever the heck 
they are supposed to be good for.  If you're going to do something like 
that (add different and/or extra inserts and also wear thicker socks), 
then you'll need to plan for that when you buy the shoes and make sure 
they have enough room for all that extra stuff. 

The injinji's have been great at preventing all between-the-toe blisters.

Greg

dusterbuddy at comcast.net wrote:
>  
> Greg-
>  
> Thanks so much for the feed back! every bit helps. I really do think 
> that theses are the shoes for me. one of my main concerns was toe 
> room. i;ve had problems with other shoes that didnt have enough toe 
> room and i developed those pesky little blisters that form in-between 
> your toes.
>  
> how do you feel about using them in the Sierras? would you switch to 
> something with more traction? or maybe a gortex lining?
>  
> thanks again!
> Kim
> 2008!!