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Absolutely and I'd recommend going lighter in gear and I'm trying to do that also. With a heavy load or poor conditioning a higher boot like the OP is looking for may be needed. Of course that's just my biased opinion.

 

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Yes, I need to double down on the super lightweight stuff. Have some, but not all, yet.

I like my camp comforts, what can I say.

 

I will track down these suggestions and see what develops. Some of these names I've not heard of, so that is a good thing. Thanks, all.

 

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Always happy to share my experiences and knowledge with others.

 

There's no luck involved, unless you consider surviving 30 years as a firefighter to be able to retire as being lucky.

On second thought I guess I am lucky.

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Well, on the rec wing boots, models vary greatly. I used to buy the ones that you had to put mink oil on and the first two weeks after you bought them, you brought your old boots to work also. You would wear your new boots for the first half of the day, then switch to your old ones because you feet hurt too much.

 

After two weeks of this, they finally broke in.

 

WEll, I got tired of that and tried the hikers. And they are just that: hiking boots. They just happen to have a steel toe because....umm..I really don't know why they have a steel toes, but I have to have steel toes for my job , so it works out in my favor.

 

Anyways, these boots are hiking boots first, and whatever you decide secondly.

 

Geat lugs on the bottom that can track dirt depending on the dirt you are in. Not that good for really slick wet surfaces.

 

Seen a few people swear by the Ingrams Five Finger toes shoes. I'd like to try a pair one day, but not for hiking. More for around the house just to see how they do.

 

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  • 1 year later...

When I added to my comments, it deleted them.... New Balance came out with a 6E boot just before Jambo, a 11.5 EEEEEE is the most comfortable boot I've had since that steel toed work boot from Red Wing. (But surely no hiker boot). Still a tap tight at the widest part, but I'm hoping it will stretch out over time. It sure made Jambo nicer, with the 150+ miles of hiking / walking we did.

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Never had a problem backpacking with just light weight sneakers ... the only time I consider a boot is, if I need to use crampons, or in cactus country.. Might consider a fewl easy trails to see if a lighter shoe is the answer. Just be aware that when it comes to gear. be it boots or whatever of the hype factor which is to drain your wallet....the only defense against hype is experience....

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Since the thread is revived, I will go ahead and give an update. DO NOT GET THE TACTICAL RESEARCH KHYBER BOOTS!!!!!!! And yes I am screaming at the top of my lungs. Had the boots approx 14-16 months and the stitching started to come apart. While I can sew the roughed out leather together, I can't attach the leather to the vibram soles as they were cemented on. And when I try to sew them together, the filament tears through the rubber.

 

One of my Eagles has suggested Danner's Rugged All Terrain (RAT) boots. He loves them and has done 2 tours overseas with them. Pricey as all get out, anywhere from about $250 - $350 for a pair, so I won't be getting them anytime soon, but I can dream.

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Eagle92, I saw a product demo at Jamboree from the rep for Gear Aid. They have a glue for sole separation. He was doing a land office business with that stuff. You might try it.
Is this it?

 

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Thanks for the heads up! Do you know if it will work with roughed out leather and vibram soles? That's the problem, the sole's base which is attached to the leather sides is what's falling apart. Stuff I've used in the past with success didn't work this time.

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I'm re-thinking this whole topic lately.

 

I recently followed a discussion on another forum that I visit (camping but not scouting). Anyway, this guy just finished a rim to rim hike of the grand canyon...... something like his 4th or 5th time doing it. This time, he and his teenaged daughter did it wearing those Vibram 5-Fingers shoes.

 

I've never tried these things, but I understand that the idea is that it makes you walk in a more natural way, using your foot and legs as God designed them. I found a you-tube video that had side by side screen shots of someone running on a treadmill before and after some sort of coaching (nothing to do with the 5-fingers, she was wearing std running shoes). She was running differently to land on her forefoot and not her heel and I have to say that her whole body mechanics were noticeably better.

 

So this guy hiking the canyon said that he and his daughter felt great. Said in years past they would be hobbling around camp with aching feet (I've been there with the dogs barking!). This time they weren't at all.

 

He contends that it's all about conditioning and wearing these shoes to build these muscles in his feet and legs that never get used. I think there may be something to the modified walking style too.

 

Regardless, he said they felt stable on the trail, no ankle issues, etc..... and yes, they were wearing packs, and camped 2 nights along the trail.

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