boots, mid boots or no boots?

[Sebastian O]

So stay away from Goretex lined shoes? I tried on the North Face Ultra 109 GTX. I liked the feel of them but concerned they may get hot bc of the GTX…..

 

 

[Justin Baker]

They get very hot. I think that goretex is only appropriate for mid tops. With a low tops, every little puddle threatens to splash water over the tops of your shoe and then they wont drain or dry out.

[Sebastian O]

Thanks Justin, Just curious why you say GTX only approppiate with mid tops? Run less hot?

[Justin Baker]

With waterproof low tops its really easy to get water splashed over the top of the shoe. With a mid top you have a lot more protection from water. When waterproof shoes get wet they take forever to dry out, a non waterproof with mesh dries out faster.

[Paul S.]

WP low height shoes need gaiters to keep from water getting in. Mids also benefit from gaiters but they aren’t as essential until you hit deeper puddles or snow.

[James holden]

WPB mesh shoes MAY take longer to dry than non WPB mesh shoes

it all depends …

for example my NF hedgehogs actually dry as fast as my inov roclite and terrocs … there minimal water absorbent material in the NF WPB shoes …  and actually a bit more in the inovs

in wet, damp conditions, NOTHING dries out … after going out for a day hike, it takes a few days even for my inovs to dry off INSIDE, which is 15 C in my basement ….

what WPB shoes will do is keep your feet WARM when (not if) they get soaked, and stop the water from pumping in freezing water and slush through the mesh with every step

now in warmer conditions they may be too warm …. but in cold, wet conditions where nothing dries, they work just fine

just like a WPB rain jacket, you dont really expect to stay dry, just to be warm when damp

these days though i prefer WPB socks in such conditions

for warmer conditions dont bother with WPB … just think of stream crossings as a chance to wash your feet

;)

[Sebastian O]

Thank you. Ive had a hard time finding shoes my feet like. Dont like the Keen Targhees, Moab ventilators hated all boots except the Vasque Inhalers which are not very known, they do have GTX but are extremely light; they are basically a hiking shoe with a Mid and that damned GTX. I bought them on Amazon; not sure if to keep them and also get me some low non GTX trail runners or hiking shows. I love the feel and burliness of the Salomon XA Pro but my right foot has a weird bigger tendon/muscle in the instep that makes them not work :( The Sportivas and Cascadias feel nice but not burly enough for me.

[Bob Moulder]

Just get out there and use something — with no experience base there is no way to know what will work for you. There is NO substitute for actually doing things in different conditions. Plan some quick weekend trips in crappy conditions for the sole purpose of testing stuff. Nobody can predict what will work for you. Go into the woods at 5pm Friday, camp and test other gear, hike like a banshee Saturday, camp again and come out at 10am Sunday. Have a nice breakfast and make some notes. Repeat a few times and then you’ll have some idea about what works for you.

[Author]

Posts