Shoes are an extremely important and personal part of hiking/backpacking/climbing. Most of my shoe choices are a balance of shoes that are comfortable to walk in for 15+ miles and/or those that are good for light climbing/scrambling. In general, my shoe choices have evolved from heavy, durable, waterproof boots to very lightweight, minimal tennis shoes.
General Features
- Outsole: Stickier rubber is better for scrambling but wears out faster. The softer the sole the more you can feel what you're walking on which I actually prefer.
Some favorite shoes and some that I wish could be my favorites. From left to right: Saucony Kinvara 7, Altra Superior 3, Brooks Cascadia 12, La Sportiva Bushido, Evolv Cruiser Psyche, 5.10 Dragon. From left to right the shoes progress from casual walking shoes to more aggressive climbing shoes. They all have their place.
Saucony Kinvara 7
This is my go to shoe for casual days at work and around town. These are honestly the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. They are very lightweight and the soft foam upper sole is great for long days spent standing on hard floors (e. g. concrete). Additionally they are wide which fit my feet well.
The downside of these shoes is that the soles perform terribly in nearly any outdoor activity. There are rubber pads in high wear areas on the sole but they are mostly foam. They last reasonably long provided you're just walking around work but they can't take much abuse.
The downside of these shoes is that the soles perform terribly in nearly any outdoor activity. There are rubber pads in high wear areas on the sole but they are mostly foam. They last reasonably long provided you're just walking around work but they can't take much abuse.
Three example shoes from three pairs of Kinvara's I own. A fairly new pair (left), a well used pair (center) and a well used pair that I had resoled with sticky rubber (right). See next photo for bottom of soles.
I'm always on the lookout for a good scrambling shoe but I can never find one that quite fits the bill. I had been resoling climbing shoes at Rock and Resole in Boulder for years and it occurred to me that I could have an old pair of these resoled with sticky rubber. In general this works really well, but does at a little weight.
Brooks Cascadia 12
This was my favorite until I discovered the Altra Superior (see below). It has much more lateral support which is useful for scrambling. I expect I'll wear this one for the Pfiffner Traverse this summer.
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Altra Superior 3.0
For me, this is the perfect shoe for easy trails. The loose fit isn't great for scrambling and the soles aren't really made for it. I think that most of the wear in the soles comes from frictioning up sandstone slabs in the Flatirons.
I will offer the caveat that the Lone Peak model seems to be overwhelmingly favored in the backpacking community compared to the Superior. I have no personal experience with the Lone Peak but my sense is that the preference comes from the increased cushioning of the Lone Peak. I've only had the bottoms of my feet get sore on one hike (a ~25 mile day on rocky terrain) but it's possible that for thru-hikers this is more of an issue. Since most of my hikes are just a few days at a time, my feet have plenty of time to recover and the Superiors work great. YMMV.
Also, the durability is somewhat of an issue especially for bushwhacking. However, Amazon seems to always have last seasons shoes on sale in my size for about $50-60/pair. At this price, the limited durability seems quite reasonable.
I will offer the caveat that the Lone Peak model seems to be overwhelmingly favored in the backpacking community compared to the Superior. I have no personal experience with the Lone Peak but my sense is that the preference comes from the increased cushioning of the Lone Peak. I've only had the bottoms of my feet get sore on one hike (a ~25 mile day on rocky terrain) but it's possible that for thru-hikers this is more of an issue. Since most of my hikes are just a few days at a time, my feet have plenty of time to recover and the Superiors work great. YMMV.
Also, the durability is somewhat of an issue especially for bushwhacking. However, Amazon seems to always have last seasons shoes on sale in my size for about $50-60/pair. At this price, the limited durability seems quite reasonable.
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One shoe near the end of it's life (~300 miles) and a brand new one.
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Pfiffner Traverse Shoes
The pictures below show the wear on the pair I used for the Pfiffner Traverse and an (essentially) brand new pair. I can typically find last seasons model on Amazon in my size for about $50 so I stocked up like crazy).
A comparison of wear on the shoes used for the Pfiffner Traverse (brand new at start of trip) and a different brand new pair. Note that the used shoe on the left is the companion to the shoe shown shown in next three pictures.
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A comparison of wear on the shoes used for the Pfiffner Traverse (brand new at start of trip) and a different brand new pair. Note that the used shoe on the left is the companion to the shoe shown shown in next three pictures.
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The outsole on the toe wears out pretty quick.
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Delamination is not atypical with these shoes but usually happens after about 300 miles instead of 100 miles here.
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I was getting some soreness on the bottom of my feet after the last day. That day was fairly extreme so probably not typical.