according to your needs—day trip versus multiday, packweight, terrain, season and temperature, your hiking style (traditional versus ultralight), and personal characteristics (e.g., weak ankles), to name a few. And there isn’t one boot that is best for every condition. The boots that are best for a day hike are not the best boots for a multiday winter camping expedition. Boots are an investment. Selecting, fitting, breaking in, and caring for your boots will help them last a long time and will maximize your own comfort.
There’s no one boot that does it all, although there are boots that will handle a pretty wide range of uses and conditions. It’s generally estimated that every pound (2.2 kilograms) of weight in your boots is the equivalent in energy expenditure of adding 5 pounds (11 kilograms) to your back. Lifting your feet up for thousands of steps each day takes a lot of energy.
When you are looking for boots, go with the lightest weight boot that meets your needs. I think about what I need in a boot in relation to what I am doing on the trail. If I am doing an extended mountaineering trip and I’ve got a 60-pound (27 kilogram) pack, I want a stiff boot that extends well over the ankle to provide me with the kind of support I need. This boot is going to be somewhat heavy. If I’m going on a multiday trip and carrying 40 pounds (18 kilograms), I’ll be fine with a lightweight boot that extends just over the ankle. If I’m on a day hike or an ultralight multiday with less than 20 pounds, I can use trail shoes or running shoes. You’ll notice that I defined all of this in terms of my personal needs. I’ve got notoriously weak ankles, so I always opt for a lot of ankle support. Someone else might not need this much support (boot weight) while others might need more. As with clothing systems, you need to decide what your body needs and look for the lightest thing that meets those needs.
Some people bring a second pair of “camp shoes” for use in camp. After a long day it feels good to get out of your boots and air out your feet, especially if they are wet from sweat or rain. Changing to camp shoes can also help reduce your impact at camp. (See “Leave No Trace Hiking and Camping.”) There is an interesting weight issue here: The heavier your boots, the more important it may be to change into camp shoes. That means even more weight from carrying a second pair of shoes. Ultralight hikers who wear low-cut trail or running shoes don’t need camp shoes. Sandals like Tevas are popular for in-camp use and are also helpful in stream crossings when you want to keep your boots dry. Many ultralight backpackers hike in sandals, which have the advantage of drying quickly, especially in rainy weather or after stream crossings. Gaiters, a boot “add-on,” are boot covers, usually waterproof, that go over your boots and socks. They help keep your boots dry as well as protect your lower legs.
Proper fitting of boots is essential, and whole treatises have been written on the subject. One thing to know about boots is that all boots are constructed on what’s called a last, a representative “average” foot mold (length, width at toes, width at heel, etc.) that the boot is built around for each shoe size. Some boot makers use a unisex last for each size while others have a separate last for women’s boots and men’s boots (and there are lasts for children’s boots). I’ve found that some manufacturers’ lasts just don’t work with my feet while others seem to be just right. Finding that winning combination of a boot that has the features you want and the correct last is your goal.
You should try new boots on in the afternoon, since your feet swell during the day. Select a sock combination of a liner sock and outer sock that you plan to wear on the trip, and try the boots on. Bring your own socks. A lot of times I’ve forgotten to bring my own socks to the store and end up using socks from some random pile the store has. Then when I get home it turns out that with my own socks the boots don’t fit right. With the boot unlaced, slide your foot all the way to the toe end of the boot. You should be able to get your index finger to fit between the back of your heel and the back of the boot. Lace up the boots with moderate tension. The laces should hold the boot in an “intermediate position”—that is, that you still have room to crank them tighter, pulling the boot together more, or loosening them up, so you can tighten or loosen the boots as needed. You should be able to wiggle your toes inside the boot. With your foot flat on the ground, hold the boot heel down and try to lift your heel inside the boot. There should be only 1/4 to 1/2 inch (6 to 12 millimeters) of heel lift. Too much heel lift will lead to friction and possible heel blisters. You also want to check the boot length. With the boot firmly laced, do some good hard kicks against a post or the floor. Do your toes smash into the front of the boot? If so you’ve discovered “boot bang.” This is a serious problem. On long downhill stretches your toes smashing into the front of the boot can result in lost toenails and other foot problems. Whatever boot bang you experience in the store will be magnified when you are going downhill with a heavy pack. If you are getting boot bang, try lacing differently, another size, different sock combination, or another boot.
As we get older our feet tend to get longer—no, we aren’t still growing, but most people’s arches begin to flatten out and without that curve the feet get longer. So if you haven’t been hiking for a while you might be in trouble if you pull that five-year-old pair of boots out of the closet and expect them to fit like they used to. If it’s been a while, wear them around before your trip and make sure it’s not time to buy a new pair.
Before you leave the store with your new boots, make sure that you can bring them back if they don’t fit. Most stores are good about this if you only wear them indoors and bring them back in good condition and in a reasonable period of time. Start wearing your boots around the house to be sure you have the right fit. Once you are happy with the fit, you need to break the boots in to your feet. Always break in a pair of new boots well before your trip. Most medium to heavyweight boots will require some use to soften up and conform to your particular feet. Even old boots should get a little break-in if you haven’t worn them for a while. Begin with short walks and gradually increase the time you wear them. Easy day hikes are a good way to break in boots. Each time you lace your boots, take the time to align the tongue and lace them properly; otherwise, the tongue will set into a bad position, which can lead to hot spots and blisters.
TRICKS OF THE TRAIL
Warm Up Those Cold Boots On a cold night, turn your sleeping bag stuff sack inside out and put your boots inside. Sleep with the stuff sack in your sleeping bag, between your legs. The coated nylon of the stuff sack will keep the wet boots from soaking your sleeping bag, and your body heat will keep the boots warm and help dry them out a bit so you don’t have to face cold or even frozen boots in the morning.
Boot care varies with the type of material—leather, synthetic leather, nylon, and combinations of these. If you have all-leather hiking boots, find out what type of leather it is. Oil-tanned leather is usually treated with wax or oil, chrome-tanned leather with silicone wax (a beeswax-silicone mixture is recommended). The primary reason for treating boots is not to completely waterproof them, but to make them water repellent and to nourish the leather to prevent it from drying and cracking. Boots should be treated when they are new and on a regular basis to keep the leather supple.
Wet boots should be air-dried slowly or with low heat (put them in the sun). Don’t try to dry boots quickly (for example,
