Planning on hiking the Zion Narrows and was thinking about footwear...

[cruiser88]

you wear a 9.5 ,Jason?

Yeah, I have looked at most of the boots that cabellas and Bass pro have.

None of them are designed to drain well. Something that is pretty miportant to me for hikes like this.

Besides, I do not want any insulation. My feet get warm enough as it is

These are becoming interesting to me tho..
Tan Desert 8" EXO<I>Speed</I> Boot

 

[cruiser88]

I wonder if these are worth 2 cents?

army jungle boot, Clothing, Shoes Accessories items on eBay.com

 

[cruiser88]

I just dont se a drain.......to bad the price is right

 

[cruiser88]

These do

BELLEVILLE US Army JUNGLE Desert Combat BOOTS 9.5XW NEW - eBay (item 270379780657 end time Jun-23-09 08:54:04 PDT)

I tried

 

[Mace]

Thanks amigo.

I "think" I am about a 9.5 Wide. But F'n shoes are way to variable to buy online IMHO.
You can always ship back, but hell that gets expensive fast.

 

[D'Animal]

Go to the BassPro shop across town and look for what you want. Try them on and find the exact size you need. Write it down and go home and hit the internet.

 

[Mace]

unfortunately Bass pro does nto have any boot that is not goretex

 

[D'Animal]

I was finally home and remembered to get some pics.

Here is my collection, you will notice each is the left foot only. I will break them each down as to the likes and dislikes.

 

[D'Animal]

Timberland


Every pair of Timberland hiking boot I have ever owned wears out in the heel area. I have 6 pairs so it is more than a fluke. It is caused by heel slippage which is common. The padding in the back fo the heal is nice and soft when new. When you add a little dirt or sand, it wears out quick and blisters will happen.

The soles are nice but after 6 months or so they become hard. It may be because I occationally walk through a pterolium product or maybe the rubber just plane gets hard.

There are not drains in the ones I have. I have found that drain holes allow for weeds such as fox tail and goat heads to poke up into the boot. I have had boots with the screened drain holes and the result is the same.

 

[D'Animal]

Rockports


Every other pair of rockport hiking boot I have ever owned wears out in the heel area. I have 4 pairs and two have the heel worn out. You can clearly see the wear in the top picture. Some of these wear though in 45 days.

The soles are nice and have an agressive tread that is semi-soft but after 6 months or so they become hard and traction is lost.

There are not drains in the ones I have. I have found that drain holes allow for weeds such as fox tail and goat heads to poke up into the boot. I have had boots with the screened drain holes and the result is the same.

 

[D'Animal]

Nike


The next ones up are the Nike hiking boots. They are very light weight and do not seem to ahve a problem with the heel wearing out. This pair is about 3 years old and no visible sign of wear in that area.

The wide aggressive sole is good and bad.
Good
The rubber compound is very soft and grips rock like a lizard.

Bad
They wear out quickly. I wore the soles of my original pair of Nike ACG (All Condition Gear) boots out in less than 6 months. The compound was just too soft. I think they have the found the right compound to give both traction adn longevity. After 3 years the soles are as soft as they were when I bought them.

More Bad
The sole is wide. It is great for stability and just about everything you could imagine. It is very bad when bouldering (rock climbing). The outer lip will allow the tread to grab but your foot slips in the show. When your foot slips inside the show, you have no weight on the contact area so you have no traction. Imagine wearing snow shows while rck climbing and you will understand what I mean.

 

[D'Animal]

Merrill

These are the bombdiggity of hiking boots. They are very light weight and do not seem to have a problem with the heel wearing out. This pair is about 2 years old and no visible sign of wear in that area.

They are very comfortable and the aggressive sole is very good. The rubber compound is very soft and grips rock like a lizard. It is also not much wider that the actual shoe itself. No problems when bouldering. The soles do not get hard. The material between the leather is a mesh that drains water extremely well.

 

[D'Animal]

I do a lot of hiking with my Beagles.

 

[wthomas]

I hiked the narrows 2 weeks ago in the same pair of merrills that D'Animal has pictured. After 16 miles my feet were tired, but still comfortable and blister free . Best hiking boots I've ever owned!

 

[Mace]

I hiked the narrows 2 weeks ago in the same pair of merrills that D'Animal has pictured. After 16 miles my feet were tired, but still comfortable and blister free . Best hiking boots I've ever owned!

What day/days did you hike it??

 

[wthomas]

June 20th, I hiked it in one day.

 

[Mace]

Bout a week after we did it in a day as well.

Fun hike