Looking for some advice on a new pair of trail runners.
I recently bought a pair of the Brooks Adrenaline GTX trail runners for use hiking in the Whites, the Greens, and the Adirondacks. They are fairly lightweight (12.7 oz) and very waterproof (Gore Tex).
HOWEVER, after about 100-150 miles of hiking, they're falling apart. The toes are coming apart at the seams, and the tread is falling off of the shoes in large chunks. It's a complete disaster, so I'm returning them to EMS tomorrow afternoon.
The long story short is, I need a new pair of trail runners. Contrary to most opinions I've seen here, I prefer waterproof because of the nature of hiking in an area which is often wet and muddy. I never had an issue with breathability in the shoes which fell apart, and only barely noticed my feet getting sweaty after a long 20+ mile day at the end of my last trip (climbed West Bond, Guyot, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield, Lafayette, Lincoln, Little Haystack, and Liberty). However, they did get smelly.
It's probably possible to convince me that I should prefer breathability, but I've heard the arguments and breathability was not the issue that's getting me to replace these shoes. Perhaps the difference here is that I've always made a habit of taking my shoes and socks off on mountaintops to air out–air is my chief method of blister care, and has so far been 100% effective.
Ideally I would find a new pair of shoes that I can exchange at the store tomorrow, because I've got to go hiking with my college orientation program starting Thursday. I've got a pair of backup boots which are broken in and served well on the Long Trail (although they are neither waterproof nor very breathable).
