What's on your feet?

I have the keen waterproof targhee boots for mountains that have water issues, in the desert I wear whatever's comfy and bring water shoes to switch into for the slots.


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I just picked up a pair of Danner Combat Hikers (a.k.a Crater Rim GTX). They are full leather with Gore-tex. The insole is a gel type. They have the Vibram sole with no shank so the are not stiff at all.

The Pros: they actually kept me dry in the worst rain and mud ever. I didn't even change my socks. They are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn largely because of the insole. The leather is also very soft and flexible. They kept my feet warm at temps in the 40's while wet. The soles are very flexible and don't feel like stiff mountaineering boots. They dried out in a reasonable amount of time for a full leather boot.

Cons: Lacing them up was a pain at times. They don't have the hooks at the top. They just have loops. They are a little heavy. They would be hot in the summer like most full leather boots.

In short, I would actually pay full price for these boots new. The $15 I dropped on them at DI was some of the best money I have spent. They will be great for spring/fall hiking. I will probably switch back to my Merrells in July and August though.
 
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DAA said:
I've had a pair of these for about a year now. Really liked them at first, but something has gone wrong with them. I honestly don't know if it is my feet changing shape, or the boots wearing funky, or what. But where they used to be comfortable, they now give me pretty big time pain across the toe box in not very many miles. I wore them on two long backpacking trips and a few longish day hike trips before they started causing me pain. They still look like new.
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Dave, I ended up having the exact same problem with my Breeze 2.0's. The first couple of hikes they were great, but then they started hurting my toes...to the point that both of my big toenails turned black (they have finally almost grown back out and are back to a normal color). I really wanted to love these boots, but they just didn't work out for me. I recently tried to wear them again and had the pain in my toes right away...it sucks since they look pretty new still and I can't wear them!

I ended up getting another pair of Keen Targhee II's in the spring which held up well over the summer and into the fall, but after 6 months are completely shot. I just replaced them with another pair 2 weeks ago, but that pair has already fallen apart on me after 2 hikes...

I just ordered a pair of Keen Durands which are made in the US and supposed to be a higher quality. I should have them by the weekend. I hope they are as comfortable as the other Keen's I've had and that they last longer...

Seriously, finding a decent pair of hiking boots in a size 15 really sucks!
 
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They're a bit pricey at like $55 but no matter what you put on your feet I highly recommend the Superfeet Copper DMP insoles. They give tons of support and mold to your feet. Since using them my feet haven't gotten sore once or developed a single blister.
 
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IntrepidXJ said:
I just ordered a pair of Keen Durands which are made in the US and supposed to be a higher quality. I should have them by the weekend. I hope they are as comfortable as the other Keen's I've had and that they last longer...

Seriously, finding a decent pair of hiking boots in a size 15 really sucks!
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I had high hopes for the Keen Durands, and it initially appeared that they would hold up better than my previous Keen's (they did in some aspects), but after this weekend my Durands are done for. They only lasted me 5 months, which is what I can usually squeeze out of a normal pair of Keens. Not sure if they are worth the additional cost over the normal Keens...

I guess it's back to the drawing board...
 
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BTW- to all of you out there who hike a lot. Is it unrealistic for me to want to get a year out of a pair of boots? I can't seem to find anything that will last me more than 5-6 months. Maybe I'm just really hard on my boots, but it gets expensive having to buy a few pairs of boots each year...
 
IntrepidXJ said:
BTW- to all of you out there who hike a lot. Is it unrealistic for me to want to get a year out of a pair of boots? I can't seem to find anything that will last me more than 5-6 months. Maybe I'm just really hard on my boots, but it gets expensive having to buy a few pairs of boots each year...
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I hike quite a bit imo, and I usually get about a year-spring to spring- out of a Merrell Moab. I'm not getting them again this year though, I'd like something a bit lighter, and most importantly dries faster.
 
my Five Ten hiking shoes usually last a year. With the switch to my Salomon trailrunners I have to figure it out this year how long they last.
A few years back I had Keen hiking shoes, the worst shoes I ever had. They started to fall apart after 3 months and I hated the vibram sole a lot, too.
 
Miss Buffalo said:
A few years back I had Keen hiking shoes, the worst shoes I ever had. They started to fall apart after 3 months and I hated the vibram sole a lot, too.
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It's not Keen specific for me, same thing happens with Merrell, Vasque, etc. I've just been sticking with Keen lately because they are comfortable and I can usually get them cheaper and treat them like disposables...
 
IntrepidXJ said:
BTW- to all of you out there who hike a lot. Is it unrealistic for me to want to get a year out of a pair of boots? I can't seem to find anything that will last me more than 5-6 months. Maybe I'm just really hard on my boots, but it gets expensive having to buy a few pairs of boots each year...
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I have never been able to get more than a year out of any footwear with EVA midsoles and that is really pushing it, most of the time not even a year. Polyurethane midsoles last much longer. I have gotten almost three years out of my Lowa Renegade Mid LLs with the polyurethane midsoles. Now that the tread has worn down to start exposing the midsole in places, I am going to replace them. They are very comfortable for off trail with a full length nylon shank but weigh in at around 1 lb 4 or 5 oz for each one so not the lightest footwear. They stayed very stable over their life span and that is much more than I can say about EVA midsoles. That might just be the Lowa Renegade build though.
 
Wyatt Carson said:
I have never been able to get more than a year out of any footwear with EVA midsoles and that is really pushing it, most of the time not even a year. Polyurethane midsoles last much longer. I have gotten almost three years out of my Lowa Renegade Mid LLs with the polyurethane midsoles. Now that the tread has worn down to start exposing the midsole in places, I am going to replace them. They are very comfortable for off trail with a full length nylon shank but weigh in at around 1 lb 4 or 5 oz for each one so not the lightest footwear. They stayed very stable over their life span and that is much more than I can say about EVA midsoles. That might just be the Lowa Renegade build though.
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The Lowa Renegade is one boot that comes in my size that I haven't tried yet. I've been hesitant to drop that much money on boots only to have them last 6 months like the rest, but it sounds like I should finally give them a try. Thanks for the feedback!
 
IntrepidXJ said:
The Lowa Renegade is one boot that comes in my size that I haven't tried yet. I've been hesitant to drop that much money on boots only to have them last 6 months like the rest, but it sounds like I should finally give them a try. Thanks for the feedback!
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If you do decide to try these I hope you like them as much as I have and they last you a good long time. Mine really should have been replaced around the 2 year mark. The soles are very worn down now but I checked them and none of the stitching has separated and the soles have not come unbonded either.

So I just ordered myself a pair of the low cut Lowa Renegades also leather lined (LL). They also make the Gortex lined if you like that. I find the leather lined nice and never had any foot problems with them. They broke in very fast. The mids are heavier than my NB 990 running shoes but lighter than some other of the more substantial hiking mid boots. The low Renegades ought to be a good balance of weight and support.
 
The Lowa Renegade LL Los plus New Balance insoles feel even better than the Renegade Mids to me. I took them out hiking with a good long bushwhack over rough, rocky terrain and they were comfortable first time out of the chute, no sore or hot spots and feet feeling good. I find them to have much better support than the running shoes I've used, a bit heavier and certainly more expensive but I can see where the money went. My Mids outlasted three pair of running shoes so money well spent over time. These lows are cooler in the heat and easier on and off. They are lined in glove soft leather as opposed to Gortex, same as my old Renegade LL Mids.

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