[pct-l] shoe replacement

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I wore my homemade shoes backpacking this weekend. This was a pretty  
brutal hike. The soles are separating a little bit, but otherwise the  
shoes felt pretty good. I like having perfectly flat soles. I was  
sent home in 2008 because the shoes I bought were too curved on the  
bottom. My toes pointed up in the air. I got stress fractures.  
Montrail Hardrocks. The worst shoes I've ever worn. Took only a  
couple hundred miles to send me off the trail. I finished the trail  
in 2009 with much more flexible shoes. Now I wear shoes I make myself  
and my feet get tired from feeling the rocks a bit more but I don't  
get stress fractures and they don't feel like giant blocks of foam  
strapped to my feet.

Here's a picture. They are ugly as sin.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/ 
thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=44653

 From what I observed on the trail, people replaced shoes often at  
the beginning and middle when the trail had that endless feel to it.  
They replaced them less often toward the end when they could see the  
light at the end of the tunnel. Some shoes in washington were closer  
to sandals, barely held together with dental floss or duct tape.  
Anyway, you can feel it when the EVA has lost its mojo. I think EVA  
is the devil. Perfect invention to force people to buy shoes before  
they are really worn out.

On Apr 19, 2011, at 7:54 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
>
> I may think the same thing.  I'm starting to think the best type of  
> shoe is
> one with just enough protection to prevent bruises and cuts.   
> Support isn't
> necessary.  Support prevents the development of the foot, which can  
> lead to
> planter fascia injury when the shoe support eventually fails.
>
> Check out Piper's homemade shoes.  They have no support, yet she's  
> said
> they're the most comfortable shoes she's worn.