Shoes for going around the world! (?)

You could get a pair of Keen Newports in the brown leather. They are good for hiking, can be used in the water, and dress them up with a nice pair of socks for evening wear :)

Hey great suggestion, thanks!

I'll research more into Keens, I forgot about their line and it looks like it offers a lot of possibilities that could be "solutions" to my dilemna. What has your experience been with their:
– sizing
– durability
– flexbility
– drying time
– general performance characteristics

I'll second the Newports. I have a pair I have used for work, water sports, hiking both mountains and desert and they are still going strong after more than three years.

I finally picked up a second pair in case the originals wear out.

They dry very quick.

The Newports , for me have run true to size. I wear a 13 in most everything and that holds true with the Newport's

They are very flexible. I run in mine as well.

And for me they have been very durable.

Ed

Demo work demands toe-tectors (steel caps). You just can't afford a foot injury with your schedule. Obviously, you won't want to pack them with you, so how about posting a pair out to the location before you go if you're not sure they'll be provided onsite?

Good luck and have a great trip.

Yeah, good suggestion but I think the kind of demo work we'd be doing on this trip will be light-duty stuff. In fact, we may not do any demo work at all, but in any case, if the character of the work required serious foot protection like that, AIM would have let me know in the packing list they provided.

I'm pretty sure at this point that I'll be getting a pair of Hardrocks for my primary hiking shoe, since it gets great reviews from pretty much everyone, it's super durable and still under a lb, and the Montrail last agrees with my wide-ish foot.

I'd still like to find another shoe that I can just kick around in and maybe be comfortable moving around concrete or asphalt. Will the Hardrock stand up to this, you think? I suppose overall it would, I'm just wondering if I should get a different, more sort of "hybrid" trail shoe that has a less aggressive outsole so as not to get worn down on hard-court. I'm looking at the NB 873s for this, but also thinking about an Inov-8 F-lite, maybe the 335s. Any opinions on those? Anyone know if the Hardrock outsole could be alright with some abuse on concrete?

Anybody know anything about the Montrail Odyssey? Looks really cool but I can't find much of a review anywhere.

As for those water shoes, I'm eyeing the Keen Zerraport carefully, as its reviewers have seemed more enthusiastic about it than the Newport, and it seems a little more versatile since it has the convenience of converting to a slide by removing the heel strap. I'll go try them on before I order. If I don't like them, I may just go for the Salomon's again, because I've had such a good experience with them. Has anyone tried out the Salomon Karma? This seems to be the next-generation Tech Amphib. I'm curious if they're any good.

I would take just 2 footwears.

FIRST SHOE:
You threw this criteria down:
“Building houses….., doing demolition”

Not knowing what this entailed, I would feel safer with steel toed shoes. Mine are from Sears similar to http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_067B0018000P?vName=Fitness%20&%20Sports&cName=Activewear&AthleticShoes&sName=Athletic%20Shoes&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a (ouch, long link, $40).

AND when you polish these shoes, I use them with a white shirt and tie for going to church.

SECOND SHOE:
Well how about something that
1. dries 10x faster than a Keen (in my tests),
2. Comfortable for “working”
3. Great for walking 20 miles on blacktop, cement, asphalt, etc. This is the worse of all surfaces to walk on for great lengths. Most shoes/boots will destroy your feet doing this only once. But my footwear doesn’t. This requires a long-life squishy heal.
4. Keeps sweat out and toes are airy in 110F desert yet keeps feet warm in 25F walking.
5. Can accommodate thin socks to puffy down booties and add some wool socks in there with always just the right room (not too tight, not too loose).
6. Perfect for “rainforest mud, desert sand, mountain rocks,”
7. rinses off by walking through a stream and they look good as new. Rarely scrubbing is needed.
8. Stays stiff for handling scree.
9. prevents ankle rolls (ouch).
10. Perfect for basketball and racquetball (I play this a lot w/ my footwear), as well as other fast paced sports.
11. feels like a slipper at night yet gives good backpacking stability during the day w/ loads up to 30lbs.
12. no need to take them off when crossing streams/rivers
13. Use them for water sports
14. walk on 30 degree incline wet granite and NOT slip. Amazing!
15. no need to wear blister treatment.
16. no need to carry blister treatment.
17. no hammer toes or blackened toenails
18. lighter footwear. Only 10oz each. This gives way more energy. I noticed that right off the bat.
19. has wiggle room for the toes.
20. is fast and easy to dump out a pebble (maybe twice/day when hiking).
21. Shoe smell is gone.
22. Stay in the same pair of socks all day
23. They’re cheaper than the other boots and shoes I bought
24. Good tread and arch life. I’m getting 500-1100 miles. It depends on the terrain.
25. Very quick to loosen/tighten when feet swell or shrink while hiking.
26. No more athlete’s foot and thus no more powder needed.

Now you noted “I won't take Chacos or Tevas or the like, please don't advise me for those–just not versatile enough in my eyes. Or, make a case that they are?”

Well I’m making the case for the Teva Terra Fi 2. When worn at least with a thin coolmax socks, all the above 26 statements work beautifully for me. I tried a couple dozen sandals before I finally found one that fits. It is such a simple design yet has amazing results. #4 is the reason I switched to sandals about 10 years ago. Some other, of the above, items came with sandals in general and the rest are products of the Terra Fi2.

I do wear this sandal to church. My sandals are black and my socks are black and 99% of people don’t notice I’m wearing sandals with my suit and tie.

Some people I talked to, that had a hard time with the terra fi2, had the back strap adjusted wrong. It only has to be adjusted once in its lifetime but it needs to be correct— and that’s another post which I won’t go into here.

Good luck with your shoe choice!

-Barry

Thanks Barry, that was pretty convincing. I seem to remember that Tevas fit me much better than Chacos due to my low arch or something . . . so maybe I'll give them a second look. I'm awfully attached to my Tech Amphibians, but there's a chance. What you said about their versatility is especially convincing. Reminds me of a big guy I know that has some Terra-Fi's, or something that looks sorta like 'em, and he never wears any other pair of shoes, really for any of the sports he plays.