Hiking Shoes

Traditionally leather boots as opposed to hiking shoes have been advised and used for mountain hiking, however, an increasing trend is the use of lighter footwear particularly for lowland hiking andor achieving ultra light hiking.


At this stage we must say that in general we strongly advise the use of full leather boots for continuous and serious hiking on mountain terrain in view of the stability and protection they offer.


Hiking shoes available include heavier leather shoes and lightweight trainer type shoes as well as running shoes and more specialist shoes designed to correct any defect in your walking style such as overpronation.

Pronation is the rolling motion of your foot which occurs whilst you are hiking, or running or just walking.

Under-pronation occurs when you roll your foot causing more weight to be absorbed by the outside of the foot and therefore cause more wear on that side of the shoe sole.

Overpronation occurs when there is too much roll on the inside of the foot causing excessive wear on that side of the sole. If this is you look for “motion control” shoes.

For a professional check up visit a specialist store that sells running and walking shoes/trainers and they should be able to advise you if you need a corrective type of shoe or inner sole.

As mentioned above several different types of shoes and trainers are available such as:

1. Leather shoes preferably fitted with a vibram sole.

2. Fabric shoes designed for hiking and general walking and usually appear fashionable and come in various colors.

3. Light training and racing shoes.

4. Specialist race walking shoes.

5. Running shoes.

6. Sports sandals designed with hiking in mind.

Numerous makes are available including top brands such as Merrell, The North Face, Timberland, Asolo, Raichle, New Balance, Mizuno, Asics, and Saucony.

Remember they must feel comfortable when you try them on and if you are not happy with the support they give try the next grade up.

Various web sites now have selection wizards to help you narrow down the type of shoe you want as made by various manufacturers.


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