what types of shoes do you bushwalk in

[wayno]

what types of footwear td you wear on your bushwalks, as many votes as you like....

[matagi]

I would really like to try bare feet. Although I'm not sure how that would go in snow.

[Miyata610]

My preference has moved towards mountaineering boots, which aren't on the list. Some might argue that "high boots" cover that type, but I'd disagree.

I've walked with a pack of some kind using all the above types, except bare feet. Sometimes it's fun to try something different, or silly.

Adding to the barefoot stories.... I met a group of barefoot walkers last year at Scott's peak car park, on my way in to the WAs, who were about to do port davey then SCT. That disturbed me less than their food and fuel stocks. I believe they made it ok.

[wayno]

mountain boots are great for the feet when you're carrying a big load on long trips. since they are usually pretty inflexible the feet don't suffer from a lot of the forces they normally do in lighter footwear, i know someone who switched to them when her toe joints started suffering from all the flexing in lighter boots and she never looked back. just a matter of preference if your'e willing to put up with the extra weight...

[Spartan]

Hi, Wayno.

Per our discussion on the other thread I wear everything from full-spec leather boots, mid-height trail shoes, low-height trail shoes, to sport sandals (on very rare occasions). More often than not, however, it's the mid-height and low-height trail shoes that grace my hooves.

All the best,

Ian

[nq111]

Definitely boots though i somewhat envy those that can survive in shoes in rough terrain and a pack. We are finally starting to see a bit of lighter technology from good shoes in boots so hopefully that will be an increasing trend.

My favourite walking boots are actually uninsulated mixed climbing boots - kevlar reinforced leather - full rubber rand, heel cup, braces and toe, thin mulaz sole, high sides and relatively light for this sort of thing.

[pazzar]

Full leather boots more often than not. Anything else won't be up to the scrub I plan to walk in. I have on occasion, on very good tracks, worn my Vibram Five Fingers, and I have worn Salomon trail runners once, but I wouldn't do that again - I spent most of my time emptying scrub out of them.

[Onestepmore]

Who is the person who walks in barefeet?!! C'mon 'fess up! You need a medal
We were kayaking today near Kangaroo Valley and I have to wear water shoes, and thats on soft riverbanks. And when I was wearing my Keens (enclosed toes) later on the way home we stopped to pick wild plums to make some jam and liquor with. I spent some time shaking roadside gravel and grass debris out afterwards, so I certainly wouldn't fare well bushwalking in them.
I noticed Joe Valesko (of Zpacks lightweight gear) and his wife are hiking the 3000 km Te Araroa trail in NZ presently, in open sandals (according to their gear list). It will be interesting to hear how they went regarding footwear choices

Low cut waterproofed nubuck Oboze for me - I've found them really comfortable and have worn them for the past 2 years. I wore synthetic mid cut light boots prior to this.
Thongs or crocs as camp shoes (daggy yes I know) in summer
I know if I do more walking in Tassie, or the Snowies I'd need high topped boots - a future purchase

[Strider]

Full leather boots. My feet tend to get fatigued in anything but.

[dannnnn]

i think it depends on where you walk. in qld i always wear a pair of asics running shoes. if i was visiting tasmania in winter i might wear something a little warmer.

[Strider]

i think it depends on where you walk. in qld i always wear a pair of asics running shoes. if i was visiting tasmania in winter i might wear something a little warmer.

Socks are for warmth. Boots are for protection.

[russell2pi]

You missed Blunnies.

Seriously - on reasonable tracks it's running shoes (usually trail running shoes, possibly with gaiters to solve the "stuff gets in" problem outlined above) for me but if I'm bush bashing then on go the elastic-sided work boots.

I used to take the mickey out of people who bought $1000 boots in order to fancy themselves as Sir Edmund Hilary. But I've since realised that I'm in the minority in being able to get away with little to no ankle support. (I will roll my ankle while running and just keep going.)

[Son of a Beach]

Who is the person who walks in barefeet?!! C'mon 'fess up! You need a medal

No medal required. When not at work, I'm barefoot 99% of the time during summer. I also run about 4km barefoot on a bluestone bitumen road several times a week during summer. I occasionally bushwalk barefoot as well but usually wear boots (or sometimes sneakers).

I find that supposedly good footware tends to wear out in about 5 to 10 years but my feet haven't worn out yet. They're even self-repairing for minor damage.

NB: I would not recommend running or bushwalking barefoot to other people who are not used to it. Running barefoot will tear your achilles tendon or calf muscle if they are not used to the slightly different action used. I think the potential pitfalls of bushwalking barefoot are obvious - eg, viewtopic.php?f=5&t=432

As I recently wrote in another post, my only two problems with bushwalking barefoot are:
1. Getting stung by jack jumpers (ants). Hasn't happened while bushwalking yet, but I do worry about it a bit.
2. Not spending as much time looking at the views because I'm spending too much time looking out for jack jumpers.

Note that my barefoot bushwalks are generally short or easy and often not planned. They include:

• Cradle Mountain (from the plateau)
• Around some of the chudleigh lakes (no track)
• Dixons Kingdom to Lake Ball (& return)
• Liffey Falls (shorter track)
• Several beach walks (of course)

So nothing big or serious there... yet.

[wayno]

I noticed Joe Valesko (of Zpacks lightweight gear) and his wife are hiking the 3000 km Te Araroa trail in NZ presently, in open sandals (according to their gear list). It will be interesting to hear how they went regarding footwear choices

scroll down to the 5th december entry
he is in sandals , she isnt...

http://lightweighttramping.blogspot.co.nz/

[tasadam]

I think the potential pitfalls of bushwalking barefoot are obvious - eg, http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=432

Indeed...

[quicky]

I noticed Joe Valesko (of Zpacks lightweight gear) and his wife are hiking the 3000 km Te Araroa trail in NZ presently, in open sandals (according to their gear list). It will be interesting to hear how they went regarding footwear choices

Yeah..he did his Triple Crown in Chaco sandals prior to his switch to Teva....apparently they stopped making his sandal of choice.

I think you'll find you won't hear a peep from him regarding his choice of footwear, it's a non-issue with Joe...he's pretty much traversed every terrain possible and experienced every type of weather in socks and sandals (not including arctic ). +/- VBL's etc. in snow.

[wayno]

http://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/view/pag ... roa-trail/

His total gear weight is 2.8kg, he made it all himself and he’s currently walking the length of New Zealand with it.

[stepbystep]

Before my last walk I swore by my Zamberlan Vioz GT boots. Comfortable on tracks, sturdy off track.

But this is what happened to them from day 5-12 of a rugged off track walk. I watched the leather basically disintegrate by the hour. The same thing happened to MJD's boot but he stitched and re-stitched his rather well each day or 2.
Unfortunately I think the softer leather that makes them so much more comfortable than the Scarpa SL's I used to have was their down fall...

Now, what to replace them with???

[doogs]

After that walk, SBS, I'd suggest a pair of flipflops and a beer as a replacement

[wayno]

nubuck leather is fragile stuff, its hard to keep it intact if you thrash it. and nubuck leather is in most leather boots.

[ILUVSWTAS]

I'd suggest a pair of flipflops ]

They were the camp shoes of choice for the trip.

[Miyata610]

nubuck leather is fragile stuff, its hard to keep it intact if you thrash it. and nubuck leather is in most leather boots.

Hmmm, not so sure about that.

My latest boots have HS12 reversed anfibio leather that is 3mm thick.....

http://www.scarpa.co.uk/technical/leather/

Hard to imagine a stronger boot leather. I seem to wear out the soles and liners well before the uppers.

[Nuts]

didn't try to dry them the first night in front of the heater?
The model vioz? look just like they did 15yrs ago, same as scarpa models do (or did until recently), but i suspect they both cheap out in subtle ways. I was using the Zamb Skill model up until a couple of years ago, the soles iv'e noticed (over time) are a lot softer, perhaps the leathers cheaper also? Still... those (zambies) Were nearly $400 10/12 yrs ago, so at $220....
Hey, might be worth sending a few piccies to zamberlan, never know your luck, they may send back a box full. I doubt they get tested like that very often??/

[stepbystep]

didn't try to dry them the first night in front of the heater?
The model vioz? look just like they did 15yrs ago, same as scarpa model do, but i suspect they both cheap out in subtle ways. I was using the Skill model up until a couple of years ago, the soles iv'e noticed are a lot softer, perhaps the leathers cheaper also. Still... those (zambies) were nearly $400 10/12 yrs ago so at $220
Might be worth sending a few piccies to zamberlan, never know your luck, they may send back a box full. I doubt they get tested like that very often??/

Nah not really.
Might do that Nuts out of interest, I don't expect a replacement pair, it's kinda mean taking gear there. Would like to have seen how some Scarpas fared, much better I'd suspect.

[Azza]

Don't forget that mine blew out as well..
So that is 3 pairs of Zamberlains...maybe we should all get together and send our photos in..

Mine were virtually mint condition on day 1. I'm fairly annoyed thats a $300+ pair of walking boots destroyed in under a year.

[ILUVSWTAS]

thats a pair of walking boots destroyed in under a year.

Welcome to my world. Besides the SL's nothing (funnily enough except my Zambo's) has lasted me over 12 months.

[Hallu]

By the way the Vioz GT are at about 134 € with shipping, so about 170 $ : http://www.amazon.fr/Zamberlan-996-Vioz ... 018&sr=1-2 if you order them from France. That's almost half what you would pay by ordering them in the US. For those who already have an Amazon account (UK or US) you can login with this one, use the same credit card etc... The VAT will be deducted from the total at the last page before confirming the order (it's 133 € with the VAT and before shipping, and then 134 € without VAT and with shipping).

[Nuts]

Good stuff.. You can get them from mainpeak here for $220-$200 in their sales.

Maybe a myog 'shoe-goo' toe cap will help.. (next time).. they only take minutes to do:

[Bluegum Mic]

There's a guy in my bushwalking club that only does the real technical scramble/climbing style walks. He uses some plumbing adhesive that's black (dries like a rubber/plastic) on the toes of his boots to protect them. Unsure what it is but it seems to work really well on his leather boots. As it chips off he just replaces it. Hes out most weekends and only replaces it once or twice a year. Next time I see him I'll ask for its name.

As for me Im currently using the Aku rock lite mids. They are an approach/hiking boot and are very comfy with good grip.