Whenever trekking or hiking comes
up, the first thing that comes to the mind is walking. Although trekking
requires several other skills in order to properly and enjoyably experience the
activity however walking the trails is the major action involved and where
walking is concerned, shoes are the essential need. To enjoy your trekking
experience, selecting the right kind and type of trekking shoe is a compulsory
requirement, if you do want soar and painfully bleeding feet two days after you
start the trek.
Before going into details of
selecting a trekking shoe, let us first analyze what we should be looking for
initially.
What to Look For
Type of Trekking Shoes
The best trekking shoes for your
trip is one that is selected in accordance with your trekking ambition. For
example if you plan to trek for some hours a day or engage in a plain walking
day trek, simple, light weight and
flexible boots will be the best choice. For longer treks on rough terrain with
moderately heavy packs, the trekking boots are perfect, whereas for multiday,
heavy backpacking trips on rough terrains, special backpacking trekking boots
are the ones that will offer the right kind of support to cope with every
weather, duration and terrain types.
Fitting of Trekking Shoes
After selecting the right kind of
shoes for your trekking ambition, the next important thing to look for is the
most comfortable fit possible. If a shoe does not fit in properly, it can cause
trouble in your trekking experience.
Qualities the Different Types of Shoes
for Trekking Offer
Roughly trekking footwear can be
divided into four types. All of these types are available as waterproof
trekking shoes and can be selected according to requirement.
- Trekking Shoes
- Trekking Boots
- Backpacking Boots and
- Mountaineering Boots
Trekking Shoes - come with a flexible midsole and are categorized as low
cut models. This type of shoes is ideal for day treks. Experienced trekkers
also opt for this type when they embark on long journeys with ultra light
weight on them.
Trekking Boots – These boots range
between medium to high cut models and are ideal for weekend backpacking or day
trek with light weight loads. These boots are flexible and require very little
break in time. These boots however lack in offering durability and support to
your foot.
Backpacking Boots – These shoes are
specifically designed to handle heavier loads on trips that involve multi day
trekking. The midsoles of these boots are stiff offering durability and support
to your foot. These boots are ideally used both on in and off trail trips.
These boots require break in time before being comfortably used for trekking.
Mountaineering Boots – are heavier
boots that can handle heavy loads and crampons on glacier trips. These boots
are characterized as being extremely supportive, durable and tough, however
they require some break in time before being used for a trip.
How to Choose the Perfect Fit
Choosing the right type of trekking
footwear is essential however equally important it is to choose the right fit
for your feet. The make of different trekking shoes men and trekking shoes women
differ from each other based on shape, size and fitting, however the general
fitting rules to check are the
same.
- Know about your size. Measure your feet or use online boot size software.
- For perfect fit, try on the shoes at the end of the day as our feet are generally a little swollen, due to the day’s work at this point.
- Always wear socks that your feet are already familiar with.
- Spend some time in the boot you select through walking in it and getting up and down stairs.
- If you are shopping online, rely on a brand you have already used before.
- Use footbeds (insoles) for enhancement of comfort, fitting and extra support for your trekking shoe.
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