Kit Bits: Finding Your Sole Mate

In the lead-up to Christmas, I am once again reminded of how rampant mass consumerism is the norm.  People going mad over perceived deals and steals, stressing over buying expensive pressies, trying to squeeze onto the tube with an inhuman amount of shopping bags.  It's hard not to get caught up in the spirit of things or come down with a case of the FOMO.  I'm a big proponent of buying quality.  I've seen so many cases on the trail of "buy cheap, buy twice" as something new or new-ish falls apart mid-hike.    

Despite what the kit junkies might have you believe, I think there might only be two pieces of equipment that you should be slightly more spendy on: your footgear and your waterproof jacket.

First up. Let's talk boots.

RIP my old boots.  You served me well despite the pain you caused.

Boots are an obvious contender for the most important bit of kit I own. I want my feet to stay dry and be blister and pain free. Is that too much to ask of lashed together leather and rubber? I spent years and years of hiking with my feet a wreck. Plasters and Compeed and tape masked any exposed skin on my poor pieds every time I hit the trail. It's a small miracle that I kept going, wishfully thinking that eventually my feet would toughen up to the point of no more hotspots and blisters. After losing several toenails on one arduous multiday trek (and taping them back on hoping they would somehow reattach), I decided to get fitted properly at my local outdoor shop for my next hike.

What a game changer!

It did take a few hours to find the right pair. I asked nicely to try on every pair in the shop and was fortunate to have a very indulgent sales guy.  I didn't want to see the price and have my judgement clouded by silly numbers, so every pair in my size was brought out and made their way up and down the faux-stony ramp.  When I ran out of the ladies' sizes, I asked to try on the smaller men's sizes, just in case. And at the end of the day, what fit my foot best was.... the second most expensive pair in the shop. They were light weight enough to not feel like carrying bricks on my feet, flexible enough for it to feel more like a trainer than a stiff boot, fit my foot like a glove (har!) and stuck to slippery rock with their thick treads without nary a slip.  The heel was narrow, and the toe box was roomy, with enough wiggle room to get my thick wooly hiking socks in and account for a bit of puffy end-of-day feet.  With no break in time at all, I was sold.  While leather boots might be quite tough and durable and almost fully waterproof, I find the lightweight hybrid boots to be more comfortable for long days on the trail.  

Just another winter hike behind us...but the feet are dry.  Hopefully the pub landlords aren't fussed.

Since then, I've been tearing up the countryside and mountains blister-free. I can hike a hundred miles a week and my feet will still feel good...that agonizing pain of being on my feet all day and foot fatigue I had after previous hikes are gone.  

I see a lot of newbie hikers and casual hikers with the cheapest of the cheap boots. Yes, I know, not everyone can afford a stellar top shelf pair. And maybe their feet have a magical ability to endure a less than ideal fit.  But if you are going to spend a lot of time marching around the mountains and countryside, do your feet a solid.  

Another hot tip: try on boots once you've been out on your feet all day or, better yet, once you've come back from a hike.  It's normal for your feet to swell up a bit after use, and you want the boots to accommodate that, rather than your pristine early-morning dainty Cinderella feet.   Don't be ashamed to go up a half size if that what feels right.  There's a lot of deep-seated cultural norms out there about dainty feet being desirable, but I'm all for comfy happy feet being even more desirable.  Also, bring a pair of socks that you will wear with your boots.  A lot of outdoor shops have a pair or two on hand to borrow when you are trying on.  But ew, yeck.  Communal socks.   

When I'm out on a hike and people ask me about my go-to boots, I hesitate to even mention a brand.  After much trial and error, I found something that worked for me.  There's plenty of brands out there that other people swear by and are happy with but didn't work for me.  Once at an outdoor center, I borrowed a really expensive well-known boot that mountaineers swear by.  It felt all wrong- the soles were too hard, and I couldn't balance well on uneven ground.   At the end of the day, the bottoms of my feet felt bruised.  Don't go for a brand just because everyone else swears by it.  Be honest with yourself.  

Drying boots that went through a few river crossings on the trail.  Waterproofing works both ways!

Remember that most reputable boot brands will guarantee them for a year or two.  In these days of e-receipts and online orders, it's so easy to keep records.  The days of desperate searching for a tattered faded bit of till tape is over!  If they spring a leak or start falling apart while they are still in the time frame, it's worth getting in touch with the manufacturer.  Usually, they want a few photos of the defects and they will send you a new pair.  I had one of my hikers spend quite a bit on new boots only to have them hurt his feet.  The manufacturer offered to take them back and stretch them for free, and now they fit.  

No matter what boots you choose, may your adventures be memorable!