You Need Hiking Boots For Backpacking?

Think you need hiking boots to go backpacking? You might change your mind after reading this excerpt from "Ultralight Backpacking Secrets (And Wilderness Survival Tips)."

Hiking shoes or running shoes are better for most people, at least during late spring, summer and early fall. Hiking boots are hot, and once they are wet, they tend to stay wet forever. However, weight may be the biggest reason more and more backpackers are using shoes.

According to research done by the U.S. Army many years ago, a pound on your feet is equivalent to five on your back. Some say it is equivalent to six. This equivalency is in regard to energy expenditure, and though I don't know exactly how the research was done, I suspect the conclusion is close to the truth. It is easy to hike ten miles with twenty pounds on your back, but try it with nothing on your back, but a ten-pound weight on each foot - you'll get the point.

Five pounds per pound or six - whatever the truth, you can understand why three-pound boots leave you tired at the end of the day. Why then, do so many people wear heavy hiking boots instead of lighter hiking shoes?

The Ankle Support Myth

You have probably heard that you need the ankle support provided by hiking boots. Is this true? If so, how did people all over the world, throughout history, manage without stiff ankle-supporting boots? They had stronger ankles!

Perhaps the problem is weak ankles, not a lack of support. Want stronger ankles? Try walking a little each week on uneven ground (not in the mall). That should solve this problem. Unless carrying thirty-five or more pounds when backpacking, most people just don't need extra ankle support after a few weeks of simple exercise.

Of course some hikers need boots, especially if they have specific problems with their ankles. Still, I have yet to meet a person who has tried backpacking in hiking shoes or running shoes and then returned to boots. Lightweight hiking shoes are so much nicer! Don't settle for hiking boots until you are sure your ankle problems are not due to a lack of exercise.

The Advantages Of Running Or Hiking Shoes

It isn't all about the weight. In a good pair of running shoes your feet will stay cooler than in hiking boots. This isn't a small matter. Cooler means fewer blisters. Blistered feet can be a serious problem - your feet are all you have to carry you out of that wilderness.

Once I started using running shoes and lightweight socks, I stopped getting blisters. I don't mean I've had fewer blisters. I mean haven't had any blisters on my feet at all in over ten years. I didn't have one blister after a 110-mile 7-day trek in the Rockies, for example.

One supposed advantage of hiking boots is that they keep your feet drier. Do they? You sweat inside those boots, and even the best waterproof breathable hiking boots will leave your feet damp from this alone. Add to that that they are rarely entirely waterproof, and I just don't see any advantage here. Hiking shoes, on the other hand, breath well, and when they get well, they dry quickly.

For more lightweight backpacking secrets, see my e-book, "Ultralight Backpacking Secrets (And Wilderness Survival Tips)." Use the link here:
http://www.99reports.com/ultralight-backpacking.html