Walking Forum
Main Boards => Long Distance Walks => Topic started by: AFANASIEW on 19:51:00, 31/03/18
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I have a pair of Saloman Quest which I'll wear for the SWCP this year, but I want to break in a backup pair for LEJOG next year. Recommendations please. It'll be from late Spring to Summer, I'll be carrying 30lbs for a few days but mostly 20lbs. Ànd I prefer leather because I understand how to maintain it. So, GTX or not?
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Not leather but I have Salomon Ultra 2 mid GTX and they are great. They also do an unlined version. They are incredibly light and comfortable.
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I wore Berghaus shoes for a 3 week walk along the GR10. The saving in weight on the feet and lega was great.
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At the risk of starting the usual "Boots V Shoes" argument....I would say that in ;late Spring and during Summer, most National Trails would be more suited to wearing shoes rather than boots, especially Coastal Paths which should be firm underfoot and not needing the kind of support that maybe boots would give you if you were doing hill walking rather than trail walking.
Shoes are more suited when you are walking longer distances each day, especially coastal paths where the walking might be faster than other LDWs.
Heavy boots thumping down on faster firm coastal paths are surely at a disadvantage against lighter shoes....in my opinion O0
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Hmm, not sure I'd wear shoes north of the Tan Hill Inn, Slowcoach. I rely on ankle support, too, which keeps Brasher/Berghaus boots off my shortlist.
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How do shoes fare on wet days, bricam? Do they work with gaiters?
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How do shoes fare on wet days, bricam? Do they work with gaiters?
In the warmer weather I don't usually wear gaiters, I find them a bit restricting plus I like the airflow. In Summer I tend to wear convertible trousers and this means if I get the bottoms of them muddy I can just unzip them at the end of the day and give them a good wash and let them dry while you sit about in the shorts rather than your knickers :D :D :D
On the coastal walks that I have done, wet days don't really matter as I am walking usually on good paths and it's really just the bottom of the shoes getting wet off the paths, not the tops or sides.
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On the coastal walks that I have done, wet days don't really matter as I am walking usually on good paths and it's really just the bottom of the shoes getting wet off the paths, not the tops or sides.
I wear shorts, bricam,a and really don't enjoy rain running down my legs and into my boots, hence gaiters.
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In the summer i wear merrell moabs not waterproof. They keep feet cool and aired and if they do get wet they dry very quickly.
The Berghaus goretex shoes have the best gripping sole of any footwear i have had. They were superb on wet rock all along the Pyrenees over 250 miles and some very narrow paths.
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Not leather but I have Salomon Ultra 2 mid GTX and they are great. They also do an unlined version. They are incredibly light and comfortable.
I'm liking the look of those, scottk. What sort of weight do you tend to carry as a max when wearing them?
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At present I wear Berghaus Superlite 2s, full leather and light. This is my second pair. My first pair, when they were made by Brasher, was tried and tested before I too hiked the GR10. By the end I had worn them out. The inside leather cracked at the toe end in both boots and made my toes red raw and sore. I threw them away and finished the hike with a cheap pair of trainers. My present boots have shown no such problems, they fit me like a soft pair of gloves and with my Sorbothane inserts under my feet I love em!
The boots work well with my Rab gaiters. I wear them underneath my trousers, bit odd maybe but I still get wet feet wearing them on the outside this way, for me, solves this problem. I hate wet feet!
The boots main weakness, as with most brands I assume, is that they can be slippry on wet rock surfaces. No real problem, I'm just that bit more careful, especially when stepping, or jumping across wet and large boulders in particular. I once flipped straight on my back when going down a chaos. My rucksack saved me thank goodness or I would have done serious damage to myself.
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I'm liking the look of those, scottk. What sort of weight do you tend to carry as a max when wearing them?
My rucksack weight at the heaviest is about 13kg with food and water. I use super feet insoles in mine as I have flat feet!
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My rucksack weight at the heaviest is about 13kg with food and water. I use super feet insoles in mine as I have flat feet!
That's the weight i carry. Are they ok a) over rocky, uneven tracks and b) through boggy ground, in your experience?
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You can certainly feel rocks through the sole but I don't find it too bad. Great in boggy ground but I find the sole slippy in mud so I need to slow my pace a bit. The tongue is connected to the upper most of the way up so water proofing is not an issue as long as it doesn't go over the top.
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Ok, thanks, I'Il certainly add them to my shortlist.
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At the risk of starting the usual "Boots V Shoes" argument....I would say that in ;late Spring and during Summer, most National Trails would be more suited to wearing shoes rather than boots, especially Coastal Paths which should be firm underfoot and not needing the kind of support that maybe boots would give you if you were doing hill walking rather than trail walking.
Shoes are more suited when you are walking longer distances each day, especially coastal paths where the walking might be faster than other LDWs.
Heavy boots thumping down on faster firm coastal paths are surely at a disadvantage against lighter shoes....in my opinion O0
Just been out on the SWCP today Hartland - Bude section. Wore and needed both boots and gaiters today although it is officially spring.
Boots were Altberg Tethera for me and Altberg Fremington Lady Lites for the boss (who still managed to still get one damp sock despite boots and gaiters).
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I used to be a boots only user but discovered the benefits of wearing good GTX shoes with good grip combined with lightweight but stiffer gaiters. Mostly I use North Face Hedgehog Fastrack at least a size larger than my normal footwear, with a Sorbothane Double Strike insole, and thick Thorlo Treccker socks. My gaiters are Rab Latock Alpine. These can be made to form a snug fit over the shoe and I never had wet feet with this combination despite many many miles through rain, snow and mud. I have worn shoes for years including over Ben Nevis, most lakeland peaks Snowdonia Peaks and many multi day high mileage trips.
As they say a 1Lb on the feet equals 5LB in the sack!
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Interesting Slogger - part of my walk today included over 30 yards of wading along a track through water up to ankle deep. Does your shoe/gaiter combination cope with that? If so I might give it a try.
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Just been out on the SWCP today Hartland - Bude section. Wore and needed both boots and gaiters today although it is officially spring.
That is probably the hardest section of the SWCP even in summer with lots (10?) river valleys to be crossed!
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Thanks for your recommendations. I'll venture out to the shops in search of the following to try on:
Salomon Ultra 2 mid GTX
Zamberlan 309 Trail Lite GTX Boots
SCARPA Men's Kailash GORE-TEX
Meindl Kansas
Anatom Q3 Braeriach Trekking Boot -
Anatom Q2
Scarpa Ranger II Activ GTX
Altberg Tethera
I have previously owned a pair of Scarpa Rangers, which I wore for the PW, but really I'm now looking for something lighter for summer, so I might resist the Altberg, as also the otherwise tempting Asolo Power Matic 200.
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Thanks again for all your 'footnotes' on shoes and boots. In the end I opted for a pair of Altberg Tethera to help cope with the uneven, rocky paths and the boggy stretches of the Pennine Way next year. A close runner-up in the end were the Scarpa Delta and, although Mananddog raised my interest in the Altberg Malham, they felt quite strange when I tried them on at Taunton Leisure, presumably due to the 'revolutionary' shape of their 'A-Forme' last. I've ended up with an extra wide fitting, which perhaps explains why I found Meindl and Zamberlan boots too tight. In the end it had to be tried and trusted leather, simply because I feel I know what I'm doing with it, and can at least make an effort to maintain it on the hoof, as it were.
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I've ended up with an extra wide fitting, which perhaps explains why I found Meindl and Zamberlan boots too tight.
Just goes to show how different we all are.
I have recently bought new boots, tried a wide variety of makes and models, but having wide, flat feet struggled to find any to fit EXCEPT the Meindl which are considerably wider than the other makes I tried.
I ended up with the Meindl Meran.
One of the selling features used by Meindl is their 'extra-width as standard'.
All that matters is that YOU have found boots that are comfortable for YOU.
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I ended up with the Meindl Meran.
One of the selling features used by Meindl is their 'extra-width as standard'.
All that matters is that YOU have found boots that are comfortable for YOU.
The Meran do look like a viable option. Being fixated on full grain in preference to nubuck, I tried the Bhutan. If my legs are still functioning when my current pairs wear out and if they're still available, I'll bear them in mind.
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I’m adding a vote for Altberg Fremington. Comfortable and good quality leather. I use them for long distance walking- completed Cape Wrath Trail among other routes in them. Only got wet feet when I had to go through a stream. Otherwise perfect, took their wax with me and every night refreshed them for the next day. Superb. This is the first pair of boot where the sole has worn and has been viable to get resoled(at Altberg) because the leather hasn’t cracked! Used to be a Scarpa fan until I started with Altberg.
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I would definitely go for boots on the SWCP; without a shadow of a doubt
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I use Altberg Tethera. Great boots on most surfaces.
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I would definitely go for boots on the SWCP; without a shadow of a doubt
For the SWCP, Land's End to Lyme Regis, I wore my Salomon Quest Prime GTX. They were great for ankle support, grip and relative lightness, but they were NOT waterproof, even with gaiters. In persistent drizzle or through wet vegetation they pretty quickly soak your feet, softening the skin and thus making you more prone to blisters. I'll continue to use them, but only for dry walks. Time to break in the Tethera!
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My pair of tetheras have now done the swcp a pennine way and a c2c. Still in good order and have only slipped once in them in a thousand miles. Good mix of tough and light..
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No wanting to compliate matters : sandals?
I often find shorts and some solid sandals far more comfortable for day walks that dont include scrambling
Edit: just saw the thread is titled LDW - my bad :-X
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No wanting to compliate matters : sandals?
I often find shorts and some solid sandals far more comfortable for day walks that dont include scrambling
Edit: just saw the thread is titled LDW - my bad :-X
Roger, I take sandals or flip-flops with me to wear in the evenings, when it's good to get out of boots. Teva sandals, for example can act as back-up footwear for walking as well. I recently used flip-flops to help me wade across the River Erme on the SWCP, when the shells and pebbles were proving a tad painful.
Tony