[philmont] Recommendations on Boots?

The problem with asking this kind of question to the list is that you get an
awful lot of opinions that may or may not help you make a decision. This
past summer was my first Philmont trek, so perhaps some observations from
someone who was in your position a year ago would be helpful.

I had purchased some boots from REI a couple of years ago to go on another
hiking trip. The boots felt fine in the store, and seemed to be OK on
shorter outings. However, on the days where we hiked 9 or 10 miles they
became very uncomfortable. I had hoped that they would "break in", but they
never did. When I found out we were going to Philmont I decided those boots
just would not cut it. So I took them back to REI and they gave me full
credit towards another pair of boots. (Listers, don't even start about how
I should not have returned something after such a long time. REI is a
cooperative and exists for the benefit of its members, including me. In my
opinion, their lifetime guarantee exists for exactly this type of
situation.) The boots I upgraded to were the most expensive in the store,
Asolo brand. I wore those on the training hikes and they were great! (I
did not buy them because they were the most expensive, but because they felt
the most comfortable on my feet.)

It is my opinion that you really cannot judge boots in the store. This is
why I would never consider buying boots from anyone except a company like
REI where you can bring them back if they don't work well. It may take you
months to decide that they just are not working, so you need the ability to
return them after wearing them quite a bit. Do not, under any
circumstances, go to Philmont with boots that do not work well hiking 10
miles with a full pack, because that is what you will be doing there!

I had also considered getting a pair of Crocs to wear as camp shoes.
However, after looking into this, I found that my current running shoes were
quite lightweight, not much heavier than a pair of Crocs. So, I took the
running shoes and changed into those when we got to camp. The lighter
weight and openness of the running shoes made my feet feel much better after
a long day on the trail. I also think that if I had a boot blowout on the
trail, the running shoes would have been a much better substitute than
Crocs. So I would recommend taking something comfortable to put on your
feet at camp.

Good luck to you!

Guinn Unger

From: philmont@troop47.com [mailto:philmont@troop47.com] On Behalf Of Jim
Zeszutek
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 11:19 PM
To: philmont List Member
Subject: [philmont] Recommendations on Boots?

Hello all,

I am leading a crew in August of 08.

Any recommendations on boots and footwear from the group?

Yours In Scouting Service,

Jim Zeszutek

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Southeast Wisconsin Council

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Received on Fri Dec 7 12:09:23 2007