Hi,

I found these shoes today in a shop near me. I have extremely narrow feet and was surprised to find that they fit me. The salesperson tried to discourage me from using them for backpacking--claiming that they are not substantial enough. They seemed at least as substantial as many of the trail runners touted on this forum. I'd be very curious to hear whether anyone out there has had any experience with this shoe.

http://www.salewa.us/product/tech-approach/ms-fire-vent/color/7500

http://www.backcountry.com/salewa-fire-vent-shoe-mens


Thanks,

rhz

I'm not familiar with approach shoes but the soles don't appear to have very good traction as they appear fairly smooth. Again, I'm not familiar with this type of shoe but maybe some of the climbers in here could give you some direction. Eric Chan may know. Good luck.

Thanks Warren.

Perhaps someone could comment on the relative merits of approach shoes vs trail runners and light hikers. I'd be transitioning from a traditional clunky pair of boots and typically carry no more than 25lbs for a few days of backpacking at a time.

Any comments welcome!

thanks again

approach shoes work fine providing they fit yr feet and yr happy with the tread ... some approach shoes have little to no tread ... also watch out for the leather ones, while durable they take forever to dry ...

remember that climbers use approach shoes on nasty talus and scrambling approaches with 30+ lb packs ...

Hi.

Thanks for your response. The pattern on the sole of this shoe consists in part of circles:

BTW: Are approach shoes generally designed to give a snugger fit than hikers?

Thanks again.

rhz

the tread is not that aggressive, you may have issues on wet logs, mud or loose dirt ...

however youll be like spiderman boulder hopping or on rocks .... the flatter the tread, the better the surface contact and thus friction

some approach shoes may be a tighter fit than normal, as a tighter fit generally is better for rock climbing ... but at the end of the day it still needs to fit yr feet comfortably

I'm concerned about the tread. These will probably be returned. I appreciate your input.

Ive got a few pairs including these. I love the lacing on approach shoes and how well these can be made to fit (and i dont have narrow feet). The model with the lug sole definitely works much better for general walking especially in mud, slippery conditions etc. I'm not sure if they make the lug sole model in a vent style though. These you have do work extremely well for rock hopping but ive had a few slips on tracks.