Hello fellow Pilgrims, The countdown is 4 days before I leave for my first Camino! (Frances)
Sorry for the long post. I'm posting all the problems I went through deciding on Camino footwear in the hopes it helps other Pilgrims. After lots of trail and error this is what I think/hope will work for my first Camino. Please feel free to comment or add what works for you.
First of all... I love REI. I took an embarrassing number of shoes back and they cheerfully took them back and spent time trying to get me into something that would work. I live in Phoenix, AZ so all shoes were tested during training hikes on a combination of street and pretty rocky uneven desert trails.
I have several pairs of Merrells, but my old favorite hiking boots weren't going to hold up for a full Camino. They've been all over the world with me and are pretty well sprung. Therefore, the first shoes I tried were a replacement pair of Merrell Moab Mid Ventilator. I love these boots for pavement walking, but offroad I felt every rock on which I stepped. The soles seemed very thin. My feet were very sore and tired after a short hike on rocky ground. Returned.
Next I bought a pair of Salomon X Ultra Mid GTX hiking boots. These felt great in the store. But just wearing them one day to work I discovered the toe box is very narrow and uncomfortable after a few minutes wear. I developed a good sized blister on the side of my little toe from the squeezing. I had even bought a little bigger size then I usually wear to compensate for swelling etc. Returned. I really wanted a pair of Salomons since the reviews are great. I spent most of an afternoon (like 4 hours) trying on Salomons and other shoes in my REI and walking around the store in them. The narrow toe box seems to be universal among Salomon models.
Next I took home a pair of Patagonia AC Drifters . Love these shoes. Stable, hard-soled, but flexible and well padded with a wide toe box. I also like they have tear dropped shaped eyelets that "lock" the laces in place and they never come unlaced. I can leave the laces in toe area loose and tighter over the upper foot and it stays mostly in place. My GPS says I've put nearly 70 miles in training hikes on this pair already and they just get more comfortable. Good to go! (One more thing.. I usually wear US size 12. On these Drifters I went with a size 13 to account for swelling, wool socks, and to avoid "black toe" on downhills. So glad I did! They feel great!)
But I wasn't done... I wanted a second pair of "camp shoes" that could double as hiking shoes if the need arose.
I took home a pair of Keen Arroyo II Hiking Sandals. They were very comfortable / well padded and I could wear them around town and be happy. But they have a thin elastic pull string lacing system that I just could not keep tight enough. On the trail they would open up and my foot would twist over inside the shoe when I stepped on uneven ground. Almost really injured myself when loose shoes twisted under me a couple of times. Very quickly returned!
The REI salesperson enthusiastically suggested a pair of Chaco Z/1 Unasweep Sandals. I was hesitant because they appear to be a no thrills basic sandal and I didn't think they'd be supportive or protective enough without a toe cover, but do have impressive thick Vibrim outsoles. I love these sandals! The rubber footbed is engineered to be supportive in the right places and is thick enough to protect feet on the roughest trails. The straps wrap around the whole foot and can be individually adjusted. In training hikes there is one place on the outside of my heel where the strap meets the sole that I'll need to tape to avoid a rub spot but overall they are awesome after some breaking in. I think these will be my go to footwear in decent weather.
OK, there it is, again sorry for the long post. Every one is differnt, but through trial and error I've discovered Patagonia AC Drifters and Chaco Z/1 Unasweep sandals appear to work great for me.
Sorry for the long post. I'm posting all the problems I went through deciding on Camino footwear in the hopes it helps other Pilgrims. After lots of trail and error this is what I think/hope will work for my first Camino. Please feel free to comment or add what works for you.
First of all... I love REI. I took an embarrassing number of shoes back and they cheerfully took them back and spent time trying to get me into something that would work. I live in Phoenix, AZ so all shoes were tested during training hikes on a combination of street and pretty rocky uneven desert trails.
I have several pairs of Merrells, but my old favorite hiking boots weren't going to hold up for a full Camino. They've been all over the world with me and are pretty well sprung. Therefore, the first shoes I tried were a replacement pair of Merrell Moab Mid Ventilator. I love these boots for pavement walking, but offroad I felt every rock on which I stepped. The soles seemed very thin. My feet were very sore and tired after a short hike on rocky ground. Returned.
Next I bought a pair of Salomon X Ultra Mid GTX hiking boots. These felt great in the store. But just wearing them one day to work I discovered the toe box is very narrow and uncomfortable after a few minutes wear. I developed a good sized blister on the side of my little toe from the squeezing. I had even bought a little bigger size then I usually wear to compensate for swelling etc. Returned. I really wanted a pair of Salomons since the reviews are great. I spent most of an afternoon (like 4 hours) trying on Salomons and other shoes in my REI and walking around the store in them. The narrow toe box seems to be universal among Salomon models.
Next I took home a pair of Patagonia AC Drifters . Love these shoes. Stable, hard-soled, but flexible and well padded with a wide toe box. I also like they have tear dropped shaped eyelets that "lock" the laces in place and they never come unlaced. I can leave the laces in toe area loose and tighter over the upper foot and it stays mostly in place. My GPS says I've put nearly 70 miles in training hikes on this pair already and they just get more comfortable. Good to go! (One more thing.. I usually wear US size 12. On these Drifters I went with a size 13 to account for swelling, wool socks, and to avoid "black toe" on downhills. So glad I did! They feel great!)
But I wasn't done... I wanted a second pair of "camp shoes" that could double as hiking shoes if the need arose.
I took home a pair of Keen Arroyo II Hiking Sandals. They were very comfortable / well padded and I could wear them around town and be happy. But they have a thin elastic pull string lacing system that I just could not keep tight enough. On the trail they would open up and my foot would twist over inside the shoe when I stepped on uneven ground. Almost really injured myself when loose shoes twisted under me a couple of times. Very quickly returned!
The REI salesperson enthusiastically suggested a pair of Chaco Z/1 Unasweep Sandals. I was hesitant because they appear to be a no thrills basic sandal and I didn't think they'd be supportive or protective enough without a toe cover, but do have impressive thick Vibrim outsoles. I love these sandals! The rubber footbed is engineered to be supportive in the right places and is thick enough to protect feet on the roughest trails. The straps wrap around the whole foot and can be individually adjusted. In training hikes there is one place on the outside of my heel where the strap meets the sole that I'll need to tape to avoid a rub spot but overall they are awesome after some breaking in. I think these will be my go to footwear in decent weather.
OK, there it is, again sorry for the long post. Every one is differnt, but through trial and error I've discovered Patagonia AC Drifters and Chaco Z/1 Unasweep sandals appear to work great for me.
