Sunday, December 1, 2013

Best Hiking Shoes- Tips To Choose The Best

By Adam Torres


Since hiking can be one of the most demanding and risky activities, choosing the hiking shoes is a task which you should highly prioritize and commence with extreme precaution. Since it is the shoes which will help you move forward and sustain in the rough hiking terrains, investing in proper shoes is extremely crucial. There are some factors that you should keep in mind before opting for any particular type of hiking shoe. For instance, the harshness of the hiking terrain is a factor that can greatly affect you decision of buying a particular type of shoe.

Hiking shoes are specially designed to sustain the rigidity and brutality of rugged and untamed terrains. Hence, expecting a hiking shoe to perform like a running shoe or walking boots will be absolutely unfair. People often opt for pricey and fancy hiking shoes, which often turns out to be irrelevant. On the contrary, the quality of the material used, its comfort level and traction quotient are some of the important considerations you must make before opting for a specific hiking shoe.

Comfort level Although most traditional hiking shoes were designed to be heavy, experts suggest that hiking in any kind of terrain should be done by wearing lightweight and comfortable shoes. Lightweight hiking shoes not only facilitate easy movement through sticky and clingy terrains filled with mud or snow, but also allow movement at a faster pace.

Material of the shoe Hiking shoes are crafted out of many varieties of material, the most traditionally used being the pure leather ones. Pure leather or full-grain leather hiking shoes are primarily used for backpacking and for rough terrains. Although full-grain leather shoes are not much promising as far as their comfort level and flexibility are concerned, they offer fabulous traction and resistance against abrasions.

Material used The material used for the hiking shoe is one of the vital factors which can alter the comfort level, break-in period as well as the durability of the shoe. Hiking shoes are primarily crafted from three different types of materials- pure leather, split-grain leather and synthetic. While hiking shoes or boots made of pure leather will let you carry heavy loads easily and sustain abrasions which your shoe may risk in extremely rough terrains, they can also prevent you from striking the comfort level you are trying to achieve in you hiking shoe.

Material of the upper shoe Considering the material of the upper shoe is vital, as it is the upper shoe material which gets greatly exposed to the terrain and suffers wear and tear with use. Since hiking shoes are available in different material varieties, you must clearly know about the ups and downs of using a particular variety. For instance, full-grain leather, nubuck leather and synthetic shoes are known to be more comfortable and do not even call for long break-in time. However, these varieties may not suffice up for your expectations of longevity or strength.

Nature of hiking terrain Since every kind of terrain has a different set of characteristics, you should try to choose a hiking shoe that will help you advance faster and more easily. While full-grain leather shoes are ideal for rugged terrains where you may need to cross over water and stones carrying heavy loads, nylon-mixed leather shoes will provide you with great comfort while also letting you sustain short and less rugged trips.

Other than being soft and cushioned, the comfort level is also determined by the availability of breathable fabric. With the availability of breathable fabric, your leg will be able to breathe more and constitutively with sweat less, which is extremely desirable for frequent hikers. Additionally, you can also opt for water proofed shoes which will let you stay dry even after walking over water ridges.




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