Conversations
Boots or Trail Runners or something else
Quote from Justin on May 1, 2024, 1:41 pmI have been hiking around on trails close to my house and trying to figure out what works best for me. There was a post between where @Rob6 and @nathanu were talking about shoes and it kindof died off. I have some sneakers that I have tried and I have been looking at hiking boots and I see people that really seem to have a strong opinion either way. The sneaker people seem to like Trail Runners (I see a lot of people talking about Altra) and the hiking boot people seem to really like any hiking boot AND really dont like trail runners. What do the people here think? Whats good and about each?
I have been hiking around on trails close to my house and trying to figure out what works best for me. There was a post between where @Rob6 and @nathanu were talking about shoes and it kindof died off. I have some sneakers that I have tried and I have been looking at hiking boots and I see people that really seem to have a strong opinion either way. The sneaker people seem to like Trail Runners (I see a lot of people talking about Altra) and the hiking boot people seem to really like any hiking boot AND really dont like trail runners. What do the people here think? Whats good and about each?
Quote from nathanu on May 1, 2024, 4:04 pm@justin46 I've tried sneakers, trail runners and the traditional hiking boot. I also spent some time in the Army and spent some time in the old school combat boot as well as some time in jungle boots. For the trails that I hike now, trail runners have been by far my favorite. You definitely do lose the support of a taller boot (hiking boots or actual boots like combat boots or jungle boots) and that can be significant on long trips, weak ankles or rough terrain (or some combination of all of those) but they're still hands down my favorite:
- They aren't waterproof - 100% true, water will get in them. That said, they dry fast and I have Sealskinz that I've been using when it's cold and wet that keep my feet really comfortable and dry. When I've worn boots, especially the "waterproof" ones, I tend to get a boot full of water and, since it's "waterproof", the water stays there.
- Support - 100% true here also, you get basically zero ankle support with trail runners (though, I think that I've seen some 'hightop' style ones somewhere). That said, I've found that the more that I hike in them, the stronger my ankles seem to be so the support isn't as much of an issue.
Definitely all boils town to personal preference though, hike your own hike 🙂
@justin46 I've tried sneakers, trail runners and the traditional hiking boot. I also spent some time in the Army and spent some time in the old school combat boot as well as some time in jungle boots. For the trails that I hike now, trail runners have been by far my favorite. You definitely do lose the support of a taller boot (hiking boots or actual boots like combat boots or jungle boots) and that can be significant on long trips, weak ankles or rough terrain (or some combination of all of those) but they're still hands down my favorite:
- They aren't waterproof - 100% true, water will get in them. That said, they dry fast and I have Sealskinz that I've been using when it's cold and wet that keep my feet really comfortable and dry. When I've worn boots, especially the "waterproof" ones, I tend to get a boot full of water and, since it's "waterproof", the water stays there.
- Support - 100% true here also, you get basically zero ankle support with trail runners (though, I think that I've seen some 'hightop' style ones somewhere). That said, I've found that the more that I hike in them, the stronger my ankles seem to be so the support isn't as much of an issue.
Definitely all boils town to personal preference though, hike your own hike 🙂
by nathanu