Shoes for the Rain

[Mark W Heninger]

I’m heading out on what is probbly going to be a very wet four day hike.

I have Montrail Trail Runners that I was planning to take if it was dry, but would rather go for something a bit more water resistant (or proof).

The Inov8 330’s state they have a DWR coating – any opinions?

What about the gore-tex shoes out there?

I’d hate to revert to my sundowners (gore as well, never had issues with breathability hence the reason I’d consider trail runners with such).

[Mark Verber]

If the Inov-8 has the same DWR coating as the 310, then it is effective…. for a bit. Not 4 days worth… not even 4 hours worth. And once a bit of water has gotten in they seem to wick water in. On the positive side, they also dry reasonably quickly.

If you are going to be in wet for 4 days the only hope for dry feet would be waterproof socks assuming it’s cool enough that your feet don’t sweat too much.

I typically don’t worry about feet getting wet anymore. I look for shoe / sock combo which are comfortable when wet, dry reasonably quickly, and I make sure I can dry my feet each night so they have time to recover.

I have been very happy with the wet performance of the inov-8 310.

–mark

[Andrew Browne]

Unless temps are very low
1. Forget about trying to keep your feet dry
2. Use a shoe that drains easily i.e. Delerions Low Pro
3. Use superfine merino wool socks to keep your feet comfortable from cold and blisters
In 40 F, I walk comfortably in wet conditions with Delerion Low Pros and Icebreaker Sports Crew socks

[Luke Ludwig]

I’m trying to decide whether I should buy waterproof or breathable shoes. My baseweight is 7-8 lbs, however I’ve always used full leather boots (LL Bean), so switching to light shoes is the last transition for me. I understand that the ultra-lightweight community is moving towards breathable instead of waterproof, but I’m not convinced this is right for me. Three reasons… I get what I call “bathtub feet” rather quickly in traditional leather boots (if I forget to waterproof them). Secondly my feet do not sweat much. I’ve never been more than mildly bothered by sweaty feet using full leather with goretex boots, even on hot days. The third reason is that the majority of my trips are wet.

For waterproof I like the looks of the Montrail Susitna XCR. The goretex is on the outside instead of the liner. They are 12 oz and I’m rather curious about the benefits of having goretex on the outside. For breathable I would probably go with the Montrail Masai.

Any suggestions on the dilemma of which way to go would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I disagree with earlier posts claiming that feet can’t be kept dry in extended wet conditions. With my full leather LL Bean boots (waterproofed prior to trip), I’ve been able to keep my feet dry for 4-5 days of wet hiking, including stream crossings in which I use ankle tape to prevent water flowing into the boots.

[paul johnson]

Luke, I live/hike in New England. Lots of rain, but mostly stay on trail, so most of the time, but not always, less vegetation to wet legs & feet. However, we get a lot of rain. I used an inexpensive pair of LLBean GTX light hikers (32oz per pair in my size) when I first started to lighten up. My feet sweat a lot. Now, I use NB 805’s (still have a couple of pairs in reserve that I got at 70% off – couldn’t resist).

Since you appear to be intent on keeping your feet dry, apparently for good reason as you state, you might try:

To keep my feet dry (from outside moisture), I use Integral Designs VB socks. Easy to put on if rain starts. However, these don’t breathe and hence sweat builds up inside them. Since your feet don’t sweat much, you might try them. You can try them either over or under your socks – but I keep at least a thin Smartwool liner between them and my feet. You might also try a GTX sock (e.g. Rocky Roads, IIRC – try Campmor.com), or a Serius Storm sock perhaps (?? I know nothing about them). Of course the shoes still get wet, but they dry quicker than if water got into a pair of boots!! Hope this info helps.

[Woubeir (from Europe)]

Currently I use a pair of Montrail Stratos which appear to use the same so called GTX Exo construction as the Susitna. While it seems to work just fine in the beginning, it appears to be rather fragile too. After less than two months, the GTX construction completely failed. I must admit that my girlfriend uses the Stratos also and up to now, she hasn’t experienced any problems so it could be just me abusing the shoes too much.
Looking to solve the problem I experienced with the leaking Stratos, I tried a pair of Sealskinz Ultralight socks. Again they worked perfect when I first used them but after hardly a week, they started to leak also. I still use them because I experience that, while my feet will still get wet, the influx of water is slowed down enough to keep my feet relatively comfortable. Last week, I forgot to use them and walking in just a few inches of snow all day macerated my feet.

So in the end, while I prefer just waterresistent/breathable shoes, I know that under certain circumstances waterproof lined shoes or socks will have their place (as long as they don’t start to leak too much).

[Luke Ludwig]

That is good to know about the fragileness of the GTX XCR Exo construction. I figured as much, but was hoping it would last longer than the traditional internal liner. I think just knowing this is enough to convince me to go with a breathable mesh shoe. There isn’t much point buying a sort-of-waterproof shoe soon to be not-waterproof-at-all. And if the breathable shoe doesn’t work for me in wet conditions, I can always resort to the traditional boot and use the shoes in drier conditions. Although maybe what I need is full leather, light as possible, low-cut shoe, which I can waterproof prior to each trip… although I’m not aware that this exists. I’m curious about experimenting with the sealskinz socks as well.

[John McLuckie]

I’ve used Rocky GTX socks, along with breathable shoes for many years; with no problems. Only put them on when you need em. It saves weight and in the long term is lighter on the foot.

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