Advice for slippery soles
I recently bought some Vasque women's Eriksson tramping boots from Bivouac as my 20 year old boots had become a bit hard on the soles of my feet. The new boots are super comfortable, but their soles (Vibram) seem very slippery in the wet which I'm finding not great for New Zealand conditions. Has anyone else had this problem, or does anyone have any advice? My husband is having the same problem with his Kathmandu boots, but my son bought Oboz which have given him no worries at all.
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Regarding sandal soles, we found that the smaller the wee pattern on the sole, the better the grip on tussock and rocks. The large patterned ones were a waste of time and money.
The best by far was the Source sandal from Vagabond which has some kind of 3D honeycomb pattern on about the same scale as a real honeycomb. Unfortunately I've not seen it in the shops and the tread has gone larger scale so not as good.
I could sleuth it out online... Alas, the sandals come from a country I really should be boycotting but they are so good that one in three of the residents are wearing them.
Really interested in those of you who tramp in shoes or sandals.
I've always been too scared to do this as on almost every trip(excuse the pun) I'm on, I'll almost roll an ankle here or there, and the boots have saved me.
But the idea of lightweight, especially in regards to weight which is on my feet, has always appealed to me.
I may have to look at investing in some lightweight tramping shoes.
Trail runners with your ankles pre-strapped are supposed to be bomber, but I'm yet to test it.
Get some trail runners and start using them on day trips - start on good tracks, work up to moving fast on a day trip over more difficult ground in shoes without ankle support. Your ankle strength and balance / coordination builds, after a while you can be quite comfortable in light shoes on rocky ground even with a big pack on.
Put a brick on your bedroom floor. Put your clothes on the floor around it. Stand on one foot on the brick. Get dressed while standing on one foot on top of the brick without touching the ground. Extra points for doing so with in the dark / with your eyes shut.
Yeah, that will do it! (standing on one foot on the brick). I always stand on one foot to put on socks and shoes to help strengthen my legs and improve balance. It soon becomes a habit so is inbuilt into daily routine and activities.
I spent a lot of time barefoot and wearing jandals so the ankles are in pretty good nick. I think when you turn an ankle, you stretch the ligaments so it becomes unstable. I suppose there are exercises that can remedy this or maybe some strapping to limit movement and increase proprioception.
Even carrying a 30kg pack was no issue in sandals (apart from the fact it's bloody heavy). I wore sandals up the Waitaha with a 10 day pack and climbing gear and that is as rough as it gets.
I think the big thing is to strengthen and increase the balance and coordination of your less dominant side. Stand on one leg and bend over to touch the ground - you'll be able to do it much more easily on one side than the other. General tramping and running and the like don't help that, on rough ground you unconsciously favor your strong side and so it gets stronger and the other side remains weak, a lot of injuries result from that imbalance. If you work on strength and balance standing separately on each leg every day you can build strength and coordination in your less dominant leg so it's up there with the dominant side.
I've got plenty strong ankles. Rural boy running around without shoes throughout my youth. These days I run the firebreaks behind my house everyday in trail shoes. So my legs and ankles can take it. It's just ingrained in my mind that when you go bush you wear boots. It's more a mental thing than physical for me. It just doesn't seem right. Like taking a blanket instead of a sleeping bag. If I can get my head around it and give it a crack then I'm away I'm guessing.
I changed to some trail shoes a year or so ago
https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/GBSSHN4DR/title/garmont-men-s-dragontail-lt-hiking-shoes
My thought is that trail shoe design should follow a cut down boot, not be a glorified sneaker.
The sole and shank should be very stable and there should be a reasonable rand.
So far I can't fault the Dragontail -very comfortable and stable from the get-go, and with full gaiters on crud stays out.
One advantage is that they drain very well after crossings. the water seems to pump out the end of the full toe lacing.
The heel-lace strap thingy is quite frayed though, so I am contemplating replacing it with something better before it breaks completely.
All in all a good move.
All this talk about ankle conditioning to enable hiking in shoes...are the benefits shoes have over boots worth the hassle and the risk? What are those benefits?
more ankle flexibility and lighter weight, making it easier to walk faster and cover more ground if thats your aim...
if you're on a big trip on rough ground carrying a lot of weight the risk of spraining your ankle goes up and it gets more tiring on your feet.
one advantage of stiffened boots is they relieve stress on your feet especially when your'e carrying a lot and you're on rough ground
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Forum | Gear talk |
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Started by | Chezza |
On | 15 February 2017 |
Replies | 19 |
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