[pct-l] Shoes

[Timothy Nye]

Hi Ben,

I personally love Salomons.  If you've ever had problems with plantar
fascitis then this may be the shoe for you.  It's got a great arch support
that coupled with a superfeet insole is protective for that particular
malady.  The Kevlar laces do, however, contrary to advertising, fail.

You definitely want at least one size larger.  Your feet will expand.  Many
years ago I lost five toenails from a section hike by naively allowing an
REI salesperson to convince me that the I was buying an appropriately sized
shoe.  Needless to say, that can be somewhat painful.

With that said, the shoe also has somewhat narrow toe box.  This can
contribute to the development of Morton's neuroma, although this is more
common in older hikers.  The lesson here, though, is that the foot is also
going to expand sideways.  Morton's neuroma isn't a true neuroma but
consists of the buildup of scar tissue around  a nerve innervating the toes;
typically between the third and fourth metatarsals.  I know about this
because it happened to me last summer.

On the other hand, I have five, count'em, 5, pairs of these shoes that I can
no longer wear in sizes 11 and 11 1/2, a couple that are new.

With respect to GTX vs a more breathable shoe, conventional wisdom is that
you should avoid waterproof shoes because the trap moisture and are not as
breathable causing a buildup of heat and this results in a greater
likelihood of blisters.  Yet, a thru last year made an observation that she
disagreed with this analysis and what she said made since.  The GTX resulted
in much less dirt and dust infiltrating her shoes and socks.  The unsaid
part of this is that this coarse and fine grit is abrasive.  Seems to me
that this will also cause blisters.  A lot of thrus use gators to counter
this, but it seems to me this is just another layer which will also trap
heat and moisture with seems like it would at least partially defeat the
purpose of the breathable foot wear.  I'm sure you'll get further comment on
this.

Regardless, I stop every hour or so and take off my shoes,  I let my feet
dry and switch out my socks.  the ones I just took off go on the back of my
pack to dry and are then rotated back on my feet at the next stop.  I'll use
a little water and wash me feet with a damp bandanna at each stop as well.
Feels great and gets rid of any abrasive material.

I give a lot greater thought to color with my clothes than my shoes; white
very thin long sleeved shirt, light color pants.  Shoes I figure I are just
going to get dirty anyway.