load ratings of footwear

[larry savage]

As I peruse the snackpacker gear aquiring annual I noticed they were giving load ratings to various boots. As in, this boot is good for 25 pounds etc.
Can someone explain what seems to me to be a pretty varied thing.
Wouldn't the carrying capacity of your footwear be more dependent on a combination of your weight, pack weight, trail and terrain or are they using a average person, trail, experience and so on to come up with this number.
I've never noticed footwear companys giving load ratings before … is this something new?

[Shawn Basil]

Many companies have often given a general range of activity: dayhiking, light backpacking, trekking, expedition, etc. I've seen a few listings in which companies would give a weight range like those in Backpacker. However, the truth is that personal conditioning and conditions one will hike in offer a much more realistic viewpoint on which footwear will support which weight.

As a bootfitter, I'm often asked by customers how much weight they should reasonably be able to carry with various shoes and boots. I will offer a general range after I've assessed general foot health, level of overall fitness, experience with varying types of footwear, and the hiker's previous experiences. With all the background information I will often offer an opinion about whether a hiker's intended pack weight is suitable for a certain piece of footwear.

But my personal opinion is that the listed weights i the BP Gear Guyide are extremely generalized and for most experienced hikers who have conditioned their lower extremities are very conservative. I've easily and comfortably carried 45 pounds on boots they list as 25-pounders.

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