by Ranger Squirrel

When I first started hiking and getting into Bushcraft, I was using mostly surplus Army gear.  I had spent 4 years using that gear and I trusted it.  Odd as it sounds, putting some of that gear back on felt like running into an old friend I hadn’t seen in years but missed dearly.  For some things, I still use and trust that gear.  It may be dumb and overbuilt, but on the other hand, it’s dumb and overbuilt – know what I’m sayin?

What I didn’t anticipate, getting into hiking, is that in the 8 years between leaving the Infantry and starting to hike, my feet would get soft and a 45lb pack, less than half what I routinely carried in the Infantry, would start to feel really heavy.

My first backwoods excursion was a disaster (you can read all about that fiasco here, it’s quite a comedy of errors) and it left me with a huge car repair bill and massive blisters on my feet – even after breaking in the boots.  I figured out later that the blisters were largely the result of my brilliant idea to buy cushy new insoles the day before the hike.  Not a smart move.

I learned a lot from that excursion.  Mainly, I remembered something important from the Army: While I do like hanging with the guys and being out in nature, I don’t like walking long distances with a heavy pack if I don’t have to.  It hurts and it saps the life out of you and the fun out of everything.

When I got home and recovered my stranded car, I started systematically finding lightweight replacements for heavier military style items.  Wherever I could find lighter materials that were sufficiently durable, I went for them.  My average load now is just under 20 lbs, addresses all of the shortcomings I experienced on that first trip, and is sufficiently durable for multi-year use.  More relevant to this post – I no longer wear combat boots.

Let’s look at the boot (mine are classic black Altama, all-leather, Army basic training issue up until the switch to ACUs from BDUs):

• They’re heavy.  2.2lbs each or 4.4 lbs. a pair, and that’s before they get caked in mud, which they hold onto like a death grip.
• They’re hard.  The standard soles are designed for durability, not comfort.  They’re meant to be marched on for extended periods of time without needing replacement.  This puts a great deal of strain on your knees, hips, and ankles though – it’s like riding in a vehicle with no shock absorbers.  Even expensive insoles can only mitigate that problem so much – and for the record – can lead to blistering because they raise your heel out of the boot’s heel “pocket.”  That’s what happened to my feet on my first excursion, mentioned above.
• They’re protective and supportive.  I can’t think of much more protection than having my feet and lower calves encased in a layer of thick leather.  Snakes in the grass? Ha!  Odds of twisting your ankle? Nil.
• They’re durable.  The pair I own is more than 10 years old and still perform great (even if they’re not spit-shined like they used to be).  Even in daily use in the Army, I left the Army wearing the same pair I was issued at reception battalion four years earlier (though they had been re-soled).
• Properly cared-for, they’re waterproof.  This doesn’t apply to Jungle Boots or Desert Boots – just the classic all-leather black ones.

Now let’s look at the needs of a seasonal ultralight hiker.  My goal is to enjoy covering as much ground as possible every day while still leaving time for screwing around in camp and having fun.  Durable is nice, but I can buy a new pair of shoes every year or two – it’s not that big of a deal.

• With an ultralight load, support is much less of an issue.  I’m not likely to twist my ankle carrying only 18-20 lbs.
• I don’t need waterproof.  I do need quick-drying.  So lots of ventilation, and very little water absorbency makes more sense than total waterproofing.  It also makes for a lighter shoe.
• I need a shoe that minimizes shock to my knees, ankles, and back.  There are times out there that I’m nearly running.  Combat boots just won’t do.  I could pull off running in boots when I was 19, but I’m not 19 anymore – and truthfully, it wasn’t healthy even when I was.
• I need a lightweight shoe.

Basically, what I need is a lightweight cross-trainer or a running shoe with good ankle support.  What I don’t need is a heavy combat boot.

There are a lot of options, but I went with Salomon.  Largely because I found them 60% off at a camping/hiking store.  I don’t know what model they are (and the shoe doesn’t seem to say anywhere), but they’re very similar to these – except that I only paid $40 for mine on clearance and mine are an older model.  They weigh 12.75 oz each (1.6lbs for the pair) at size 10, and they feel like very light running shoes on your feet.

I’ve used them through 2 years worth of hiking (and frequent non-hiking casual wear use) now and I’ll never go back to boots again.  In these shoes, I’ve had one blister in well over 250 miles, and that was due to a bad sock (it folded up under my foot).  The only signs of problematic wear on the shoe are the standard wearing down of the sole from walking.  They’re probably due to be replaced, but truthfully, I don’t think it’s a need yet.  I’m still happy.

I’ve never had an ankle twist wearing them (thanks in large part to the lighter load) and they’re as quiet as sneakers.  I can never remember a day hiking or marching in combat boots that I felt energetic enough to leap onto a large boulder near the campsite to see the view.  Traction is great, far better than boots actually.

They’re a lot less “clunky” than boots too.  When I want to be quiet – as when I wore them squirrel hunting – I can pick my way through the forest floor without inadvertently snapping twigs.  Just as easily, I can jam my toe in a rock crevice to get a toe-hold.  They’re not climbing shoes, but they’re certainly better than combat boots for that purpose.

They’re pretty well dry in about an hour’s walk after complete immersion in water.  Faster than that if you’re wearing quick-dry or waterproof socks – or no socks at all.

It’s true that I have to pick my way a bit more carefully in muddy areas, but I’m light enough to do that easily in these shoes.

I only have one complaint and that’s easily resolved.  While some might like the little elastic bands that replace shoelaces in these shoes, I’m not a fan.  I’ve been meaning to replace that with gutted para cord since I bought them, but I’ve never gotten around to it.  The way I see it, para cord laces are extra cordage if you ever need it.  This little elastic band wouldn’t be worth much in a survival situation.

There are pieces of military gear that I’ve dumped for the civilian equivalent and then gone back to.  This isn’t one of them.  The bottom line is that these shoes outperform combat boots, cost about the same (cheaper in my case), are easier on my feet, and meet my needs more effectively.

I started to write “but I wouldn’t want to wear them in combat” but I’m not even sure that’s true.  I am lucky in that I never had to go to war, but I did a lot of training in environments ranging from woodland, to Louisiana swamp to Egyptian desert and I think I’d have preferred these in all of those settings, if they made them in tactical colors.  There are high-ankled versions that would give me combat-boot level support for heavier loads, and I could certainly have moved faster and I wouldn’t have hurt nearly as much at the end of the day.

I have no experience with the modern desert boots that are now standard issue in the Army – even the ones I was issued in Egypt were just tan/suede versions of the standard black jungle boot.  They were still hard-soled and heavy.  I know they’re expensive to buy as a civilian, but that’s about it.  I mention this only because I don’t know how the new desert boots would fit my needs.  I’ve heard nothing but good things, but I’ll stick with the Salomons until someone proves me wrong.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Survivalism & Preparedness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.