boots versus shoes

It depends on what kind of terrain your tramping over, where is the tramp exactly and what do you propose in doing on that tramp, ie. river crossings, mostly trail walking, also because of the length your walking, your pack will most likely be reasonably heavy, this may mean that shoes may not provide the necessary support if say your ankle goes one way and your body the other, just food for thought, hope this helps. Range Rover

Exactly as Range Rover, depends on the terrain. I utilize shoes far more than I used to. For example, I have worn shoes all the way to French Ridge Hut with a very heavy pack, and switching out to mountaineering boots for beyond, of course. This kept the mountaineering boots dry from all the stream crossings and general rain-wet until the full-meal-deal snow and ice. It took me years to figure this out....duh.

Comfort is the number one consideration for footwear. After that you have to consider protection for your feet. I don't believe that you need great heavy boots. I have a pair of light weight Merrels and I have used them in rivers off track and even in snow. If you are comfortable in shoes then that is what you should wear, though you might be limited to how far off track you can go. Being on ice and wearing crampons is a different story. You need stiff boots then.

In uneven conditions such as riverbed travel, shoes can be very hard work, twisting your ankle, and allowing the rocks to press straight through the sole. You risk twisting your ankle with shoes, but if the track is smooth, that might not be a problem. You have probably walked it by now, huh? What happened?

Hi Bruce - you know my philosophy on boots - boot them out!! If you can guarantee no snow go with "trail runners" - people don't understand if they wear boots they carry about 1.5 Kgs on their feet as opposed to about 750grams - this makes a BIG difference in your ability to tramp long days especially if you are like use (60 plus!!)

Hi Red Robin - I'm for the boots because of the rough terrain. Great protection for the ankles and for the extra 750 grams a little bit of extra effort is worth the risk of hobbling out with a twisted ankle. But, of course, if it is only a trail and not a track (there is a difference) the shoes would be ok. I'm 63 and have tramped all of the "Great Walks" and a couple of backcountry tracks in the southern island of NZ - the best walking country on earth - and last year walked across England. All with the heavy boots, and I believe they have helped protect my ankles and feet. I tried lightweight shoes and paid the price, sprained tendons from heel to toe. Cheers.

I have found that there are as many opinions about boots as there are people who wear them. The main thing is comfort, followed closely behing by protection for your feet. One great thing is that boots are a lot better than they used to be. I think back to the great heavy things that we used to wreck our feet with in the 1970s Nowadays boots are lighter and there is a much greater variety, from walking shoes right up to plastic climbing boots. For my sort of tramping which includes quite a bit of off track stuff, I find a lightweight pair of boots, not too expensive is ideal. The first thing I do when buying boots is bend them to test the stiffness of the sole. I find a stiffer sole gives better protection in rocky stream beds. I never bother spending too much on boots as none has ever lasted me more than two years. The massive amounts of water we subject boots to in NZ will ruin expensive boots just as easily as cheap boots.

Hi pmcke Thanks for the advice about bending the soles. What sort of money would you think of as reasonable? We are tramping the Greenstone, Hollyford and Caples - in that order - beginning of March next year and I went for a little training walk the other day and my $400 AUD Kathmandu boots leaked in just a light sprinkle of rain! I was horrified, only 3 years old. Been throwing the dubbin into them since, do you think this will waterproof them again? Came through the leather on top of the boot, soaked the socks. Cheers.

The last couple of pairs of boots that I have had have been Merrels and I think both pairs cost around $250 NZ. I never worry too much about boots being waterproof. They never really take into account that great big hole in the top of boots that your foot goes in. One advantage with leaky boots is that they let the water out. I have always found that new boots are only temporarily waterproof and generally on trips in NZ it is only a matter of time before you have to immerse your feet completely in a river or a stream. I am not sure about the status of the Caples or Greenstone at the moment but the track in the Hollyford is so good that I don't think you need to get your feet wet at all now.