Lightweight Trail Shoes vs. Frankenstein Boots

[KDF]

I am a moderately experienced hunter (3 elk seasons) , and an experienced backpacker (20 years). Over the years I have migrated from heavy hiking boots to trail runners. I just don't understand the need for 6+ pounds of boot. What is the advantage? Ankle Support? Do people really sprain ankles that often? (It has never happened to me except on a basketball court.) I can see the argument that trail runners might get torn on rocks or shale, but if that was a big concern you could carry 2 or 3 extra pairs of trail runners and still save weight and money (I wouldn't do this as I don't see the need - just making a point). Perhaps the big boots are justified when packing out a big animal, but you would always have the option to just move more slowly.

I would be very interested in everyone's thoughts.


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[elkguide]

Totally depends on where I am hunting.

I have worn heavy, hard, vibram type soled, leather hiking boots all the way to hunting in sneakers.

I have stalked in close in my bare feet.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I am a much less experienced hunter but have a good bit of time in boots in the woods. I have been playing with everything from merrell moabs to heavier danners for my hunting.

I tend to favor higher boots for hunting regardless of weight. When hiking it is a bit easier to avoid that mud puddle. When hunting that may not be an option if you want to follow a path or push through a piece of terrain.

As far as trail runner vs boot. I definitely notice the benefit of a certain amount of added stability with loads of 40lbs or more. Add some meat to your pack or a drag and I think the added support is worth it. Late last season I had to drag a whitetail a mile or so back to my truck. Part of that was uphill on some rocky terrain. I was wearing a pair of sneaker like tactical boots with out a lot of sole. I tweaked something in the bottom of my foot when stepping over a rock. A bit more boot would have been welcome.

It is a bit like a gun. That 13 lb bench gun is a dream to shoot when the time comes but heavy to carry. Lightweight boots feel great but you give up the extra support for the times you would want it. I will say that I think the lighter you go the more you have to train your feet for strength and balance to avoid issues.

For me, I think the right answer is a mid weight. I am exploring options but haven't found one I like yet.

 

[kickemall]

I love trail runners and have no problem with them even with heavy loads, up hill or down hill but don't like them, even without a load on side hills. On side hills, which is impossible to avoid where I hunt, my foot moves off to the side of the sole and seems to want to roll to the down hill side. Another minor thing about trail runners is that if I'm hiking through any kind of thorn or stickers many of them come right through the shoes. This is just what I have found over many miles in Brooks Cascadia's, various Salomons and a couple different Merrill trail runners. I still wear trail runners a lot but for hunting its Salomon Quests or Kennetreks.

 

[wapitibob]

Soft shoes like Merril Moabs worked fine for me when hunting on dirt and sticks. In antelope country where every step is on a rock or down in a hole, your foot bends wth every step. After a cpl miles of that I decided to use a stiff sole boot for most of my hunting.

 

[camping1601]

This is perfect timing! My feet are sore as hell after just an 16 mile weekend in the NE. I have been there and done that with boots and my 42 year old feet like some protection underneath. For MYSELF I like a light shoe for day hiking but 20 plus pounds on my back and I want some more shoe. To each their own but anything over a day trip and I want good under foot protection and a fairly stiff shoe.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

For me, hiking with trail runners no problem. Hunting I am off trail almost exclusively, which demands more robust footwear to handle the constant side hill angles, steep climbs, shale fields, etc. Something to consider is options between the trail runner and 8" leather boot....you can do a lot with a 6" boot that has a good, stiff sole, assuming you hunt terrain where that's a need.


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[Desk Jockey]

I am dating myself but about 20 years ago I went on a roadmarch in the army in my new pair of hi-tec magnums. Great, lightweight boots. About a 60 pound pack. 12 miles over dirt and gravel roads with rolling hills. My feet were so soar and sensitive by the end I could count every stone in that road just by walking over it. Those magnums didn't see another road March again.

 

[5MilesBack]

Lots of variables go into boot choice. I'd love to hunt in lightweight running shoes, but that's not going to happen. One thing that I hate is every pine needle, piece of grass, sticks, twigs, and everything else getting into my shoes. With a minimum 7-8" boot this becomes much less likely than with trail runners. Trail runners are also even less waterproof than most boots are.

Several miles of side-hilling will have you begging for taller stiffer boots. Climbing over deadfall all day on super steep slopes can also roll ankles in a heartbeat, especially when it gets wet. Rocky terrain under soft sole shoes will eat your feet up as well.

When you add all that together and do that day in and day out for 10+ days straight with several miles a day, your feet will thank you if you have adequate boots on.

 

[kodiakfly]

Hell, I wear crampon-compatible mountaineering boots just around town because they're comfortable for me, so you can guess what I wear hunting. I did lighten up my early season/deer boot to a Sportiva Trango. But late or for goat, I'm in Lhotses or Nepals. I have rolled ankles, and I often side hill, kick steps and toe a ledge.

 

[DaveC]

The hunting in mountain boots thing still bemuses and mystifies me. Majorily groupthink plus most folks having weak feet. Light shoes + heavy pack + tough terrain demands strong feet and ankles. It can be done by most, but if you're coming from mountain boots is a multi-year project. I use my summer trail runners for early season hunting, including sheep. I do move to mid-height leather and goretex boots for late season, mainly because I've had such rotten luck with anything fabric and WPB staying waterproof.

Lightest suitable footwear + strong legs and feet = fastest and most efficient option for a given task.

Not having the ankle and foot strength to sidehill in trail shoes is a legit reason to not use them, but having your feet sliding around inside the shoes is evidence that they either don't fit or lack structure in the upper. Look for something with rigid, synthetic reinforcements which hold your foot in place (LaSportiva Bushido is a good, current example). Truly rigid uppers will make up for weak ankles, but all that force doesn't disappear, it is transferred upstream to your knees, often just causing different problems.

 

[topher89]

I don't mind hunting in trail runners but find that off-trail miles really can put some wear and tear on them. Leather boots or hybrid material boots like the Salomon Quests just seem sturdier and more durable.

I have also noticed, the longer I am out, the more I want a stiff sole. A day in trail runners is not bad but a few days in row are killer on my feet.

 

[Dos Perros]

Do the trail shoes have stiff shanks? I guess...what's the difference between a trail running shoe and a typical running shoe?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Majorily groupthink plus most folks having weak feet. Light shoes + heavy pack + tough terrain demands strong feet and ankles. It can be done by most, but if you're coming from mountain boots is a multi-year project.

Hmmm. Not sure I entirely agree with you on this but I don't get into the woods or hills enough to say one way or another.

Question: are there any guides out there doing backpack hunting that use trail runners for the majority of their work? I always find it instructive to look to the people that do this stuff for a living.

 

[DaveC]

Do the trail shoes have stiff shanks? I guess...what's the difference between a trail running shoe and a typical running shoe?

Lower heel, tread more suited to mud/dirt/etc, and often a light plastic shank/rock plate and softer/sticker rubber. Plenty of variability in shoe stiffness amongst trail runners.

 

[DaveC]

Question: are there any guides out there doing backpack hunting that use trail runners for the majority of their work? I always find it instructive to look to the people that do this stuff for a living.

Durability would be an issue. Good trail runners will have uppers that outlast the tread, but usually not by much.

 

[5MilesBack]

I guess the title and the classification of the boots lends itself to the size of the hunter as well. I certainly wouldn't classify my hunting boots as "Frankenstein boots", but I guess if some 5'6" 140lb guy was wearing them then he might consider them Frankenstein boots.

And my Zamberlans are only 3.78lbs in a size 13, and my 10" high boots are only 4.2lbs.

 

[LBFowler]

Question: are there any guides out there doing backpack hunting that use trail runners for the majority of their work? I always find it instructive to look to the people that do this stuff for a living.

Professionals aren't immune to groupthink, and small, insular groups can be more vulnerable to it. Ever seen wildland firefighters still sporting high-heel boots? They are quite attached to them despite there being numerous better options they are slow to adopt.

Also I've noticed a lot of professionals (in many fields) are too busy doing their jobs to contemplate novel alternatives to the old standbys, that is a job for casual amateurs, or outsiders with new perspectives.

As Dave said, switching to less supportive footwear can be a LONG process, and is not something you can dabble in for a season and decide if you like it. I suspect many people have tried the switch and immediately rejected it because it didn't feel good (ask my calves). I tried my first multi-day trip in shoes for quite some time, (I've always been a light boot guy) and I came home with burning calves and stabilizer muscles I haven't used in quite some time. The shoes I wore where very sloppy (altra lone peak 2.0) so I think I was putting a lot of muscle into just keeping my foot from sliding off the sole. The bottoms of my feet where always sore and tired at the end of the day, but I noticed they bounced back much faster then my legs as they where always fine the next morning.

I'm going to keep working at it for curiosities sake but I will probably stick with boots in general for several reasons:

-I'm lazy, and building all that foot and leg strength looks suspiciously like work.
-I like to be more careless about where I put my feet, in certain terrain light shoes have me looking at my feet more then the scenery
-Due to the oddities of my own feet I have an easier time lacing stuff securely around my ankle then my foot
-Despite there being many gaiter solutions, tall shoes are the path of least resistance in keeping debris out.
-I do prefer more foot protection on the topside, it certainly isn't needed, but I like to have a wide margin for being careless

I will certainly contend that many boots are a self fulfilling prophecy, anything with a tall, narrow heel (even some Lowas I've tried) can cause lots of "jeeze, I almost rolled my ankle just then, good thing I'm wearing boots!" moments. I'm not holding my breath, but I'd love to try a zero-drop boot with a thin, PU midsole.

 

[RallySquirrel]

I can only speak for myself. I have ruined the tendons in my right ankle from turning it so often. I've damn near fallen over from stepping on a nickel wrong. Though I have worked hard to strengthen and rehab, I know its all to easy it is to reinjure the ankle. Lighter would be more comfortable but I need stability in the backcountry. I would hate to risk a preventable injury 10+ miles in to save a pound on my feet.

 

[5MilesBack]

As Dave said, switching to less supportive footwear can be a LONG process, and is not something you can dabble in for a season and decide if you like it.

One could also go so far as to say "switching to bare foot hunting can be a LONG process, and is not something you can dabble in for a season and decide if you like it", but that still doesn't automatically mean that's the best choice.

I've played basketball my entire life and had numerous ankle sprains over those years with flat shoes. Yet in 35 years of big game hunting I've only rolled an ankle once, and that was wearing a pair of flimsy boots without the higher heel. All those other roll-free years were with taller heavier mountain type boots with a heel.

Just like anything else, there's no one answer that fits for everyone, and people need to figure out what works best for them. When I'm hunting these days, I don't even think about what's on my feet. My boots are just an extension of my body and provide everything I need from them. No picking pine needles, twigs and grass, rocks, and everything else out of my socks......no worries where I place my foot (especially in cactus country), and enough support to run up and down rocky slopes without worrying about where to step, or beaten up bruised feet.....especially after an entire season of hard miles.

Plenty of guys I know wear low-cut trail shoes, and if that works for them.....fantastic.