"I'd also like to know which shoe's sole/footbed combination has the most cushioning. Not a lot on that here either. "

Another good point here also. The midsole is the part of the shoe that does most of the underfoot cushioning. In lighter weight shoes and boots the midsole will be EVA (Ethylene vinyl acetate). It is used because of it's light weight but it breaks down quickly. A better midsole material is polyurethane. It provides better cushioning and last much longer but is usually (not always) heavier. It is seldom found in lighter boots.

Another point that I find interesting is related to the durability question. I'm not particularly interested in buying a new pair of shoes/boots each year just because they can't hack it in the real world and fall apart pretty fast. Anyone else feel this way?

Also, I know that the 16 oz/shoe is an arbitrary limit but I wonder what we would find if we went up let's say 2 oz per shoe. Would the range open up considerably.

Two mid-height boots I'd have liked included are best-of mid-height boots in the near 1 lb range with rigid soles.

Keen Mid-Height Targhee boots
Lowa Renegade II GTX Mid Hiking Boots

I prefer the Mid-Height boots for doing the John Muir Trail. Lots of time you're walking down very rocky trails and your whole weight will land (for one foot) on two rock points. Having mid-height boots with rigid soles allow you to do such hiking without twisting your feet and without the sole wrapping around the points (no pointy feeling on the soles of the feet).

I have always used the Keen boots (but bought them each year with a $10 extra-year warranty and sure enough the JMT would wear them apart but not bad enough to short-circuit the hike, and the warranty would get me new boots for the next year). But Gander Mountain stopped insuring boots this year (they said too many boots got replaced, odd; I wonder who would have done that!). So I looked around this fall and per reviews, the Low Renegade II GTX boots look great and I tried them on and got a pair to do next year's JMT hike.

WV...sorry to jump in here, but I'm in the midst of a search as well. The Lowa Renegades look promising to me, but I'm wondering if Roleigh has spent any time in them yet? I read a review on Amazon where the guy was saying they were good for rough terrain, but not good for backpacking. That was a bit disappointing to read b/c I'm looking for something that would be good in the mountains with 25-30 lbs on my back. The lowa site talks about these boots fitting tightly and being relatively stiff, so I'm not sure why this reviewer said they weren't good for backpacking.

Roleigh, any thoughts?

Just saw another review that made me think to add a little more flavor here...I'm 6'5", 215 lbs, so a 30 lb pack would take the total weight to 245 (call it 250 w/ all the junk in my pockets). I know that's a lot of weight for any shoe, but you would think the bigger the size, the stiffer the shank since a taller person is generally going to weigh more than shorter person...

Edited by 8Crow on 09/29/2011 14:39:23 MDT.

> I know that's a lot of weight for any shoe,
MYTH. Total MYTH.

Can you walk around barefoot? Of course. Then why should that weight worry the sole of a shoe - of any sort?

Cheers

Just got a pair that they fit very well. I recently had foot surgery and now use a custom footbed and need wide shoes. I really like that the Last is more like a human foot. I also have not complaints on the arch support. I don't think I will need the custom footbeds they provide plenty of support.

-Patrick.

Shoes/boots are personal. I let a boot review influence me in a purchase once.... never again. I've done enough trail miles and off-trail miles with various choices to know what my feet require and I could care less what someone else considers "state of the art".

"Sports team trainers are taping experts when it come to using tape to give support where it's needed.

For chronically weak ankles (i.e repeatedly sprained) or newly sprained ankles use adhesive tape in a stirrup fashion from one side of the ankle, under the foot and up the other side of the ankle. After each underfoot wrap apply a lateral strip around the heel to each side of the foot. Use 3 to 4 wraps in each direction.

Alternate horizontal and vertical taping to create an "interwoven" appearance where the tapes cross. Done properly this will absolutely support the ankle from flexing left or right and permit only forward and rearward flexion. Also it can help keep swelling of an injured ankle down somewhat. An ACE bandage can be applied over the taping if the boot will accomodate it or at night if desired, to reduce swelling. ACE bancages will flex so it's best to use adhesive tape for "splinting" ankles if it's available.

Change dressing every 2 to 4 days. Clean with alcohol/hand sanitizer before applying new dressing."


As an Certified Athletic Trainer (proper term) I can tell you that a properly done ankle tape done with normal athletic tape is basically for show 30-60minutes after it goes on. The tape stretches out and it gets wet with sweat and becomes junk. Luckily most sport games don't last much longer than that and it gets the job done.

for a fresh sprain.. go for it. it will help for a while and maybe keep some swelling down. Ice or a cold stream for 15 minutes as soon as possible would be even better.

for chronic bad ankles rehab exercises with Therabands (google the exercises) are best so that you can strengthen and not need extra stuff. Until then we have athletes get the ASO brace. it has lace up and straps for good support.
http://www.amazon.com/ASO-Ankle-Stabilizing-Orthosis-Medium/dp/B000TGUN7A

There were far too few selections. How about Danners? Merrills? Vasque? to name just a few significant manufacturers you missed.

Please don't give a "State of the Art" review without including at least a
Top Ten, with weights, prices, materials, and differing constructions. Otherwise the article ends up being very subjective and not much of a guide for the subscribers.

My Merrrill Mid GTX Ventilator-style boots are very well made, fairly light, durable and DO keep out the scree very well. I also have the low cut equivalent Merrill Ventilators which I wear often IF I'm not on the steeps where scree will easily roll in.

Just sayin'...

Posted 08/31/2011 21:20:33 MDT by Eric Blumensaadt (Danepacker)
I didn't see a lot of familiar brands included - brands like Merrill, Danner, Cabelas', LL Bean, Vasque etc.

Let's have a REAL survey next time. Personally I like my Merrill Mid GTX hikers for trails with a lot of scree. They keep most of it out of my shoes. I'm in the Will Reitveld camp here. Other times on moderate trails I use Merrill Ventilator low cut trail shoes.

BTW, "State Of The Market" means what the true market of that genre looks like. It should be fairly inclusive, like Will Reitveld's comprehensive report on light down jackets.
Back to work guys.

Edited by Danepacker on 08/31/2011 21:25:12 MDT.

Hi Ken

Yes, many brands were omitted. But do any of the brands you mentioned have shoes for people with genuinely WIDE feet?

Actually, I don't think many of them even state the width, which means that their shoes are probably D or E in width. That was not wide enough for the purpose of this survey. Yes, we did ask a lot more companies about this, and that is what we found.

Oh - and have you checked the weights of those brands? Some of them don't understand the concept of light-weight. That eliminated quite a few brands as well.

I guess you have to be a really big vendor to be able to make different widths as well as different lengths. Small niche companies have to just go for the median, which is not going to help us duck-feet at all.

Cheers

Edited by rcaffin on 06/11/2012 02:20:24 MDT.

Roger I have no issue here. i just thought it funny that Eric made almost the same post last year. You'll notice that it is his post in my response. I have size 15 feet. That comes with it's own set of problems.

Roger, I also have wide feet and they get wider on week-long backpacking trips. Merill and Danner DO make boots for wide feet and I've had both brands. I dunno about the other brands I listed but at least they should be checked out by the reviewers.

Hi Eric

I looked at both web sites, but there seems to be no way to search on width. Care to suggest some wide models?

Cheers