Packing meat in trail running shoes?

[GotDraw?]

Suggest you find a really rocky trail (hopefully steep too), put 2ea 50lb bags of concrete in your pack and hike back/forth for 10 miles non-stop to simulate packing out 1/2 of an elk in to two 5 mile trips. Hopefully it is also raining and miserable with poor footing when you go in order to simulate real world situations. Concrete is cheap and you'll get your own personal answer for less than $15 because your truth is the only one that matters.

I don't buy great boots for the 90% of the time where footing is easy/safe. I buy them for the 1% of the time where my comfort/safety depend on them. YMMV.

You'll be best served to invest your own time/effort to figure it out for yourself because you'll value that decision after you invested your own blisters in it.

JL

 

[fngTony]

View attachment 661058
You can wear whatever you want/like/already own. If you want to stay away from boots id recommed approach shoes like the TX3 or 4

That guy definitely gets a 5%er title (leupold thread in optics)

 

[BigBird69]

I hiked the beaten path with a 75lbs pack wearing tennis shoes. I was actually very comfortable except going over rocks. It didn't feel great on the bottom of my feet.

If there's no snow I hunt in tennis shoes but leave boots in my truck just in case. I have switched from tennis shoes to boots after the first load of meat depending on terrain or blow down.

 

[CodeMonkey]

At 30 years old, probably. At 46, hell no.

I'm in my late thirties and both my ankles starting hurting the second I read the thread title.

 

[fngTony]

I’m going to catch hell for this but…. I have the low top of these for summer hiking, they also have an insulated option. They aren’t cloth on the sides like my old brooks were (breathable but leaves foot prone to injury when not on a groomed trail). Definitely not a best of both worlds but in between enough that I would try them on some hunting scenarios. https://www.thenorthface.com/en-us/...ctiv-fastpack-mid-futurelight-boots-pNF0A5JCW.

 

[def90]

I'd say load up your pack and do some hiking around town and see how it feels.

It's been a few years but I used to hike 14ers in Colorado wearing flip flops. Was almost at the peak of Mt Yale when I had a guy fully dressed up in Scarpas and mountaineering gear tell me that I was putting everyone on the mountain at risk. I've always believed that you build strong ankles by wearing shitty shoes, but then again I'm the idiot at the top of a 14er in flip flops.

 

[fngTony]

I'd say load up your pack and do some hiking around town and see how it feels.

It's been a few years but I used to hike 14ers in Colorado wearing flip flops. Was almost at the peak of Mt Yale when I had a guy fully dressed up in Scarpas and mountaineering gear tell me that I was putting everyone on the mountain at risk. I've always believed that you build strong ankles by wearing shitty shoes, but then again I'm the idiot at the top of a 14er in flip flops.

Were you wearing socks?

 

[PNWGATOR]

Do you guys realize the OP doesn’t give two Fks and is only interested in hitting post count for the classifieds?

 

[def90]

Were you wearing socks?

No, I'm not a heathen..

 

[PNW bow hunter]

I’m researching which hiking boot to purchase for next season, and see that lightweight shoes such as the hoka speedboat are popular in the early season. Certainly the lighter weight shoe is one advantage, but is this feasible when trying to pack out 100 pounds of meat?

I would research some different aqua socks.

Boots are way overrated.

Aqua socks dry out way faster after creek crossings.

Needing a stiff shanked, or stiff soled boot for steep terrain, and an extra 100 lbs in your pack is way overkill.

I would personally check out your local Target store at the end of the summer for a deal on aqua socks. They should also have some tuck friendly swimwear that will come in handy for those water crossings when packing out heavy!

 

[fngTony]

No, I'm not a heathen..

Well then that guy was correct

 

[7mm-08]

I was with a friend 25 years ago when he injured his ankle coming downhill with half a bone-in cow elk in a Kifaru pack, which is designed to handle that kind of weight - its just that he wasn't. He (mistakenly) believed at the time that he could do his half in one trip and it would take me two to get what he perceived as my half even though he was the killer. To make a long story short, after that little injury, he hunted a few more years but was unable to carry much weight (25 or 30 pounds). He eventually quit hunting altogether. Something we all need to consider when loading a pack.

 

[hardincobucks]

You can get buy with trail runners when on trail or with a light pack but off trail or 70lbs+ definitely not. Shuttle the meat to a trail or road then put on the trail runners.

 

[Yoder]

Put 70lbs on your back and go for a hike with whatever hikers you have, then try boots with more support and see what you think.

 

[Robobiss]

I wear my Crispi’s every single day, so wearing them while hunting isn’t a pain in the ass to me.

Maybe a trail runner would be more enjoyable at times, but the ankle support of a mountaineering boot is not something I want to be without. All it takes is one misstep and one broken ankle and you can be in serious trouble.

Maybe I won’t die, but is the comfort from the trail runner worth a helicopter ride to me? What about giving up the rest of hunting season? What about half of ski/ice fishing/snowmobile season? Maybe even being out of work depending on what your job is.

That little bit of comfort/convenience is not worth it to me.

 

[mdp22]

I would steer you away from the speedgoats for packing meat simply due to the high stack-height. They are a phenomenal trail running shoe, however the comparatively high stack height makes them a little more susceptible to ankle rolling, and a more dramatic ankle roll at that. Do that with 100lbs on your back, and that a quick way to get in trouble. Also that much weight on your back on uneven terrain makes you way more susceptible to rolling ankles, regardless of what shoe you’re in. I would suggest looking trail runners with lower stack heights.

I would second this along with the Salomon Speedcross. Definitely more comfortable but pretty easy to roll an ankle on a side slope with the high heel.

 

[maine]

Do you guys realize the OP doesn’t give two Fks and is only interested in hitting post count for the classifieds?

No I am interested, I thought it was a legitimate questions. I was also trying to get access to the classifieds as well but am genuinely curious.

 

[IdahoElk]

Ankles don't like scree and shale.

 

[mtwarden]

I'm in trail runners 9 months of the year- 30 mile days backpacking, bagging peaks and even snowshoeing. Have been for at least two decades.

I thought I'd be good to go without a traditional mountain boot for hunting and tried a pair of heavier (compared to my trail runners) "light" hikers. As soon as I got into some steeper country and had to do a bunch of sidehilling- the experiment was quickly halted. If I would have had to do the same w/ 70+ lbs on my pack- I would have been screwed.

 

[ewade07]

Invest in boots so you're not spending money on medical bills