How to choose hiking boots?

Shoes are the most important part of your hiking gear for comfortable and safe walk. Right hiking boots will guarantee a successful hike. It can be difficult for beginners to make a choice among the many options on the market. A large number of hiking boots of various types and purposes are produced today, with differences in quality and price. We’ve prepared this article to help you understand how to choose hiking boots. We tried to highlight the most important points and explain the basic principles that should be followed when buying hiking boots.

So, how to choose the right hiking boots? It will be much easier to solve this problem, if you give honest answers to the following questions:

What difficulty routes do you plan to walk on? How difficult is the route? Does it have truncated relief, rocky or mud areas? The more difficult is the route, the higher the boot should be, to keep the ankles and lower leg firm.

How heavy will your backpack be? Heavy backpack creates additional pressure on the feet and deforms the sole of the boots, which can negatively affect the boot’s adhesion to the terrain. So the heavier your backpack is, the thicker and stronger the soles of your boots should be.

What is your physical condition? It is especially important in what condition the muscles of your legs are? If your legs are muscular and your tendons have high elasticity, then you will need less additional support for your shoes. That’s why you can meet experienced and fit hikers wearing light boots, as their leg muscles are well trained. Beginners are not recommended to go hiking in these boots, because they have a higher risk of getting injuries.

By answering these questions, your idea of your future hiking boots will become clearer.

Types of hiking boots

Hiking boots can be conditionally divided into three groups:

• Hiking boots
• Trekking boots
• Mountaineering boots

Of course this division is conditional, and there are many subtypes here. But not to confuse you with the overabundance of information, we will follow this classification.

Lightweight hiking boots

These boots are suitable for short and easy hiking trips in a relatively gentle terrain. These boots are not very high; they protect only one part of the ankle. The sole is relatively soft. As an amortization layer EVA insole is used. It takes the form of the foot and provides maximum comfort.

These types of boots are not very strong and durable; they are not designed for long-term trekking with a heavy backpack. The upper part is often made of mesh fabric. All this makes the boots light and comfortable. Boots are very breathable and suitable for hot weather. However, along with this, protective functions suffer. The boots are not protected from water, and in difficult rocky places (for example, the Northern peak of Aragats) they quickly get damaged. Anyway, due to the low price, these boots remain the most popular in the Armenian market.

Trekking boots

There are many types of Trekking boots. They can be designed for various purposes. But all those boots are united by several features that we will try to shortly describe.

First of all, these types of boots are higher; they fully cover the ankles and partially or completely cover the lower legs, depending on the boots. The sole of these boots has several hard and soft layers that follow each other to create the best combination of strength, comfort and adhesion to the terrain. Since these boots are used in more extreme conditions and at higher loads, the quality of their soles should be very high. The leading manufacturer of soles in the world is Vibram.

There are a few exceptions, for example, the Salomon brand, which has its own soles named Contagrip. They also provide excellent traction. Contagrip is often used in trail running and sky running competitions due to its light weight. Vibram soles are very strong, non-slip, with good traction. Depending on the model of the boots, a special multi-layer combination provides ideal comfort and safety. Always choose trekking boots with Vibram or Salomon – Contagrip soles.

Trekking boots are mainly made of leather, suede, or the combination of these two materials. Textile and mesh boots are almost never found, since strength and durability are the most important things for these boots. Always keep in mind the following principle. The fewer seams there are on boots, the more durable and waterproof they will be. Boots that are sewed or glued from different fabrics are usually lighter, more comfortable and cheap, but they don’t really protect from the water and wear out quickly. In trekking boots the amortization layer is EVA insole, or polyurethane, which adds more strength to the base of the boot, preventing it from deforming when walking on difficult terrain.

Polyurethane is found in boots of a higher class, which require maximum strength. These boots are more expensive. Their price starts from 200-300 dollars. If you plan to often go hiking and take long trekking routes outside of well-groomed paths, and if the weight of your backpack often exceeds 20 kilograms, then these boots will be perfect for you.

Mountaineering boots

These boots can be single or double. Single mountaineering boots are designed for mountain climbing up to 5000 meters (summer Elbrus is their limit). Double mountaineering boots are designed for mountain climbing to high peaks reaching more than 6000-7000 meters. They are often insulated with a removable plastic layer. These boots are made with latest technologies and the best and most expensive materials, which is why their price can often reach 1000 dollars and even more.

All mountaineering boots have stiff frame and additional details made of metallic plates. Their laces are designed to fixate the foot in all important areas. Front and back of the boot have two special details (welts) to attach crampons. These boots are heavy, each of them can weight more than 1 kilogram. That’s why they are perfect for mountaineering.

Now that you know the main types of hiking boots, we will explain some basic things that you need to know when choosing boots.

What is membrane?

Membranes are specially designed polymeric substances. The density between their molecules is made in the way to allow the sweat to leave, but not to let the drops of water with larger molecules to get inside. Boots, clothes or any other items where the membrane is used, acquire conflicting properties: they provide water resistance and at the same time prevent sweating. The most popular membrane company is Gore-Tex. Its product is used in approximately 80% of clothing and equipment around the world.  All of the shoes mentioned above are made with a membrane. It is nesessary for any category of hiking.

Don’t go hiking in new boots!

Recently purchased boots are not ready for hiking. They are very stiff, do not seat well on the foot and rub heels and toes. You need to walk in your new boots around the city for several days to make them softer and adjust them to your feet. This applies especially to stiff, heavy boots.

How to choose the right type and size?

Choosing the right size is extremely important, since the wrong shoes can seriously damage your legs. If the boots are too large, your foot will not be fixed and you may twist your ankle. If boots are small, they will rub the heel, form wounds, and during descent you may break your toenails. Believe me a broken toenail takes a very long time to recover. Always give preference to larger sizes if you are faced with a choice. After a long walk feet can swell, due to active blood circulation. As a result if boots are the exact size or smaller, then your feet will swell and lead to the same consequences.

It is advisable to choose hiking boots in the evening. At this time of the day, feet usually swell slightly. Thus you will be able to choose the right size for hiking. Take several pairs of socks of different thicknesses with you. Try on the boots with all of the socks, because you will wear them both in summer and in colder weather, when you will need warmer socks. Don’t rush to choose the boots, try on several models. It’s possible that even boots of the same brand and same size will sit differently on your feet. Walk around the store in boots, try to walk up and down the stairs.

In stores there are special platforms made of stones. You can walk on the platform and feel how the boots manifest themselves. Feel free to try on different models and walk in them for a long time. Remember that you will pay a big amount of money for these boots, and the sales assistant must take an individual approach to you.

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