Walking trail trainers versus Walking Boots

[TheGUYuk]

Hill and Fell runners run over ground we walk on while picking our way with our big clunky boots.......
 
I have seen Fell runners running over snow and ice my Vibram sole boots skidded all over on.
 
It really is a matter of personal preference In my humble opinion.. Whatever works for your feet and you.
 
Myself I think distance walking on the hills is better training for foot and ankles than just gym training on a running/walking machine.  They have there place once you know your chosen equipment suits your feet..
 
 Steve you need a t-shirt/ Jacket/ trousers that is windporof, rainproof but lets your body breathe.. 
 
Start cold so when you walking you and your feet are  comfortable not cooking in your gear/boots..
 
 

[Lillian]

Most support bandages do no such thing - unless it is a proper support device and that will likely to have cost a considerable sum for it to be made for you. Their main effect is psychological. They merely remind you to be careful and because you're reminded by the pressure of one you are more careful in stressing that area. If you are wearing a "support" bandage do you still give as much welly as you did before? Psychological barriers are difficult to overcome.
"Support" bandages are in fact compression bandages which perform a completely different function, e.g. prevent swelling, by sheer dint of their physical properties.

[Lillian]

To try to explain further why boots weaken your ankles. Weaken is a loose description.


Soles of boots tend to be rigid. Shoes do not. If you stand on a small stone in a boot the whole sole will pivot about that point. If you stand on a small stone in a shoe the sole will deform about the stone and that deformation will create many "micro" muscle movements which the boot will not.


If you then walk in shoes you will tend to find that your ankles ache a bit. This isn't as a result of no ankle support but simply because the muscles have been working more.


If you try on a pair of well designed running shoes you will be surprised just how stable your foot feels in them and so it is with shoes to walk in which can be anything provided they have of usual caveats of proper fit. The stability is provided by the heel cup just as in a boot and just as in any footwear albeit flip-flops may be struggling.


As I would emphasise, it's personal choice. But please make it personal choice for the right reasons.

[HikerPunk]

You're last bit there was a bit contradictory like.


You say yes its personal choice then say make it personal choice for the right reasons which you're hinting are all the one's you've pointed out in your posts! 


Effectively you're pushing people towards trail shoes without letting them decide for themselves like!!


You dont happen to work for/have connections to any of the companies that make trail shoes/running shoes do ya?! 

[Scarface]

I once read an interesting article on this by PTC, his summation was a boot will direct your foot and leg where it wants on placement, a shoe will allow your foot to make its own placement.

Don't forget there are now big debates in the USA regarding walking and running barefoot as our anscestors did, and wearing the 5 toed Nike slip-ons.

Wouldn't fancy it myself, i wear both depending on route, weather, and underfoot conditions expected.

[Wurz]

a shoe will allow your foot to make its own placement.

That's fine so long as your foot knows where you want it to go. 

[Lillian]

Hiker. It is not contradictory. It is personal choice.


If people wear boots because they think it gives ankle support then they are wearing boots for the wrong reason.


If you wear boots because you just prefer them then you wearing them for the right reason. You like them as footwear.


It has long been almost written in stone wisdom that Walking! Wear boots! Or you will die/break something!


Neither boots nor shoes have any significant advantage over the other for general usage. More "technical" or specialist usage requires specialist equipment.


Boots feel nice and protective, and they are, but similar protection can be obtained from mini-gaiters.


In warmer times would you like to wear nice cool footwear or have your feet encased and boil in leather and goretex. Goretex socks take care of getting wet feet. Wet feet dry very quickly in mesh shoes. Shoes are much lighter. You have better foot placement with shoes.


Unless the differences are explored you can never discover what is best for you or what suits you.


I would just like people who haven't tried shoes to try them. Why? Well, they're considerably cheaper than boots and the potentially harder summer ground means you may wear a pair out quite easily but that's the way it goes. Save your boots for when the weather gets nastier.


I try to make this comparison so people may make an informed choice based upon fact and not based upon tradition/myth/ignorance.

[steve_h]

I did the Across Wales walk a couple of years ago in trail shoes, 42 miles which is a lot farther than I usually walk. A lot of it was on road and track and my feet were killing me at the end. 
As the soles are quite thin and flexible it was pretty painful treading on a sharp stone or suchlike. I also had a well sore big toe joint - maybe it would have been better wearing boots with a thicker, more rigid sole... I'm not sure? Having said that others on the walk with boots had some monster blisters though...
 
Trail shoes are also a lot cooler in hot weather as others have said... Most of my walking is in the Snowdonia and the Lakes so 'as a rule' I wear boots...

[Lillian]

The amount of cushioning is important in shoes depending upon what you are going to use them for. Some have considerably more than others. Just as some boots are very hard soled and others aren't.

[Scarface]

That's fine so long as your foot knows where you want it to go. 

That's where brain plus leg comes into it

[angry climber]

I have used or tried trail shoes and for walking trails and paths for instance the West Highland way I would say that trail shoes or trainers are a lot better.
On the open hill I find that trail shoes offer little support. Waterproof linings break down quicker in trail shoes simply because of the amount of flex in the material. and tread patterns on trail shoes tend to break down a lot quicker and were never as deep as those in most boots. I prefer boots for open hill work.
   

[Oldstephen]

I'm on my second pair of TNF Hedgehogs and I love them for my walks around Snowdonia, I only use my Scarpa Rangers if it's really snowy or muddy.  Only problem is the GTX lining does start to leak after a while.  Picked up some Brasher trail shoes recently in TKMaxx for £30, only tried them once but seem OK.

[Lillian]

Goretex linings in shoes?
I don't like them. Once you get the inside of the shoe wet it stays wet. For what feels like days. To cope with wet parts of the day, e.g. dew laden grass, Goretex socks are effective. When the grass dries out then you take the socks off. Grass wet all day, then leave the Goretex socks on all day if you don't like having wet feet.
Goretex linings in shoes seem notorious for failing. Socks don't.


"On the open hill I find that trail shoes offer little support." Are you able to explain that more fully AC?  

[Moonlight Shadow]

It's great, I was concerned to bring my factual argumentative "show me the peer-reviewed evidence" style on here from LFTO and here comes someone who does it even better than I do  ;-)

I found using unlined boots this winter (Scarpa Trek 2009) with the right combination of socks (Uniqlo heattech socks/thin wool socks) kept my feet warm and the feeling of wetness never was as annoying as when the goretex liner fails. The leather only protection felt more breathable and quicker to dry.

[angry climber]

Walking trainers on the open hillside What I meant Lillian is support for the body as a whole.
I don't want to have wet feet I prefer my feet to be dry and cosy.
I don't like the feeling that I may slip on wet grass. The lack of tread or lack of confidence in the tread I had did not make me feel comfortable.
The lack of protection Sturdy boots offer protection from scuffs and scrapes of scrambles even if it is only for short sections.
The support I felt from a well fitted boot that is not there from a walking trainer.
 
These are all my personal experiences and I would never preach to anyone that one is better than the other I have just tried both and feel more at ease and supported by a traditional full sturdy boot.
 
You can argue that you feel trainers are better but I think the fairest thing I can personally do is try it and be honest that I do not like it. I am happy to try anything, I tried walking poles I love them for going down hill but I hate them at all other times. I tried eVent when it was new and I love it. I tried Paramo and I hate it in all but deepest winter. I went back to Rab vapour rise and event layering. Its all about testing kit and new ideas and settling for what ever you feel most comfortable in.
 
I don't tell people they are wrong to buy Paramo I just explain I tried it and don't use it anymore.   
 
You like walking shoes / trainers that's fine I prefer not to.