Walking / hiking shoes

DanTheMan

DanTheMan

DanTheMan

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Joined
11 Oct 2005
Posts
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Location
Manchester, UK
I'm looking to buy a pair of walking / hiking shoes as me and a few friends have recently started doing quite long weekly walks (6-12miles) and my trainers are not suitable for some of the terrain. We mainly do forest / canal path / wooded areas and some of it is very low grip and can be wet in areas.

I know I don't want leather as it's heavy and I want a shoe not a boot but other than that, I'm open to suggestions. Budget is anything up to £60-70. Thanks.
 
Trail running shoes. I love Altra Lone Peak, but the Timps are also great. Altra shoes are good for anyone with wider feet. Hoka also have great shoes, and the Salomon speedgoat are infamous - but these brands are too narrow for me.

I ran 110miles with nearly 40,000ft of vertical gain using Lone Peaks in 45 hours last September, not the slightest sign of a blister or a hot spot. Will be using the same shoes for the 200miles race this summer (if work doesn't get in the way).


For the walks you describe, any trail running shoe will work. There is a trade-off between ultimate grip for mud and general comfort and performance on regular paths and dirt roads. If you are regularly running/hiking through a quagmire then brands like INOV-8 have special high traction mud shoes with really deep lugs (mudclaw).

With all of these shoes, the aim is maximum breath ability so they aren't waterproof. The aim is if you are moving then it doesn't matter if your feet get wet going through a stream/bog but it drains out and dries quickly. Any shoe that is waterpoof simply wont breath enough in the summer even when walking moderately.
 
Rroff said:
Thinking of looking at Salomon for my next pair - I've been a big Merrell fan in the past but they seem to have gone downhill big time since ~2015 :(
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Agreed. Big Ventilator and MOAB fan here, but the built quality isn’t a patch on what it used to be. A pair used to last me a year as my daily Spring-Summer-Autumn wear, but the last two pairs were toast in a couple of months.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
Agreed. Big Ventilator and MOAB fan here, but the built quality isn’t a patch on what it used to be. A pair used to last me a year as my daily Spring-Summer-Autumn wear, but the last two pairs were toast in a couple of months.
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Yeah - my 2014 pairs of MOAB and Sprint Blast, etc. stood upto a good 3 years of use before they started to look a bit tatty, structurally still sound. My newer ones barely last a year before they are in worse state. I reckon the older pairs would still make another couple of years of good use before they were starting to go.

EDIT: I'm gutted they don't make the Polarand 6 any more - I got a pair of the 2nd revision and they are ridiculously good on ice or even slippery mud (not designed for that use but they excel at it) with the adjustable grip. They are also bang on the looks I like.
 
D.P. said:
For the walks you describe, any trail running shoe will work. There is a trade-off between ultimate grip for mud and general comfort and performance on regular paths and dirt roads. If you are regularly running/hiking through a quagmire then brands like INOV-8 have special high traction mud shoes with really deep lugs (mudclaw).
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For most of my UK hikes and runs, I use Inov8 Roclites. They're my go to shoe for everything from walking the dog in the forest to running up mountains and I'll even quite happily do easy climbs in them! I've got a pair of Mudclaws but find I don't use them anywhere near as much. You can usually find last years colours for pretty cheap on SportsShoes too.
 
D.P. said:
Altra shoes are good for anyone with wider feet.
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This is useful to know, thanks. It's not a brand I was aware of until this thread, but those of us with awkward feet need all the suggestions we can get! I've spent my life bouncing from 10 to 10.5 or even 11 just to get a decent width fitting, and usually I end up compromising and not being entirely happy. A great fitting shoe is a wonderful thing.
 
very few companies seem to care about people with wide feet. Seemingly they all think that feet can only be different lengths, not different widths.

Also, Altra are wide at the toes but aren't wide at the mid foot, the Lone peaks tends tp be wider mid-foot than the rest of their line up.

Topo also have wide shows but i can't find them snyo
 
ak22 said:
Which ones did you get?
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I haven't bought yet. I had commented to say that the recommendation of finding cheaper ones in last years colour was a good idea but I could only find some for £140, which isn't my idea of cheap.

I need some shoes for walking mainly, on normal road/parks/grass but I think I might just buy another pair of my Asics running shoes as I know they fit nicely.

Thoughts?
 
Thanks guys, lots of useful advice. I think I'll take a gamble on the inov8 roclites as I can get them for £60 which seems like a very good deal?

Call me vain but they are also the best looking out of the ones recommended imo.
 
DanTheMan said:
Thanks guys, lots of useful advice. I think I'll take a gamble on the inov8 roclites as I can get them for £60 which seems like a very good deal?

Call me vain but they are also the best looking out of the ones recommended imo.
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The Roclite 315 are the ones I use, but it looks like the non GTX version has been discontinued now. I paid about £60 for mine as well. Annoyingly mine have got a hole in them and I was looking to replace them with the same thing but don't really want a pair with Gore Tex.
 
Street said:
The Roclite 315 are the ones I use, but it looks like the non GTX version has been discontinued now. I paid about £60 for mine as well. Annoyingly mine have got a hole in them and I was looking to replace them with the same thing but don't really want a pair with Gore Tex.
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Thanks. The 315 are slightly more expensive from what I've seen but I imagine these types of trainers are more hard wearing than usual? People also say that they wear trail shoes for golf which is handy as I play a lot of golf too so they tick both boxes!

Any experience with the Adidas terrex two? Sports shoes have them for £50 and they look really good. Adidas always fit me well too.
 
DanTheMan said:
Thanks. The 315 are slightly more expensive from what I've seen but I imagine these types of trainers are more hard wearing than usual? People also say that they wear trail shoes for golf which is handy as I play a lot of golf too so they tick both boxes!

Any experience with the Adidas terrex two? Sports shoes have them for £50 and they look really good. Adidas always fit me well too.
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I've got a pair of Terrex as well, not sure which ones though. They fit tighter on me than my Inov8s and aren't as comfortable if I'm doing lots of miles. I tend to use them on climbing days as they have a heel loop which my Roclites don't have so I can attach them to my harness. They're grippier on rock, but nowhere near as good for everything else!
 
DanTheMan said:
Thanks guys, lots of useful advice. I think I'll take a gamble on the inov8 roclites as I can get them for £60 which seems like a very good deal?

Call me vain but they are also the best looking out of the ones recommended imo.
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I brought these salomon X Ultra 3 mid GTX boots today for £70, my friend recommended them https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/salomon-mens-x-ultra-3-mid-gtx-at-sports-pursuit-3501585


Edit: If you wide feet I would avoid these, I ordered a Size up and they still to tight.
 
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I use trail shoes for running - am on my 3rd pair of asics sonoma 3&4's ~ £45 - set up a watch in ebay,
the inov8's have a spaced/claw tread pattern that puts me off versus asics or 'regular' walking boots with vibram sole, from a wear & comfort, in dry, perspective.

if it's wet having goretex might be useful .. since the asics at least will saturate through mesh top, but that's ok if it's just a 45minute run, stuff with newspaper later.
 
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