[pct-l] Debating about boots...How many?

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Crystal,

I won’t try to convince anyone to change their footwear selection.  It’s
highly personal choice and what works for me – or anyone else – may not work
for you.

I always like to save money but I’m very suspicious of footwear that is
apparently “cheap”, as opposed to quality footwear at a bargain price.  Maybe
cheap-o shoes and boots will last many hundreds of miles but I’ve also seen
such begin to fall apart in less than 50 miles -- usually as a result of
glue seam failure – and the application of SuperGlue and/or duct tape will
only be of very marginal and temporary help.

Cheap-o boots will also likely need some break-in.  Even though they are not
constructed of firm, high-quality material that must adapt to the foot over
time, they are more likely to have manufacturing irregularities and
obnoxious internal seams that rub the foot.  Booking 20 miles/day -- day
after day -- is not the best way to attempt such break-in.  For my own
peace-of-mind I even break-in sneakers – running or trail shoes – which many
believe require no break-in whatever.

If you purchased an assumed number of cheap boots today it’s questionable
whether you could get them all broken-in before the beginning of your trip.
Also, one shouldn’t assume that their feet won’t change over several months
and thousands of miles.  Most beginning and/or young long-distance hikers
find their feet grow in length and width during a PCT hike.

One pair of sturdy, high-quality – read “heavy” -- boots may survive the
entire trip, but such boots require lots of time to break in -- literally
hundreds of trail-hours – even with the most clever break-in tricks and
techniques.  We are now almost in March with insufficient time remaining for
such break-in: That ship has sailed for this year.  Also, those high-quality
boots are ruinously expensive so one must guess the size and style exactly
right, the first time around, to avoid having a gear locker full of
mistakes.

If you wear Chaco sandals you should be familiar with Vibram.  Vibram soles
are the classics of quality boots for rough wear and mountaineering.  Vibram
is a plastic-type material which offers excellent traction on most – but not
all – surfaces, and it wears like Harris Tweed.  Being a relatively hard,
plastic material Vibram can have very poor traction on smooth, wet or frosty
surfaces, such rocks or bare logs.  In my opinion, the downside to Vibram is
the weight, the stiffness, some of its traction attributes, and the fact
that it doesn’t adapt well to being glued to the bottom of sneakers.

I, too, have weak ankles and – with my advanced years – a somewhat lessened
sense of balance.  My best solution to the problem(s) is to use trekking
poles.

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 1:56 AM, Crystal Mcdowall <
crystal_mcdowall at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hey guys!  For those of you that have thru hiked before, I'm still debating
> about footwear and wondering how many pairs of boots I'm likely ruin on
> this
> trail?  I am definitely gonna go with some-type of boots instead of runners
> as I
> am someone clumsy and prone to rolling my ankles.  The one pair of "nice"
> boots
> that I own (Goretex Asolo something-or-others) never fail to leave me with
> horrible blisters.  I've had them for about 3 years and have tried really
> hard
> to break them in, and really have wanted them to work for me...which has
> proven
> to be to no avail, and I usually end up switching them up for my chaco
> sandals
> once my feet get too bad.  I think part of the problem is my feet sweat too
> much
> and the goretex doesn't allow them to breathe...maybe the toe area is too
> small?  I have cheap leather boots that I wear alot also, but they have the
> nylon type sides and aren't waterproof...so in wet climates it's a debate
> between soggy or blistery feet =)...no good either way.
>
>
> Anyways I'm on a tight budget so my dilemma is this:  Should I buy three or
> four
> pairs of cheap like big 5 leather boots to tear up on the trail and have my
> sister mail new ones as the old ones wear out, or would it be more cost
> effective to spend the money on maybe two nicer pairs that will last
> longer?  I
> know this depends on personal preference, but I think my major deciding
> factor
> at this point will be how long I can actually expect them to hold up on the
> trail.  Are vibram soles really that much more dependable than cheapos?
>  Any
> advice or opinions are much appreciated.  Sorry if I stir up a huge debate
> =).
> Thanks everyone!
>
> Crystal
>
>
>
>
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