Yah I know, this is a bit weird coming from my fat mule..

But I've made a commitment to my family to go hiking with them over spring break - Palo Duro Canyon plus Colorado Bend State Park. Plus, we are headed out to to the great American family vacation in June. We are going up and down the west coast and will be hiking in Washington, Oregon, and Cali.

The Go-to Running Shoes thread made me curious if anyone had a good hiking boot/shoe suggestion. Also, dress sock under gym socks, right?

i wear trail running shoes. i hate hiking boots.

I'd suggest going to an REI or other outdoor store with a large selection of footwear and trying on a few. Shoes that people recommend may not always suit you. Brands that I've liked for hiking shoes or boots include Oboz, Keen, Vasque, Garmont, Salomon.

I've never heard of the dress sock under gym sock recommendation. I use only merino wool hiking socks when I'm hiking. I usually buy the REI brand because they're a decent price but Darn Tough and Smartwool are also excellent choices. If i'm backpacking or covering a lot of miles in a day then I'll use a silk liner first and then the wool sock.

I have a narrow foot so the more athletic feeling offerings from Salomon and Vasque fit me well. They're also somewhat light. Right now my favorite is a Vasque Breeze. I have to have a tall boot or one of my ankles will inevitably munch it. I know that certain brands just don't fit me at all. They're just too wide. Keen, Merrell, and a few others I can't remember.

I'm currently using an Under Armour sock. I've only doubled on socks when a boot stretched out too much on the initial break in. One of the reasons I don't get leather anymore.

I pretty much agree with AggieOO. I'm not a big fan of proper "hiking boots".

I bought and wore a pair of these during a backpacking hunt in Arizona earlier this year and loved them. They provide enough support for hiking over rocks and uneven terrain, but are comfortable like a trail shoe. They are also very quiet, which worked well for me.

Salomon X Ultra Mid II GTX

Depends on what your doing. Trail runners or hiking shoe work for most everything. If you are doing some multi-day trekking, thats when upgrading to a full boot may be necessary.

wangus12 said:

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Depends on what your doing. Trail runners or hiking shoe work for most everything. If you are doing some multi-day trekking, thats when upgrading to a full boot may be necessary.

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IMO you can still get by with trail running shoes. I've done several multi-day hikes with a full pack wearing trail shoes.

some people love hiking boots, they just aren't for me. Maybe its b/c i do so much trail running that I'm more comfortable in my trail running shoes.

I was the opposite. I tried trail running shoes and there was not enough support for my foot. Most of the hiking we did was on rock and the difference between the cushion in a shoe versus a hiking shoes was tremendous to me. I was hiking the New England portions of the AT and Keens are what I settled on.

I have something weird in my ankle that makes wearing the traditional boots painful, so I had to go with a more "shoes" type. Merrill is the brand that works best for me.

ChiefHaus said:

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I was the opposite. I tried trail running shoes and there was not enough support for my foot. Most of the hiking we did was on rock and the difference between the cushion in a shoe versus a hiking shoes was tremendous to me. I was hiking the New England portions of the AT and Keens are what I settled on.

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yep. different strokes for different folks. I've hiked a bunch of that area of the AT too. Its super rocky, and a total different kind of rocky than the rocky technical crap we have in Texas.

AggieOO said:

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ChiefHaus said:

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I was the opposite. I tried trail running shoes and there was not enough support for my foot. Most of the hiking we did was on rock and the difference between the cushion in a shoe versus a hiking shoes was tremendous to me. I was hiking the New England portions of the AT and Keens are what I settled on.

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yep. different strokes for different folks. I've hiked a bunch of that area of the AT too. Its super rocky, and a total different kind of rocky than the rocky technical crap we have in Texas.

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How'd your trail runners perform on the AT?

Dan 07 said:

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AggieOO said:

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ChiefHaus said:

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I was the opposite. I tried trail running shoes and there was not enough support for my foot. Most of the hiking we did was on rock and the difference between the cushion in a shoe versus a hiking shoes was tremendous to me. I was hiking the New England portions of the AT and Keens are what I settled on.

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yep. different strokes for different folks. I've hiked a bunch of that area of the AT too. Its super rocky, and a total different kind of rocky than the rocky technical crap we have in Texas.

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How'd your trail runners perform on the AT?

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they were fine for me, but that's what i prefer. as i mentioned before, i've done multi-day hikes in them. However, my educated guess is that if you were trying to thru hike in trail running shoes, they'd not last anywhere near as long as a good pair of hiking boots. If i were ever afforded the time/opportunity to thru hike something, I'd likely reluctantly find some boots that I could tolerate simply for that reason. Blowing out the upper or wearing down the sole on a day hike or a 3 or 4 day trip can probably be fixed via some duct tape, but if you are a couple weeks from your next drop and are on a budget, blowing that out could be catastrophic.

Hiking boots will give you more ankle support, which depending on your comfort with the terrain you are covering may be kinda nice relative to trail runners. Merrill works well. I have some other boots that are more specific but I use an old pair of those for most basic day hikes.

Darn tough socks are great. Recommend without reservation. Have a pair of their mountaineering socks and they are awesome.

Any waterproof recommendations? For either shoes or boots. Hopefully I'm not doing this a lot, but I want to be comfortable and drywhile I do

I bought a pair of these in January 2014 in preparation for a Colorado mountain climbing trip that summer. I loved them so much they became my everyday footwear. They're still going strong despite my heavy self and how much I wear them, but I bought a second pair about a month ago just because I wanted the same boots when the old ones wear out. I've used them for hiking, hunting, fishing, shooting, walking all over jobsites and everything else I do on a day to day basis. As long as Salomon keeps making them I'll probably keep buying them.

http://www.salomon.com/us/product/quest-4d-2-gtx.html?article=373259

I bought them at REI and I wear them with REI's wool hiking socks.

Hoosegow said:

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Any waterproof recommendations? For either shoes or boots. Hopefully I'm not doing this a lot, but I want to be comfortable and drywhile I do

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one thing to remember with waterproof. when water does get in, that same stuff that was keeping the water out, will then keep the water IN the shoes. It likely won't happen often, but it can happen. They'll take longer to dry out as well.

waterproofing is great of a lot of situations, but if you end up crossing streams, you'll want to remove the boots/shoes.

Probably a good 5+ years ago but I found some real comfortable Columbia hiking mid boots at the Columbia Outlets - have done great at a steal of a price for me since moving to CO.

I did a 4 day hike in Yosemite last fall and the year before that and wore these Hoka's hoping they would bridge the gap between trail running shoes an hiking boots. Although they are pretty comfortable they are still too heavy and gave my feet horrible blisters. I won't wear hiking boots again. Next time I'm just going to go with my lightweight trail running shoes. Something like the Brooks Cascadia instead. My uncle who lives near Yosemite is an avid hiker and quit wearing heavy hiking boots years ago.

AggieOO said:

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i wear trail running shoes. i hate hiking boots.

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That's a great way to destroy your ankles.

Nope. If people can run 100 miles in trail running shoes in the mountains you'll be fine hiking in them.

PatAg said:

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AggieOO said:

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i wear trail running shoes. i hate hiking boots.

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That's a great way to destroy your ankles.

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Yep. I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Is running bad for my knees too?

Yah, I'm pretty sure is they are good for OO, they'll be more than fine for me. He does more in one day than I plan on doing for the 3 weeks.

Look at boots too. Some people are just more comfortable in them. I've just never found them comfortable. I would not suggest a minimalist trail shoe for hiking though. I'd look ato a more traditional shoe, which is a little more shoe. Brooks Cascadias, northface ultra endurance, new Balance Leadville, etc.

I just walked in the door back from big bend. Did 31+ miles in the Cascadias on Friday alone. I was traveling light, but went through pretty technical terrain with no issues. I've also hiked the outer mountain loop with a full pack in the Saucony peregrine. The Cascadias did great with a full pack in Guadalupe mountain national park.

For me it depends on what I have on my back.

If you're an ultralighter that counts the grams. The I'd prefer a mid hiker or shoes.

If you just slap a bunch of heavy crap in your backpack, you're likely to benefit from the added ankle support of a full boot.

It sounds like you're not going to be backpacking, but just some day hiking. For that I'd go with a lighter shoe.

Agree with the fly. Have had Vasque for 15 years, resoled and still great but they are getting heavy for me. Plus I feel I need the ankle support. For me when I am doing a week to 3 week hike there is a point where your muscle support can suffer a fatigue factor which can lead to ankle injury. Am looking at the Salome. Hokas are comfortable but I think too soft and suffer from wear faster.