Boots vs Trail Shoes

[Npento89]

Thinking of running my trail shoes this season opposed to boots, has anyone tried it?

 

[*zap*]

I would do a bunch of woods & trail hikes with them and see how that goes. I do trail hikes with merrill trail gloves and have no troubles.

 

[justinspicher]

I’ve been doing this for the past few seasons. I wear my Salomon speedcross shoes until there’s snow on the ground. Side hilling still sucks though. Once the snow hits I switch to boots.

 

[Poser]

I have done some scouting trips this summer in a pair of Scarpas. It been fine for the most part, but I do notice that I have to be more thoughtful in my foot placement in technical terrain, especially loose rock.

 

[Npento89]

Thanks for the feedback, I do a lot of trail running in the summer and my hunting trip is below tree line, I think I might give the shoes a try this season

 

[def90]

I hate wearing big clunky boots. Right now I am using Scarpa Zodiaks which are the bootiest shoe/boot that I get. In the past I have used Asolo Shiver GV shoes which I really liked. They were suede, really comfy and did very well in all terrain however with the low cut I was always getting pine needles and rocks down in the shoe. I then switched to Crispi Crossover Pro Light GTX's which are supposed to be non-insulated however they had so much padding in them that my feet were always hot. The toe pocket was a little narrow for me as well. Can't complain about much else with them. I now run the Scarpa Zodiaks which are light, have a slightly higher top than just a shoe so no more pine needles and rocks. Have been wearing the regularly for about the last month and have done several scouting trips and so far so good.

 

[JRMiller]

Depends on the terrain.
Trails and rolling hills boots are overkill.
But steeper or rocky terrain you really want something over 6” and a shank.
Like anything you need to tailor your gear to each individual hunt.

 

[Rokwiia]

INOV-8 Roclite G 315 or 345 for me. Sticky bottom and light as a feather.

https://www.inov-8.com/us/roclite-g-315-gtx-mens-graphene-running-shoe

https://www.inov-8.com/us/roclite-g-345-gtx-mens-lightweight-hiking-boot

 

[Block]

Ive Found nothing more comfortable than those Salomon trail running shoes for any sort of hike... only problem is I flat out cant wear them where I hunt becuz I get cat tails or some sort of stickers in my socks so bad and gravel/dirt from side hilling.,, I literally have to take them off 30x a day to clear them..

 

[FlyGuy]

I did two hunts last year in Solomon Speedcross GTX. What I like about hunting in these shoes is the light weight feeling they have that makes you feel more athletic in your movements, and the flex in the sole makes them much quieter. So you feel like a super ninja on a stalk instead of Frankenstein.


But, I am going back to boots this year for a few reasons...


1 - The shoes got destroyed. Completely ruined one pair on the 1st 8 days of a 16 day elk hunt in NM. Then wasted a second, brand new pair on a 5 day Ibex hunt in NM. That gets way too expensive to only get 5-8 days out of $150 pair of shoes. They just aren’t built for that kind of abuse.

2 - No Ankle support. I’m saying ankle loosely here, I don’t know the Technicle terms. I feel I have strong ankles as I’ve never had a single issue with a twist or sprain, etc; which made me feel pretty confident in using shoes over boots. But, about three days into that elk hunt I started having trouble. Spent most of that day wading thru blowdown and waist high grass in an old burn and I Could not see my feet or where I was stepping. I just kept landing on unseen limbs that had me pushing off awkwardly... with a pack on... on a slope... After about the 5 time that happened I developed pretty significant pain in my Achilles’ tendon and heel. It lasted the rest of that 16 day hunt and slowed me down significantly for the next 7-8 days. I was able to push thru it with 2 trekking poles and a really bad limp (had to turn around to go up steep inclines) so it didn’t cost me the hunt, but it was just about as bad as it could get w/o having to tap out. I now don’t think it’s worth the risk.

3 - I found that overall my feet just hurt a lot more. The shoes offer very little in the way of protection from rocks, limbs, impact, etc; and at the end of each day or getting out of the bag in the am my feet were just really growing tender and sore on bottom and sides. Maybe that’s something a person could grow used to. It wasn’t exactly a limiting factor, but I found myself being really careful of where I stepped. Again, not the worst thing, but comfortable for sure and those kind of things add up for you mentally. It’s something that’s easily avoidable with boots and told me that running shoes generally aren’t a good idea for longer backpack hunts in rough country.


Having said all that...If you aren’t going to be committed to a long backpack hunt w/o the ability to easily change back into boots, then you should probably try it for yourself to be sure. These two hunts were both in the worst, most difficult terrain I’ve ever hunted. In more forgiving areas, or on shorter trips or day hunts from a truck, then they may work out great for you.





You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[FlyGuy]

Ive Found nothing more comfortable than those Salomon trail running shoes for any sort of hike... only problem is I flat out cant wear them where I hunt becuz I get cat tails or some sort of stickers in my socks so bad and gravel/dirt from side hilling.,, I literally have to take them off 30x a day to clear them..

There is an easy fix for this...

If you use shoes off trail then you HAVE to also wear Gaiters. If not, you will constantly get trash inside your shoes and if you don’t stop to clear it you will get a blister.




You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Block]

There is an easy fix for this...

If you use shoes off trail then you HAVE to also wear Gaiters. If not, you will constantly get trash inside your shoes and if you don’t stop to clear it you will get a blister.

Yeah Iv debated tryin this ! Thanks!! Might have to eventually... will have to buy another pair of trail runners first since my Salomons consistently shrunk over a few month period til I couldn’t wear them anymore.. both the trail runners and the mids did this...



You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Newtosavage]

Thinking of running my trail shoes this season opposed to boots, has anyone tried it?

My first elk hunt (mid-Sept in SW CO) was done in my hiking shoes and I never wished I had anything more. But that was warmer weather, dry and we never got above 10K. I'll 2nd what FlyGuy said about destroying shoes though. I could tell it put a beating on them and I had to replace them sooner than I would have otherwise.

 

[justinspicher]

Trail shoes definitely take a beating once you start going off trail. I’m pretty sure I’ll need a new pair once rifle season starts, but I’ll most likely be in boots by then.

 

[tdot]

Ive Found nothing more comfortable than those Salomon trail running shoes for any sort of hike... only problem is I flat out cant wear them where I hunt becuz I get cat tails or some sort of stickers in my socks so bad and gravel/dirt from side hilling.,, I literally have to take them off 30x a day to clear them..

Maybe try gaiters, if you havent already, it'll stop all that crap from getting in your shoes.