Trail shoes advice

[suspectmonkey]

Looking some footwear to replace my now badly leaking and falling apart walking boots.  After chatting to a few folk over the weekend, and some pretty sound advice from Spark, I've my mind pretty set on going the trail shoe route. 

I know every foot is different, so planning to go to Jackson's this weekend to try some on and see how they feel.  I had a look on the Inov8 website though and the ones that seem to fit the bill are the Roclite 320's.  Do they look like they would be suitable for tramping around the Mournes at the weekends, and maybe some long distance routes as well?

One other question... I don't want to go for waterproof shoes as everything I've read suggests they are a right pain to dry out when they do get wet.  But I also don't particularly fancy totally soaking feet.  What kinda sock/gaiter combo would you recommend to try and keep the feet relatively dry?  I've been using big, thick Bridgedales to date and whilst I love them for comfort I find they are very difficult to dry.

Ta in advance  

[Spark]

Me again Jon well in your nice new trail shoe try some smart wool socks to start of with also available in jacksons, but your goal will be to be able to wear as thin aand light socks as you can so once the feet get used to being wet they will also dry quite fast so the thicker the socks the more water they are going to hold and the longer it will takae to dry out..!!

And on the gaiter's im a fan of the raidlight mini's and ive not tried the the inov8 debris sock but think there a similar idea just enough th keep the crap out of your shoes...!

[ulsterwalker]

Depending on how long you're out for/how far you are going, wet feet becomes a bit of a non issue.

If you're only out for the day, why bother with trying to keep you're feet dry? After they get wet you don't have to avoid puddles, crossing streams/bogs/rivers becomes less of an issue as you already have wet feet. All the same, most people will try and stay dry, but once you're feet actuallly get wet you don't have to be always looking out for the water.

If you're out for a multi day trek and keeping your pack light then you will only be carrying a set of walking clothes and a set of sleeping clothes and a similar system should be used for your feet. You can get away with 2 pairs of socks for a couple days if needs be, 1 walking, 1 for camp. Obviously this means possibly putting on dirty/wet socks in the morning, but once you get going it won't make a difference. In practice if out for more than a couple nights, I'd have more than 2 pairs socks with me but its not really necesary.

On the other hand if I want to keep my feet dry I use a pair of trekmates amphibian gore-tex socks which look like theyve been cut by a blind tailor, but are actually pretty good and haven't given me any foot problems. Water would neeed to go over my lower shin to get past them, but if its really that wet, or I was crossing soaking wet fields I'd probably throw my wet proof trousers and Integral designs mini gaiters on to keep my feet dry. The ID mini gaiters are also a good unit, made from eVent and just the right size of a gaiter in my eyes, helps keep all the seeds dirt and shit out of your shoes and socks as well as the water

[J]

I just bought a pair of Salomon Speed Cross 2 from Cotswolds. Haven't had a chance to try them yet and can't find Goretex socks anywhere. Also can't be sure if my gaiters are going to fit them or not.

[666_pack]

i gave my inov-8 terrocs their first blast on the hills last weekend and was well chuffed with performance and comfort. Don't be to hung up un the wet feet coz as spark said thin socks will dry out in no time.....once ypu find the right pair for your feet you'll never look back




http://upandrunning.co.uk/websales/detail.php?id=1175&catid=1

[suspectmonkey]

Thanks for the replies.  Part of the reason I wanted to know what socks to go with is so that I know what socks to be wearing when I go to try the shoes on   No point turning up in my big, thick Bridgedales and getting shoes to fit around them if I'm going to end up wearing thin socks.

666, those Terroc 330's are on my shopping list as well.  Did you buy yours from the Up & Running shop?  Not really sure of the difference between them and the Roclites though, other than the Roclites seem to have more cushioning (according to the Inov-8 website).

Will let you know how I get on any way, but hopefully next time there is a camp fire going I can have some steam coming from my shoes and be melting my insoles

[666_pack]

hi jon I actually got mine in cotswolds, But I've heard good things about up & running regarding their fitting process.

[chris]

just to throw my 2pence in jon I have a pair of roclite 315's and i'm very impressed. Very light and "airy" if you know what I mean. Not described as overly padded or anything on the inov-8 website but then again my feet aren't really that blister prone so perhaps the padding wouldn't make a difference. Also apparantly (according to the website!) they won best in trail and most durable shoe or something! http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detail.asp?PG=PG1&P=5050973101&L=26

Anyway I love them to bits now and would rarely wear anything else and yeas a big thumbs up to thin socks once your feet are hardy!

[MG1]

I got these bad boys today, in black, so can't wait to get them on the hills.

http://www.salomon.com/uk/#/footwear/footwear/trail-running/speedcross-2

[J]

Got a pair of Salomons myself. They make a goos shoe.

[MG1]

Have you had your s on the hills yet?

[J]

Not on the hills, just on the flat. Too early to tell really.

[Spark]

Not on the hills, just on the flat. Too early to tell really.

Just be carefull it was the slippy salomon's i had on when i slid and broke my finger..!tho I do belive the speedcross have slightly better grip, but not just as good as the mudclaws or the like..........

[MG1]

Tried them out the day on a mtb track round Craigavon lakes so far so good. Not many hills though.

[MG1]

I put the salomons through hell on Sunday and they were sound. My feet were a bit cold for a while when we stopped, but when we got going there were dead on. My left ankle and the ball of my foot took a battering, but i think thats just the transition from the boots. There is a lot of bog around Eagle mountain