What’s on your feet?

[Christopher Chupka]

My footwear with a pack on has been my La Sportiva Glaciers, summer, or Lhotses, Winter.

I am getting my pack weight down to about 25lbs. I have been eyeballing the Montrail D7. I have my old Mountain Masters but they soak up water like a sponge and are a little wide and sloppy for a sustained day on the trail.

The problem is I am about 220lbs, so I need something fairly protective. I get a little clumsy towards the end of the day, so I’m worried about ankle protection.

Any ideas?

[J R]

More important than any other factor – even weight – is fit. Ive found that Merrell’s tend to fit my feet perfectly. They also come in a plethora of variants for each shoe series. Example, the Reactor series has models that are low top, mid top, mesh uppers, gore-tex, sandals, whatever… even mocs and slides.

So.. summer or winter, I wear Merrells with Smartwool.

If Merrells fit your feet, youll probably find one that fits your needs (including ankle support).

HTH

[Christopher Chupka]

Merrels are a bit to wide for my feet. I understand about the fit. My boots are La Sportiva ’cause of my skinny feet. There boots are indestructible but I have had ther light weight shoes fall apart on me. The Montrails fit well, I need to know about their experience with the support of lightwieght shoes.

Anyone have scary ankle twists with shoes versus boots? That’s what makes me nervous. My feet are also sensitive to rocks under the forefoot and good stiff lightweight shoe experience?

[Kenneth Gurney]

I wear Salomon XA Trail-Running Shoes. When I went to pick up a new pair in Feburary I found that they did not fit the same as my old pair. It would seem that Salomon changed thier foot beds… Why?
I did find a pair of close out ’04 Salomons at Campmor that I bought…

[Mike Storesund]

I wear Asolo Fulcrum or Merrell Chameleon. The Asolo’s are lighter, but the Merrells have a sturdier sole. If I am going to be biking as well, I bring the Merrells and the Asolo’s for just hiking.
In addition, if I need to ford a river, I wear Speedo Surf Walkers that are more than 1/2 pound less than my Teva sandals.
I found the Montrails a very uncomfortable fit for me, as the arch support is too far back toward the heel.

[Douglas Frick]

>The Montrails fit well, I need to know about their experience with the support of lightwieght shoes.

I love my Montrail Torre GTXs (64.4oz/pair) but they aren’t very light. I’ve recently switched to Montrail Kalaharis (38.6oz/pair), which are low-top ‘fusion’ shoes built on the same Integrafit last. I’m still carrying the same weight (45-55 pounds) and haven’t had any problems with ankle support or sore feet. I use SuperFeet insoles with both the Torres and the Kalaharis, so that may be helping. I’ve also done a bit of rock scrambling with the Kalaharis, and their knobby soles are much less slippery than the Torres’ Vibram soles. They seem to be wearing just fine so far. I also have Montrail Vitesse (29.4oz/pair) which I’m going to try soon with the full pack, but I’m happy now with the Kalaharis.

[Dennis Patterson]

I’m in IRAQ as a police trainer. The pro’s (special ops types) use merrell sawtooths and oakley s/o boots. Iam using both, AWSOME on both counts. The oakleys are my boot of choice for future backpacking.

[Sandra Warner]

I used Montrails Vitesse this last year and loved them. I put Superfeet insoles in them also. I wear Foxriver liner socks only. My feet have never been happier. My feet are not sore anymore at the end of the day. My pack weight is never over 30lbs., usaully around 25lbs. I also have a pair of Montrail Hardrocks, these have a stiffer sole on them I think and are a little more supportive than the Vitesse, but! I find the 20 mile days come easier in my Vitesse.

[Adam McFarren]

Winter/alpine or lots of mud I’ll wear Montrail Cerro Torre GTX’s. Montrail fits my somewhat long and narrow feet well.

Warmer/drier conditions I’ll wear New Balance 808’s sized up a little. I’ll wear superfeet insoles with either boot/shoe.

La Sportiva’s fit me width-wise okay, but not lenght. Merrell has also fit me well in the past.

Definitely find a good boot fitter.

[John Carter]

I too used Montrail’s Vitesse last season and loved them. The fit is perfect, it has rigid ankle support and a hard toe box, but best of all is the supreme breathability. I love feeling the wind dry off my sweaty feet on a warm day. For colder temps I put on Sealskinz wp/b socks.

The only problem is that the treading under the heel area is recessed. I have twisted my ankle stepping on small pine cones and roots when stepping on them just off-center due to this concave design. But as long as I look where I’m stepping it’s not an issue.

[Dane Burke]

I bought the Montral Masai and, like Mike Storesund, found the arch support to be way too far back, putting extra pressure on my heel. Do the Montral Vitesse have this same shape?

[Michael Oberg]

I’ve used the Vasque Velocity for a year now w/ a seam grip coating up to the laces. I have one weak ankle that I tape with pre wrap and black sports tape for the descents. The Velocity has a narrow heel and a more moderate fore-foot width, I use cork Down-Under foot-beds to narrow them up a little bit. A custom Stretch nylon gator stretches over the laces and up to the top of my ankle to keep the PNW muck out. They work well with my Simond instep crampons for the moderate snow jogs as well.

[FRANK HERDMAN]

After years of searching, I finally found a pair of boots that remain comfortable after long consecutive days of hiking and don’t cause blisters. The interior of the Lowa Banff is soft luxurious seamless leather. They fit great out of the box and come in narrow widths. I’ve recommended them to friends who have had the same positive experience.

[Ron Filbert]

Frank Herdman talk about the Lowa Banff boot. I have never heard of it before. Who makes it and what is the cost?

[nanook ofthenorth]

I’ve got them also and LOVE them, their heavier weigth boots, hand made in Germany and are fantastic for me. I fit Salomon well, and have a very narrow heal. My only complaint is that they could be a 1 lb lighter and becouse I have a narow heal took a while untill I got them to lock it down also. but otherwhise love them. They fit my wide for-foot really well. if you dont mind a 4lb pair of boots or just need the support get them, great rocker also.

[E. H. Clemmons]

Had Lowa Scout II for many miles. Wanted to go lighter. Had trouble with Lowa Tempest, Montrail Hardrock. Found salvation with Salomon. On my second pair. Had a lowtop leather pair which were very comfortable. Now love the Raid Race with Montrail Stabilizing insoles. Worth a try if you have not. Kept the stock insoles for a light change of “shoes”. With fresh socks and dry insoles, life is better on the trail with almost no additional weight.

Also I would recommend any retailer which uses a trained “Phil Oren Fit System” person. At Whole Earth Provision near SMU in Dallas, Jason (or Jarrod or somebody) opened my eyes in a way I could not duplicate locally. Stores at this level can also do custom superfeet. I will be back. Check it out.

[Christopher Chupka]

Yeah, Whole Earth is cool. Sort of a hippy ambience. I may go with the Montrail D7 or Montrail Hurricane Ridge. My hiking will be in Colorado or New Mexico so water resistance is a premium. I think I will be better off chasing CO Fourteeners wearing the D7 shoes.

[John Coyle]

I bought the Masai several months ago, and like the others found the arch support too far back. I also found the Masai runs a little narrow for my normal d width feet, so I got them 1/2 size larger than normal–11 instead of 10 1/2. I think the arch support problem may be mostly a function of the Montrail footbed, so it might be correctable with an aftermarket one like Superfeet. I’m not ready to give up on them yet because they seem very breathable and would probably make a good summer shoe if the arch support problem could be corrected.

[E. H. Clemmons]

“I bought the Masai several months ago” I tried to like the Hardrock and had the same issues. One thing you can do is call Montrail and ask for the head of biomechanics. He will talk to you about your problem and made some great suggestions to me about lacing and insoles. (The Montrail stabilizing insoles are great, and they fit my Salomons a half size smaller perfectly ) It is on the website, lots of it, and it helped more than you might imagine. And you know they work hard to keep you happy with Montrails, and they are cooler looking I think. But I still prefer the Salomon for fit, particularly the RaidRace. If your feet are wider, give them a try.

[Anonymous]

Some of the Montrails are sized small. I bought a pair of Vitesse yesterday and I got them a full size larger than my old pair of Montrails (Huricane Ridge). They feel perfect! When I got them home, I realized they were only a tiny bit larger than my old shoes, which were a full size smaller. Very strange.

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