Best Shoes For Backpacking?

For as long as I can remember, I grew up playing sports. I played Baseball, Soccer, Track, Basketball and Football. In preparation for each new season, I would sell my parents on why I needed a new pair of top of the line shoes.

I’ve been worried about my footwear for decades, but only as of late, have my shoes ever caused me any problems. My career in backpacking has seen many iterations of boots, highs & lows. I’ve battled my girlfriend on water proof vs breathable and I’ve come to one single conclusion about it all…

I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT FOOTWEAR.

What I do know is this, the choice of the right shoes, is a personal one, and should only be influenced by others as a jumping off point, so let me be clear, this review is a jumping off point.

I started off with Salomon Quest GTX 4’s, and those are some awesome boots. They are tall, super water proof, great looking and man will they take a beating. On the downside, they are also pretty heavy, especially when the suede like upper material gets wet.

My next attempt was the NorthFace Hedgehogs, which I think are great shoes, but I unfortunately bought them a half size to small and now they cause toe problems.

I moved onto the Salomon XA Pro 3D, and these are some awesome shoes. I wish Salomon’s had just a little more arch support. I also liked the idea of not having traditional laces on these shoes, but I do wish the cinch systems worked better one handed.

The most recent attempt at the perfect shoe, is a combo of two. I am loving my Altra Lone Peak 4.0’s so far. The expanded toe box has completely solved my toe numbness problems that I’m having and I’m looking forward to putting the waterproof boot versions to the test if I get a break in the heat.