Lightweight Hiking Shoes – Approach?

[Justin Baker]

The rocky goretex socks are a step above seal skinz.

[Christoph Blank]

In that case I will give them a try

Do you know any links or more important a comparison between the different available socks?

[Justin Baker]

I think you will be impressed with the goretex socks. They are made from a solid fabric. They aren't as breathable as wearing a pair of goretex shoes, but a lot better than something non breathable. If you are walking through snow be prepared to change socks once during the day.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Christoph

> a) not waterproof
You simply do NOT need 'waterproof'. We roam around the European Alps in NON-GTX shoes, never with GTX. Having a GTX liner just means your feet are going to stay REALLY wet – from either sweat or rain or creeks. For what you want, a GTX liner is simply a bad idea.

b) not very stiff (I'm living in the alps …
I agree with the need for some stiffness in the alps. But most low-cut trail runners are stiff enough.

Cheers

[D M]

Try the Patagonia Drifter shoe. Low top, breathes well (mesh) and dries if you soak them in creek crossings relatively quickly, and has a stiffer sole. I'm getting over 400 miles from each pair. I use them cause I'm living in Arizona in very rocky terrain and they are my go to shoe for thru hiking. And they come in wide sizes.

[Christoph Blank]

Thanks for your answers!

@Roger, what is your solution then, also GTX socks?

[Mike W]

+1 on the Rocky Gortex socks.

Yes your socks may get damp from sweat but they will dry out pretty quickly in camp if you just keep wearing the GTX socks.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

I'm willing to bet Roger conforms to something like this kind of technique, posted really well and easy to read here by Andrew Skurka. An article very worth reading. This is how I've rolled for a long time, as do a lot of experienced walkers. Read it, try it out.

http://andrewskurka.com/2012/minimizing-the-effects-and-aftermath-of-wet-feet/

Good, not-to-thick woollen socks do just the trick. I mean a good quality pair of darn toughs or something like that. If your feet are cold, its likely that you need to put on some clothing elsewhere. My wife (new to the outdoors) was pretty skeptical when we were living in Japan recently and going out for night time runs at midnight in rain, snow, hail, "slushies" up past our ankles. She was convinced I needed to find her waterproof shoes or socks. But this totally works. Don't freak if your feet feel cold in the first puddle, just wait a minute, keep moving.

[Ken Thompson]

I'll let my feet be wet while hiking. Tons of water here and rain as well. Wet is inevitable. I like the Goretex socks in the shoulder seasons so I can wear my soaked shoes in camp and have warm dry feet. I too find them to be too warm to hike in. I have SealSkinz.

[Christoph Blank]

Ah, I understood now.. I had the same experience once when trail running. Even though I had icebreaker hiker lite socks – which are rather thick and usually do not dry well. After some moving my feet did not feel wet anymore. Although when undressing them, the socks felt wet.

I decided already that for future hikes, I will try to do it like this. I wanted to try it in the dolomites on a photo tour this weekend, unfortunately the weather was too bad, it even started snowing so I moved the tour to next week.

However, two things:

– out of curiosity I'd like to try better Gore-Tex socks than the seal skinz. Unfortunately the Rocky do not seem to be sold here in europe, does anyone know where to get them? Or are there other alternatives? I saw Gore Bike Wear GTX socks, but they don't seem to be good.

– I am still looking for good, lightweight, not too stiff GTX mids. Not for my backpacking trips but for hikes in the rain with the children of my sister. Recently they seem to have a lot of fun in the rain, and I don't really have any GTX shoes besides heavy alpine boots right now. So I'm again thinking in the direction of the Boulder Mid GTX or maybe something not as stiff. Any idea?

[Rick M]

del

[Christoph Blank]

I didn't see this shoe – it seems to be much more suitable for my purpose and quick hikes in heavy rain!

Thanks a lot

[rOg w]

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[Roger Caffin]

Hi Christoph

> Even though I had icebreaker hiker lite socks – which are rather thick and usually do not dry well. After some moving my feet did not feel wet anymore.
Exactly. I like the Darn Tough Vermont thick wool-blend socks for this. I never have any problems with 'wet feet'.

IMHO – the 'need' for dry feet is part myth and part marketing spin. We (BPL) try to move past that.

Cheers

[Rick M]

del

[Christoph Blank]

Thanks a lot for the opinions and very detailed comparison! I will have a look at both the hyper and boulder mid

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