Best Footwear for the Trail?

Description

---- Check Out More Info on the Gear in this Video! ----

Altra Lone Peak 3.0 Shoes - http://amzn.to/2nqh3zH

Merrell Moab Ventilators - http://amzn.to/2psvcNu

Gear Used to Shoot this Video! (CHECK OUT REVIEWS AND DETAILS)

- Camera -

Canon EOS T6i - http://amzn.to/2kACQOU

- Sound -

TakStar Shotgun Mic - http://amzn.to/2kMsAnM

- TriPod -

Targus 360 Trigger Tripod - http://amzn.to/2kMsU5Y

------- Music By: Thunder/Dreamer --------

Help me make More/Better Videos:

Donate: https://darwinonthetrail.com/supporters/

Contact information:

Website: www.darwinonthetrail.com

Instagram: Darwin_Onthetrail

facebook: www.facebook.com/darwinonthetrail

Tags: Appalachian Trail,AT,Thru-Hike,AT Thru hike,Hiking,Backpacking,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT,PCT Thru Hike,Danner,Merrell,Hiking Boots,Trail Runners,UL Backpacking,Contest winner

Video Transcription

hey you guys it's down here with a brand new video talking about different types of hiking shoes on different types of trails and what's worked best for me [Music]

alright guys so before I get way too into the video we first say that this is solely my opinion and what does work best for me there are a lot of different types of hiking shoes and boots that a lot of different people use it's totally a preference thing use what works best for you again this is my opinion all right so the different types of hiking shoes are number one you have the traditional high-top leather boot now obviously this isn't a hiking boot this is just a red-winged boot that I wear from time to time though I would never hike in it most of the boots people are familiar with that are a leather high-top boot or something like a Danner they've been around for a long time and they work great nice quality made good and heavy durable the problem that I have was something like a Danner boot is they're just really heavy not only are they heavy but they also don't breathe well obviously it's a leather boot it's going to last a long time actually you could probably use one pair of leather boots like a pair of Danner's and hike the whole entire Appalachian Trail or the entire PCT however it's very heavy it's very clunky and it doesn't breathe look so for me something like a traditional boot just doesn't work so next up is what I typically prefer and that's going to be a hiking shoe this is the meril Moab ventilator and the reason that I picked this shoe is for a handful of reasons

now they do make it in a mid version so if you need that extra ankle support they do make that but the other reason I pick it is one it's lightweight too it's nice and flexy so it still feels like a regular shoe on your foot and you don't feel like you're wearing a big heavy Frankenstein boot the other reason that I choose to hike in something like this especially for a trail like the Appalachian Trail is it vents very nicely it's non waterproof and non gore-tex I know what you're saying it rains a lot but my feet get wet um here's the thing guys on a trail like the 80 when you're hiking on the East Coast it rains a lot so are your feet going to get wet yes are you going to step in water and have your shoe fill up with tons of water yes it's going to happen it's inevitable so the problem with things like gore-tex and waterproof is they do work great on the outside but once the inside is wet good luck on getting it dry especially when you're hiking 15 to 20 miles a day and you can have a whole stem of a week where it's just non-stop rain so it's really hard to get a gore-tex or waterproof boot dry once the inside is what the reason I go with something like a ventilated hiking shoe is because my foots going to get wet during the day regardless but at night I can take this shoe off I can put on a dry pair of socks and dry this by the fire dry it in the rafters of a shelter or even if I'm staying at a hostel or hotel stuff some newspaper on it and let that newspaper soak up all of the water so it's really important for me to have something that whenever I do get the chance to dry it out it's going to dry out quick now if you like the Mohawk then layers obviously not going to last as long as a pair of traditional hiking boots but I was able to get about 500 to 700 miles on a single pair and all said and done on the 2189 miles of the 80 I went through 4 pairs of these so 4 pairs really isn't that bad especially when you consider that they're only about 99 bucks a pair so for $400 I was able to hike the whole 80 and the third type of shoe that's become super popular especially with thru-hikers is something like a trail runner a really popular one that a lot of people where is the Brooks cascade yet this is the ultra Lone Peak 3.0 and this is the shoe that I chose to hike the very beginning of the PCT with that I'll be pushing off until next year so in April I was going to start the PCT and this was going to be my shoe of choice whenever I'm hiking in something like the desert I want something as light as possible something that breathes really really well so my feet aren't sweating and something that's nice and flexy that's where a trail runner comes in so it's going to feel very comfortable on your foot like a traditional shoe but it's still going to have some nice tread on the bottom so you can get really good grip on sand and rock now obviously these aren't gonna last as long as a traditional boot or a trail shoe typically most people are going to get about three to five hundred miles out of a pair so are you going to be using more of them obviously but the trade-off is it's super comfortable it's light and it feels like a regular shoe on your foot when you're hiking 15 to 20 miles a day the number one thing is comfort you want to be comfortable durability is great too but comfort is number one being uncomfortable can take you off a trail like that so make sure you're comfortable which is why a lot of people go to something like add rubber so there's a lot of different types of shoes and boots that you can use while doing weekend hike at through high whatever type of hike that you want to do whenever I was out on the 80 in 2015 I met tons of different people using tons of different shoes and it's what worked for them even met a guy in a pair of Ihram Five Fingers which are the toe shoes he was planning on hiking the entire trail nose I hung with a guy for quite a while named Tim that hiked in a pair of Chaco open toe sandals just for socks and sandals he hiked the entire trail on them he finished the trail and had no feet problems and this year in 2016 met a guy that made his pair of hiking shoes out of an old tire so it was tire tread with string on it and he planned on hiking the entire trail in just those so again it comes down to preference and what works best for you and my experience I can tell you the two things to really think about when you're choosing your footwear for doing something like a long distance hike is number one comfort and number two breathability because you're going to need it especially on a trail like the 80 so last week I did a video talking about the different types of power supplies that you can use while you're doing it through hike and I talked about the power add slim to I held a contest asking you to send me an email you your YouTube and Instagram accounts and I got a lot of requests trying to get one of these guys so I took everybody's name that sent me an email trying to win the power ad slim to put your name in a boot I'm going to draw one out right here the lucky winner of a brand-new power ad slim 2 is going to be Johnse Johnse I'll send you an email asking for your address and then I'll ship you out a brand new power ad slim 2 with a Darwin on the trail logo on it if you haven't got a chance yet go over and check me out on Instagram I've been posting a lot of new photos of things that snows and I do throughout the week and some pictures of some previews of videos that I'm going to do later on in the week go ahead and light or dislike this video subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching [Music]

you

[Music]