[philmont] Boots Story

We went to Bass Pro before our trek last year for my son, and thought we had
the perfect hiker. Felt great, fit great - until the pack was loaded and on
his back! What felt fine around the store and the house changed as soon as
we started adding the weight. We eventually bought a pair of Merrill's for
him that half solved the problem. He was still having a problem with the
support, despite changing out the insole for added support. I finally broke
down and sprang for a pair of the Spenco Heavy Duty Hiking footbeds ($30).
The tears ended immediately. These footbeds are designed for hikers that
are carrying 25+ pounds and hiking multi days. The support offered is
awesome. I bought a pair for myself, too, and will never doubt the money
spent on them. http://www.spenco.com/product/302-backpacker You could
probably try to score some off Ebay for cheaper.

The other thing that a fitter showed us a few years ago at Bass Pro was a
Runner's Knot. This as a great technique for cranking the laces tighter -
for all day, or just for a rough section of trail. My son & I both employ
this technique, with little slippage. One of my son's crewmates stopped
half way up the last section of Baldy to have his boots relaced this way.
His buddy claimed it saved his ascent!

Loose Heel, Narrow Foot
The Runner's Knot can eliminate heel slippage in most cases. Follow the
diagram exactly. Be sure to snug the slack out of all the loops in the hitch
before giving it your preferred tightening tension (Important! Pull down
toward the ground to remove slack. Then pull up, and cross the laces to get
your preferred tightening tension.) Finish lacing the eyelets in normal
fashion.

     Often referred to as "Lace Locks", this is not a lacing method as much
as a technique for creating a super-tight finish. It's often recommended for
lacing running shoes to help prevent heel slippage. FEATURES:
      Tightens firmly
      Reduces slippage
      Harder to loosen

Happy Hiking!

Karen Kelly

T185 - Waterford, Michigan

2006, 2008

  -----Original Message-----
  From: philmont@troop47.com [mailto:philmont@troop47.com]On Behalf Of Guinn
Unger
  Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 2:40 PM
  To: philmont List Member
  Subject: [philmont] Boots Story

  I bought some new boots at REI this weekend, and I thought my experience
might be useful to some others.

  As background, I bought a pair of Montrail boots 2 years ago at REI. I
was never satisfied with those boots, but thought they might eventually get
broken in enough to be comfortable. No such luck. So, in preparing for our
Philmont trek this summer I decided I had to get new boots.

  Given the total cost of attending Philmont, paying for both my son and
myself, it seemed like trying to save a few bucks on boots was not a great
idea. At 58 years old, going on my first Philmont trek, I can afford to get
something good. At the Houston REI store I tried on a pair of Vasque
Sundowners, and I liked them. The salesperson was pushing the Superfeet
insoles, so I tried those, and they felt a good bit better than the Vasque
insoles. I was close to buying the Vasques, but since we had driven quite a
ways to get to the store, I felt like I ought to try the Asolo TPS 520's.
The Asolos were slightly more expensive and slightly heavier, which is why I
tried the Vasques first. Well, the Asolos were MUCH more comfortable on my
feet! The Vasques felt slightly uncomfortable around the tops and across
the laces. The Asolos felt great!

  I then tried the SuperFeet inserts with the Asolos, and I found that the
Asolo insoles felt just as good as the SuperFeet. And the cost of the
Asolos was less than the Vasques with the SuperFeet insoles. I wore the new
Asolos home and we hiked a couple of miles last evening. They feel great!

  My son (14 years old) tried both a lower priced pair of Vasques and the
expensive Asolos, but he chose a pair of La Sportiva boots as being the best
fit for him. The SuperFeet insoles also felt much better to him than the
insoles that came with the La Sportiva boots. His lower-priced boots with
the SuperFeet inserts cost only slightly less than my "expensive" Asolos.

  I'm not trying to push any particular brand here. I'm sure that a lot of
people are well-pleased with Montrail and Vasque boots. But I think my
experience does point out that there is no substitute for going into a store
that has a good selection and trying on a number of different boots to find
out what works best for you.

  I also don't want to start any flaming here, but I consider it to be
somewhat unethical to go into a retail store where you have no intention of
buying and using the store's facilities and the salesperson's time and then
buying online to save a few bucks. Support your local store. (I admit to
being biased on this. I owned a retail business for over 15 years.)

  Your mileage may vary.

  Guinn Unger

  Troop 889 - The Woodlands, TX

  Troop 1861 - College Station, TX

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Received on Sun Feb 25 18:05:23 2007