Light Boots or Hiking Shoes for a Beginner

whatever brands fit your feet, they are all a bit different... go to a reputable outdoor shop, living simply, bivouac, macpac, gordons, take what the people in the shop say with a grain of salt and go with whats comfortable... torpedo 7 also have good gear but crap staff.. same with kathmandu and their own branded boots arent good...

Start with something on sale and super comfortable with good soles. Don't accept advice saying you have to break them in because many modern boots are not designed this way now (there are some exceptions to this). Salomon, Keen, Teva are good starters. Keep away from narrow toe boxes and test them on a slope (good shops have this) and with the socks you intend to wear. Waterproof inserts are fine but not imperative. Good luck.

the lightweight boots are often fabric rather than leather so shouldnt take longer to break in than an average pair of running shoes. The fabric boots are fine but get a brand name youve heard of that feel like they fit well. Some people do buy mail order but that would be very brave for you first pair of boots

It also depends on the style of tramping you are going to do: if it is lightweight day tramps both fabric boots and shoes are a good bet, if you want to do hardcore tramps in the mountains you will probably need something tougher. Most of the ultra light trampers wear Salomon shoes although Innov8 is another good brand. Here's a link to a review of some trail shoes: http://blackwoodspress.com/blog/17651/top-5-lightweight-hiking-shoes/ Personally I have multiple pairs for different tasks. I have some fabric Vaude walking shoes for general walking, some Asolo Flame fabric boots for well formed tracks (think Great Walks), La Sportiva Valojets for unformed tramps (my main boots) and a pair of Lowa Tibets for hardcore mountain tramps. Whatever you decide to buy make sure you get some expert advice, if they sound like they don't know their stuff go somewhere else. It is worth being particular when you are looking at spending a couple of hundred dollars.

Heh heh. I'm reluctant to get too tangled in this debate, but out of interest is there a particular reason why you've associated heavy boots with off-track? As in what are the aspects of being off-track that make a heavy boot important where a lighter boot or show won't work?

"Check out the article feature under [Home] on the tool bar at the top. I've written up my views on the boots vs. shoes debate" Unless you also write for campmor.com (and posted an article there on April 11th last year), all you've done is a cut and paste from http://outdoors.campmor.com/hiking-shoes-vs-hiking-boots/ with a bit of light editing. You could at least credit the original author of your 'personal thoughts'....

its not the only article he's copied wholesale from other blogs a quick search shows up more http://nzbushadventures.blogspot.co.nz/ is also here which was written no later than 2011 http://blackwoodspress.com/blog/5521/10-ultralight-backpacking-foods/

Interesting - might be a good idea for these articles to be removed. Potential copyright issues?

the whole ethic of copying and pasting someone elses work onto a personal blog and giving no credit for the originator who may be relying on advertising and may be trying to make a living from the original blog, its theft it should just be a link back to the original post so they can get just credit and any sponsors who help keep the site running get the benefit from that work also. let alone the point about crediting the originator of the work.