Tag: footwear

I’ve had a few requests to do a gear list for some of my recent trips. Since it’s been over a year since the last one, I thought I would acquiesce. What follows is the list from my recent journey to the Goat Rocks. Though that was a short trip, my gear has varied very little on any trip this year. I’ll take warmer clothing earlier (and later) in the year, and of course the amount of food varies based on the length of the trip, but most everything else remains static. This is quite the change from even just a year ago, where it seems like my gear would change drastically from trip to trip! Perhaps I know what I’m doing a little better now.

Some of the gear is light, some of it isn’t. Regular readers know that I always struggle to find a balance between lightweight, functionality, and durability. Certain items that I carry — like, say, the saw — are not likely to be found in the pack of an average backpacker, but are suited to my method of travel. In all, my base weight for this trip was right at 20lbs. I’m not too ashamed of that. In fact, considering that my pack alone weighs 6lbs when empty, that base weight is pretty darn good.

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Today was forecast to be 65 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. Of course, that meant I had to go on a hike. To celebrate the weather, I decided to do the hike in my Nomadic State of Mind JC rope sandals, which I’ve previously mentioned elsewhere.

I was given the sandals a few years ago and always toss them in my pack when traveling in warmer climates. They’re light enough to not weight down the pack, and function as excellent camp shoes at the end of the day. I’ve never done any serious hiking with them though, and I wanted to see how capable they (and I) were.

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Despite investing a lot of money into my footwear, thrashing them heavily, and depending on them to carry me further, I’ve never spent any effort on cleaning or caring for my boots. A month or so ago, I was in REI and took a gander at the footwear section. They happened to have a pair of Lowa Renegades on the rack. The Renegades remain my primary boots that I wear on a daily basis and for the vast majority of my travel. I was shocked by the contrast of the boots on my feet and those on the rack. The boots are made of nubuk leather with some cordura around the ankle band. New, the leather is of a smooth, dark blue color. The leather on my feet was dry, wrinkly, and of a brownish-green color. This made me think that maybe there was something to that whole boot care thing, after all.

I didn’t know much about leather care, nor what I should look for in a product. My first stop for research like this is the Kifaru Forums. The forums are peopled predominantly by those whom I think of as the modern day longhunters and mountain men. I take their gear advice very seriously in considering all of my purchases. The overwhelming opinion on the forums was for a product called Obenauf’s. Obenauf’s makes three relevant products: White Jaguar Leather Cleaner, Leather Oil, and Heavy Duty Leather Preservative (LP). The LP, in particular, was developed for and by wildland fire firefighters. What with the hiking, the heat, and the smoke, I can’t think of any other profession that demands more out of leather boots. I promptly placed an order for $50 worth of product.

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Last March, I used part of my REI dividend on a pair of Sole Ed Viesturs Ultra Cushion footbeds. Prior to this, I’d been using Green Superfeet in my Lowa Renegade boots.

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2011 Update: Although I still wear the Renegade boots, and claim that they’re the best hiking boots on the market, my reasons for doing so differ from those I expressed three and a half years ago. (And I don’t like Superfeet anymore!) The following is left for posterity.

Early last Fall, it became clear that my old pair of boots — 5.11 HRTs — were at the end of their life. New insoles bought me a little while longer, but the fact had to be faced.

I knew exactly what boots I wanted to replace them. Trouble was, I couldn’t afford them. (Still can’t, in fact.) So I had to search for something else to hold me over for a while. I’d heard much positive review of Lowa and Vasque, and thought this an excellent opportunity to try them out. After much research, I settled on the Lowa Renegade GTX hiking boot.

REI happened to carry them and, rather conveniently, I had a pair of boots that I’d been given a while ago but never been very fond of (Montrail Torre GTX — I wore them in Thailand). So I took (perhaps unfair) advantage of REI’s lenient return policy, and ended up with a pair of Lowa Renegades for only $30.

The craftsmanship is excellent. I can spot no failures of any kind along the boots. Most any other boot I’ve worn for this amount of time has shown some small failure: a broken stitch, or a bit coming unglued somewhere. Not so with the Renegades. The Germans, I think, know a thing a two about making boots. (Actually, they’re made in Slovakia, but I’m Am’r’can, damnit, so that’s close enough for me.)

The soles are Vibram, like most other boots, and provide excellent traction on varied terrain: concrete, dirt, rocks, etc. Snow is a little iffy, but that’s been the case with any boot I’ve had.

The Gore-Tex liner is great. Verifiably waterproof and breathable (though I’ve not had the opportunity to wear the boots in hot weather).

The break-in period was non-existent. They were comfortable and supportive as soon as I put them on.

My feet registered no complaints concerning the standard Lowa insoles, but they were small and flimsy, like those provided by any other boot manufacturer, and I’ve been in a love affair with Green Superfeet since the Summer (more on that later), so after a couple weeks I swapped them out, and have been happier for it.

Some people report Lowa runs slightly large, but I found this to be untrue. I ordered my normal boot size, and they fit perfectly.

The absolutely only complaint I can offer for the Renegades is the lacing system. Lowa is quite fond of their D-rings. I am not. They allow for slightly faster unlacing, but slower lacing. And if you lace too fast, without paying attention, the lace may not make it’s way entirely inside one of the rings, and pop out eventually. This happens every now and then to me. It’s not enough to turn me off from the boots, or dissuade me from recommending them, but it is a minor annoyance. (And I had to find something to complain about.)

I’ve been wearing them daily for close to 5 months now. Though this Fall and Winter, regrettably, have seen me mostly in urban areas, not logging any serious mileage over mountainous terrain with heavy loads, I am very pleased with the Renegades and whole-heartedly recommend them to anyone looking for a mid-to-light hiking boot, or footwear for every day urban wear. (Plus, they look quite snazzy with TAD Legionnaires, no?)

3-3-08 Update:

I wore these boots yesterday on a 23 mile hike, with about 1300 ft elevation gain, under a 75lb pack. My feet aren’t too happy about it, though they’ve ended up worse after shorter humps with lighter loads in lesser boots. Last week I did 12 miles under the same load with no problem. They’re definitely light hiking boots.