[pct-l] How Many Trail Shoes / When to buy them

[Seth "Osprey" Schumacher]

I found that I used two pairs to hike the entire AT and was just starting my
second pair when I left the CDT. I use Salomon XA Pro 3Ds and love them, but
my feet don't tend to swell all that much and my foot is by nature narrow. I
buy them at just the right size so I have no slippage when I bang the foot
on a wall or incline/decline. I like the trail runners I use because they
vent so well, are nice and grippy, and UBER comfortable. I found they take
almost no breaking in because they aren't so stiff around your foot. They
give me good ankle support, not like a boot, but good enough and the
orthotics in them work great for me. Sure my feet are sore at the end of a
long day, but not extremely. I had only 1 blister on the entire AT and 2 on
the CDT. The uppers are soft enough to expand with my foot. Granted I tend
to stay at 25 pounds or less with food and water.

I found that few outfitters actually carry these so I buy a couple pairs in
advance at my local dealer and make sure I have their phone number in case I
need to order more. Because I repeatedly order from them on the trail and
I'm a local they usually just comp shipping to me. A good pair lasts me
about 1100 to 1200 miles before I need to have the next pair shipped.

If your foot is wider, I suggest one of the Montrail shoes. They seem to
work similarly for those with bigger feet all around. To test yourself, pack
a pack with 30 or more pounds and do 20 or more miles as a day hike. Measure
your foot prior to and after the hike. Make sure you get a few good grades
in on the hike as well. This will tell you how much your feet swell and if
you need a lot of ventilation, if your feet are sopping wet from sweat, or
more support if they just completely hurt like hell, granted that could also
be from a bad shoe to begin with. Use this info to help you find the right
shoe for you and/or post it to the list or one of us so people with similar
feet can send you better suggestions.

If you do choose a stiffer shoe, be sure to break in the first pair with
some more of those 20+ mile days and see if the shoe is right. If it is, buy
a couple pairs and break them in before hand and have them shipped to you
when you need them. If the shoe is a soft and nicely vented shoe like my XA
Pros, without gore-tex, then the breaking in is pretty much unnessecary. 

Sorry for rambling, I'm a gearhead and proud of it.

Seth "Osprey" Schumacher
Appalachian Trail 2007
Continental Divide Trail MT-WY 2006


No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.19/1258 - Release Date: 2/4/2008
10:10 AM