Tag: shoes

January 9, 2025 – A New Year, New Gear Part 1

January 9, 2025 /

When I first announced that I was going to do this, I had over a year. Now I am looking at six months. I am no where near prepared with my biggest worry is my fitness. The bad weather, low daylight, holiday pre-occupation along with my summer interruption last year has really cut into time I feel like I need. This has to become the primary focus as I prepare.

I don’t really want to dwell too much that aspect here. I don’t find it that interesting to write or read. Even though I have a version of most of the gear from the early 1990s, I have a list of gear to get for my modern challenge. All told, I expect the gear-up to cost around $2000. While I could probably get-by, borrow or skip a lot of it. $2000 for a week’s worth of vacation doesn’t seem that unreasonable.

On the scale of continuity, safety follows comfort and then enjoyment. I do plan on getting a satellite beacon for emergency communications. Being of questionable fitness, you never know if I end up rolling my ankle or god forbid some sort of heart attack or even a snake bite. I definitely plan on doing what I can to shore up my fitness, but stuff happens like lightning strikes.

I know from my half marathon days that shoes are important. Recently, I have been getting pain in my hip and knee after my training walks. That is the tell-tale sign that my shoes have broken down. I not only need shoes now, but I need to find the shoe that I don’t want to throw off the cliff (you knew that was coming…). Conventional running wisdom says that shoes are good for about 300 miles before they start breaking down. This also means I will likely go through at least two pairs of shoes before this hike is in the books.

I have loved the heck out of Keens that I bought. I wanted durable, water proof shoes when I was delivering for Amazon. I wanted to step in puddles and not care. They have done that for years. I also like that I don’t have to untie them to get my foot securely in the shoe. But, I don’t like the sole construction. I have had to repair the soles multiple times and I certainly don’t want to have that worry on the trail.

While very comfortable, they also feel heavy and clunky. I tried on a new pair Keens at REI and they felt like an old friend. So, that brand is still on the list due to my four years of heavy use and comfort. I opted to try the Merrill Moab 3 instead. These are still waterproof but the sole looks like it has a propensity to stay stuck on the shoe. I just started breaking these in, so the jury is still out.

I definitely like the water proof aspect for my current training but that is a property that I probably wont need on the trail. Another thing that I like about the Merrill is that they make the same shoe without Gore Tex. So I could have summer and winter shoes that basically fit the same without the extra sweatiness and bulk.

I am not totally in the tank for a light hiker either. I tried on some trail running shoes in this session. Part of me thinks that I want more of a running shoe as I practice around the city and on pavement. The hikers seem to be more rugged but that comes at bulk and weight. Besides durability, I don’t think that hikers are necessarily better shoes for safety or stability. I do think they will provide more miles before breakdown. Soles aside from my Keens, I get no pain from walking in them all day long.

At my wife’s urging, I also picked up a couple pairs of socks. One is a synthetic and the other is a Merino wool. The added advantage of technical socks is that they wick moisture away from your feet. This would be from sweat or puddles. This makes for more comfortable feet and a must for an enjoyable hike. Given that I am going to have a limited wardrobe, probably two pairs of socks, Merino wool had the added advantage of extended odor resistance. This is less muss and fuss about that gear component.

End Your Programming Routine: I had actually planned on talking about all of my new gear but it turns out I had more to say about shoes than I thought I did. Next week, I will discuss my new pack and what I have learned about packs. Because of the pain I have been experiencing after my walks, I have been holding back on my walks recently. I have to correct that first if I am going to get my fitness ready in time. Very important when it is my first worry.

December 4, 2020 – Footwear, Not Just Fashion

December 4, 2020 /

There are some common truths in niche circles around gear, specifically footwear. As I have mentioned previously, my upbringing was frugal and I still have a hard time letting go of some of those tendencies. I have held on to shoes that as long as they are not falling apart, they still have life. As I age, I am starting to change my opinion on that definition of life left in shoes.

Several years ago, I trained for a half marathon. It was supposed to be a goal to be more healthy at 40 than 30. As life got in the way, and I mostly mean work, I didn’t make a half marathon at forty, but I did at forty-one. I ran a number of different races in preparation and I met a lot of people, most of which were much more serious than me about running.

A commonly held belief is that running shoes have about 150-200 miles in them before they are worn out. Training for a half marathon at 5-10 miles a day, that is about a pair of shoes every month or two. What I noticed is that my hip and or knee would start bothering me about that mileage and the pain would go away when I switched to new shoes. So, I guess that I concur with that consensus.

A lot of those shoes would not appear severely worn out other that what I would see is tread wear at the heal. I felt bad throwing out a mostly intact pair of shoes, but I couldn’t keep running in them. The pain was not worth it. So, they would get rotated into the casual wear pile. For that type of use, the pain would not appear unless I was literally on my feet all day, not something I would plan on but would occasionally happen.

I didn’t run seriously long enough to develop much experience with all the different brands. I have always had an affinity with Asics that goes all the way back to my cross country days. Trying and using multiple models from that manufacturer, some were really great and others I hated. I tried other brands along the way as well; I have never liked Nike, New Balance seem to take a long time to break in but seem to last longer, Fila – No. There are still others that I would like to know about but never got the opportunity.

I say all that because I believe that shoe comfort and performance is personal. I suspect that mass manufacturing has enough variability in the tolerances causing users different experiences in use. There are some specific stores focused on running apparel that take pictures of your feet and pressure points to provide optimal performance like Road Runner Sports. This of course comes at heavy price. Average shoe costs are running at $150-200. They do offer great returns and sell used items kind of like REI and Patagonia do for there circles.

Running is one example, but there is also a colloquialism in hunting that nothing ruins a hunt like bad feet. Boots also come in many different styles and features. There are many different designs for different applications and terrain. High lace is supposed to help for ankle stability. Mountaineering boots tend to be super stiff. There is insulation at different levels.

What I have learned about boots is that I would prefer a non-insulated boot if I am going to walk a lot because you feet tend to sweat with that kind of activity. I haven’t been in cold enough to benefit with the amount of insulation that I have in my current boots. Many have soles that are glued onto the shoe which makes them non-serviceable in the future, if the glue fails. I also like a waterproof boot because I don’t need to be as careful where I step.

This whole diatribe is about the fact that I need new shoes. As much time as I am spending on my feet delivering packages, I am noticing pain with my old shoes. I have one pair of shoes that I bought last spring to start training for a multiple day hike that are still usable. They are running shoes, so my feet are getting wet walking in wet grass and stepping in puddles. So, I am looking for a pair of waterproof, low hikers. I want to keep it light, durable and comfortable. I haven’t decided on a brand or model yet.

I wanted to go through all of this to encourage you to consider the condition of your footwear and provide some of the insights I have learned with my sporting activity. You shouldn’t need pain and being on your feet a lot, consider this some of the most important gear you can invest in. One more thing, I feel like you get what you pay for for the most part. I am not convinced a $50 versus a $75 pair makes much of a difference but $40 versus $180 could.