What hiking boots do you own?

[Gearspoke]

Hiking boots are one of the most important items a hiker needs to go hiking, they support carrying those heavy day packs, they keep you from slipping, they keep your body comfortable while keeping your feet dry and warm. If they are so wonderful then why are they so hard to buy? lol So here I am asking you to tell me what hiking boots you own? Where have you hiked in them? Tell me the pro's and con's of your boot.

The terrain I currently live in is wet, snows 5 months of the year and I will be hiking Mt Baker.

[seano]

Boots?! Pffft! Here's footwear for Gannett:

and for Shuksan:

I used boots for Baker, but only because I needed front-points for the route I chose. For the standard route, my little Kahtoolas would have been plenty.

Stay tuned for more in a future issue of TrailGroove, BTW. ;-)

[Gearspoke]

Boots?! Pffft! Here's footwear for Gannett:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2747[/ATTACH]

and for Shuksan:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2748[/ATTACH]

I used boots for Baker, but only because I needed front-points for the route I chose. For the standard route, my little Kahtoolas would have been plenty.

Stay tuned for more in a future issue of TrailGroove, BTW. ;-)

Very nice! Would you recommend any specific Trekking Poles?

[seano]

Very nice! Would you recommend any specific Trekking Poles?

None! Some people swear by them, but I don't see the point unless you have bad knees. Homo sapiens spent millions of years evolving to walk upright. If you really want poles, I would look at some of the super-light, foldable carbon ones they make for ultra runners these days.

[grizzled]

Very nice! Would you recommend any specific Trekking Poles?

I always thought those were needless extra weight but I finally succumbed and bought a pair this past summer-after about 57 years of backpacking. I really only see their usefulness for old farts like me-bad knees and hips. They do help on milder terrain but are less than worthless in rocks and talus.

For footwear, I still like real boots and currently use Asolo's TPS 535V-the most comfortable boot I have ever owned and have held up well for about 10 years. That said, the sole design really sucks on loose material. What one needs for boots/footwear is wholly dependent on what you like to do and where. And the MOST important is that they actually fit which, unfortunately, is not always obvious when walking around the shop.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

I hike and backpack in trail runners (Currently the Altra Lone Peak 1.5) as much as I can, but I do have a pair of Vasque Breeze GTX boots that I like to use in snow, with snowshoes, or during "mud season".

[PaulMags]

As with Aaron, I usually use trail runners. (Ever since the Montrail Hardrocks went away, I have yet to find a trail shoe I like as much. ) I also switch to boots for trail work or mud season.

In the winter, I am often on touring skis and use 3-pin leather boots.

[Dogwood]

Low cut trail runners most of the time. On some well maintained less steep less rocky/rather flat trails/routes with no great elev. changes like flatter desert hikes while carrying my most UL kits I've been gettting away with even lighter and less protective road running shoes. I do have two prs each of mid cuts though - Keen Voyaguers and Targhee II's. Those are used when I need greater protection and I'm doing shorter MPD avgs possibly with a heavier load.