Footwear
In the book on the PCT that he co-authored, Ben Schifrin makes no qualms about the importance of footwear. He discusses the fact that the majority of hiker injuries are foot injuries, which are exacerbated by heavy packs. But by the time I had committed to hiking the PCT, I had completely forgotten all that. I did the worst things possible:
I did virtually nothing to lighten my pack (probably around 60 lbs when I walked out of Campo).
Despite my heavy pack, I planned to hike in running shoes.
I bought 3 pairs of the same running shoe before starting the trail.
I failed to test out my running shoes on even a weekend trip with a pack.
Within a few miles my feet were scorched. Shoes that would have fit fine for light jogs, were smashing my toes together under the weight of a heavy pack. Soft and less supportive soles that would have been great for kicking around the neighborhood buckled and put incredible strain on my arches. It wasn’t until about 900 miles and five pairs of shoes later that I finally found a shoe that fit my foot well and could support the weight I chose to carry. Three of those pairs of shoes had to be discarded well before they were worn out because they either didn’t fit my foot right or didn’t offer adequate support. That being said, footwear is among the most important pieces of equipment anyone will buy.
I’ll say it again: Footwear is among the most important pieces of equipment you’ll buy.
Some principle footwear considerations:
How much does your pack weigh? (As a percentage of your body weight)
How wide are your feet? (Get them measured, and know your actual width: DD? EE? EEEE?)
How are your arches? (Get an assessment from a footwear professional)
Consideration 1: Pack weight
If you’re smart and you want to minimize the damage to your feet, you’ll get your pack weight down to 20% of your body weight or less. If you exhibit the great forethought, humility, and wisdom of doing this, you’ll be fine hiking in a trail runner. I’ve reviewed five different trail runners below.
If you’re stubborn, cheap, or otherwise inclined to masochism and your pack weighs more on the order of 25%, 30%, or god-forbid 35% of your body weight, DO NOT HIKE IN TRAIL RUNNERS. You’re going to want some goddamn support for all that weight. You won’t need a full mountaineering boot, but there are some good options for you and your heavy gear. I’ve discussed three of them below.
Consideration 2: Foot width
My whole life I’d watched the shock on the faces of shoe salespeople when they go to measure my foot and see how wide it is. But I’d never known exactly what width I measured. “Wide” was all I knew. It turns out there’s a big difference between DD and EEEE. Too narrow and you’ll get blisters between your toes or on the sides of your feet. Too wide and you’ll get blisters on the balls of your feet as they slide back and forth all day. Miles and miles and days and days of unrelenting, burning, oozing blisters.
The truth is when you go from sitting in an office all day to hiking all day, you’re going to get blisters no matter how great your shoes fit. But a better fitting shoe means getting past the blisters sooner, and with fewer of them. So get your foot measured!
And on that note, your foot is going to get wider during your hike. Yes, even my Fred Flintstone caveman feet got wider while I was hiking. So only buy one pair of shoes to start the trail. You might decide to get the same shoe but a size bigger after 500 or 600 miles, or more if you’re in boots. But to start off, just buy one pair of shoes.
Consideration 3: Arches
There is some debate about the necessity of insoles for running shoes. Much of it revolves around pronation (basically your arch flexes, allowing your ankle to roll inward slightly). Some say high arches cause over pronation, which can lead to injuries, but can be remedied by insoles with better arch support. Others say pronation is normal and the only reason to counter it with insoles is if there has been some injury or pain related to over pronation. The line between normal pronation and over pronation is blurry and subjective.
I’ve used the following insoles the with shoe type and activity indicated:
Superfeet Green (trail runner shoes used for backpacking)
Road Runner custom molded insoles (road shoes for running, trail running shoes for backpacking)
Superfeet Copper (boots for backpacking, trail runners for backpacking, causal shoes for everyday use)
Superfeet Run Comfort Thin (road shoes for running, trail running shoes for backpacking)
If you’re logging 25-mile days back-to-back for an extended period of time, my opinion is that some supportive, lightweight insoles will be a benefit. They’ll mitigate the devastation to your feet. This becomes increasingly true the heavier your pack is (yet another reason to get that pack weight down to 20% of your body weight or less). My favorite insole right now is the Superfeet Run Comfort Thin. These are much lighter weight than the Green or Copper options, but still offer both support and padding.
The best way to figure out if you prefer insoles or not:
Have a footwear professional measure your arches.
Based on that measurement, select of pair of insoles that match your arch.
DON’T THROW OUT THE FACTORY INSOLES.
Go on a three or four day backpacking trip in preparation for your thru-hike. Start off in one insole, then on the second day switch. Switch back the next day.
If you don’t notice a difference in how your feet feel at night, then keep those factory insoles and don’t drop any more money on the aftermarket insoles. If you find that you prefer the aftermarket insoles, it may be worth going and buying yet another pair, maybe with a slightly different arch, or slightly more padding, or made from a different material, and going through that exercise again.
It can be frustrating and painful to find the right shoe and the right insole, but taking the time to do so not only gives you a lot of excuses to get out into the mountains before your thru-hike, but will save you pain and money once you’re in it for real.
Trail runner Reviews
Saucony Peregrine (with the Road Runner Custom Molded Insole)
This is a trail runner with medium cushion, knobby tread, and somewhat standard construction. It’s slightly more robust than a standard road shoe, but not the toughest shoe on the market. The tread and support of this shoe felt pretty good for about 160 miles. My problem was that I bought this shoe in standard width after only trying it on in the store. It was way too small in the toe box for my incredibly wide feet, and it could not accommodate the expansion my foot would undergo when being smashed by a heavy pack all day.
Overall backpacking rating: 6.13 (see matrix below)
Altra Lone Peak (with standard factory insoles)
This is a minimalist trail runner. It was the most popular PCT shoe the year I hiked, taking over the Brooks Cascadia from the previous year (see review below). What does minimalist mean? The sole is about the thinnest rubber I’ve ever seen on a shoe. There is no arch support to speak of. The shoe construction prioritizes being lightweight over durability or performance. With the heavy pack I was carrying, this was a terrible choice. It’s probably a fine shoe for trail running, but I would not recommend it for backpacking, no matter how ultralight you are. The tread does provide good traction, but you’ll feel every rock along the way, and these shoes will be toast within about 500 miles. I’ve seen hikers stretch them out to 600 or 700 miles, but at that point you’re practically hiking barefoot.
Overall backpacking rating: 5.98 (see matrix below)
Oboz Sawtooth (with standard factory insoles)
3:00am in Crabtree Meadow before tackling Mt. Whitney. Unfortunately the best pic I had of my Oboz.
This is a heavy duty hiking shoe. It’s not really a trail runner at all. The sole is very protective, very knobby, with great traction and plenty of meat for miles and miles of trail. The construction is extremely durable and heavy, more like a boot. Oboz is known for having incredibly supportive insoles - probably the best in the industry. Unless you have some very specific arch needs, I can’t imagine you’d ever need an aftermarket insole with this shoe. Really the only downside is the weight. At 17.4 oz, it’s the heaviest “shoe” I reviewed. If preparing for a long hike, keep in mind the thousands or millions of times you’ll be lifting each foot off the ground. It’s an incredible amount of energy if your shoes are too heavy.
Overall backpacking rating: 6.47 (see matrix below)
Brooks Cascadia (with Superfeet Copper)
As mentioned above, the Cascadia was the top shoe choice for PCT hikers several years ago. After Altra’s took over, Brooks changed the composition of the rubber in the soles and the shape of the toe box. Both of these changes were obviously trying to counter the inroads Altra was making into the running market, but the changes were a detriment to what had previously been a great shoe. Having said all that, the Cascadia is still a decent shoe. The rubber is grippy, the tread is knobby, and the construction generally offers more support than the Altra. In some ways, the Cascadia has been the victim of a race to the bottom for the ultra lightweight craze.
While it’s still a decent shoe, you’d be lucky to get 500 miles out of it, and it will start falling apart long before then. My last pair was showing serious signs of structural degradation at about mile 200. The soles were so worn down and peeling off after 300 or 400 miles, I pronounced them and moved on to the Hoka’s (see below).
Overall backpacking rating: 6.11 (see matrix below)
The Hoka was my favorite trail runner (until the Speedgoat - see below). The sole is grippy, knobby, and provides a high degree of cushion. The toe box is wide. The structure is sturdier than the Lone Peak or the Cascadia, but it’s still a very lightweight shoe. The rubber seems more durable than the Lone Peak or the Cascadia, but suffers from an adhesion problem to the secondary sole foam. Nothing a little super glue can’t fix.
My plan is to start the CDT with the Hoka One One Challenger ATR, and wear it at least up to the San Juans. If I end up being able to ski through the San Juan’s, I’ll bring the Hoka’s for camp shoes. If the snow is too low to ski, I’ll probably switch to a boot to get me through the snow, then switch back to the Hoka’s around the Colorado/Wyoming border.
Overall backpacking rating: 6.92 (see matrix below)
The Speedgoat is my new favorite trail runner. It has a lot of the same benefits of the Challenger (cushy sole, wide toe-box, tough uppers), but it has one huge advantage. The Speedgoat uses a Vibram rubber sole that covers more of the foam than the Challenger. After having put several hundred miles on both the Speedgoat and the Challenger, I can definitively say that the Speedgoat will hold up much longer. The Challenger sole rubber will start to peel away from the foam prematurely, whereas the Vibram sole on the Speedgoat will continue to provide excellent grip, traction, and protection for the full life of the shoe.
Boot Reviews
Asolo TPS 535 evo (factory insoles)
This is a heavy duty boot that almost borders on being an alpine boot. It can take a lot of abuse, can carry a heavy load, and has soles that can break 1000 miles. This is a slightly narrower boot, so if you have wide feet (like me), this may not be a great option. Additionally, the robustness of this boot may actually be overkill for backpacking, and underkill for alpine excursions. After years of use, the sole fell off completely, so in the picture to the right, I used my first aid kit to tape it back on for the remainder of this 5-day excursion in the Sierra’s.
Overall backpacking rating: 6.53 (see matrix below)
Vasque St. Elias (factory insoles)
This boot is similar to the Asolo in the sense that it is a very robust boot, that will require a break-in period, but will also outlast 1000 miles on the trail. It offers incredible protection, incredible support, waterproofness, plenty of grip and traction. The bad thing about this boot for long distance hikers is that it is heavy, and it is narrow. I had to size-up about two sizes, which ended up causing the toe-box to crease in a weird spot pinching down on my big toe knuckle. Over time it felt like a pair of pliers were clamping down on my foot with every step, so I only used these boots for about 150 miles. Through snow and freezing streams they were great. It was just a bad fit for my wide feet.
Overall backpacking rating: 6.49 (see matrix below)
This boot is the sweet spot for backpacking. It offers enough support for carrying a pack that’s 30% or 35% of your body weight, but it’s still light enough to be relatively efficient on the trail. A waterproof GTX version is available. The sole is grippy, knobby, and I’ve taken multiple pairs over 1000 miles each. This boot has a wider toe box than the other boots reviewed here, and is also offered in a wide version if you need some extra width. Being a slightly softer upper, this boot should not require the same break-in period the other two boots need. If I end up hiking through the San Juan’s (rather than skiing), this is the boot I’ll take.
Overall backpacking rating: 6.65 (see matrix below)
Conclusion
If your pack is 20% of your body weight or less (which I strongly recommend), and you’re not trekking through too much snow, I’d recommend a trail runner. Of the trail runners, the Hoka Speed Goat is my first choice. If your pack weighs a bit more, or if you’re going through some snow, I’d recommend a boot, and the Lowa Renegade is an excellent boot.
The scoring matrix that I provide for all gear reviews is below. Footwear type is the first column on the left, followed by brand, and model. Going across the top row are weighted factors for each of the corresponding shoe characteristics that are listed going across the second row. On the far right you’ll find the overall factored scores for each shoe, with the best score highlighted in green. Each yellow item means it was the best score in that particular characteristic.
The Hoka One One Challenger ATR is the highest scoring trail runner, and the Lowa Renegade GTX is the highest scoring boot. All characteristics were assigned an equal weight of 1 for this analysis. If price is extremely important to you, you might choose the Altra; if durability is your biggest concern, you might choose a boot.
