2 last minute questions!!

[FrenchFancy1234]

hi all

I begin Camino this Friday from Astorgia to Santiago.

1. SLEEPING - I have silk sleeping bag liner -- should I bring sleeping bag as well? or alternatively my liner with a small warm blanket which would take up same size / weight as bag? Not sure if Liner is enough.

2. SHOES: I had unfortunately luck with shoes. My long standing trekking boots came apart a month ago during a trek. I replaced them with Walking Shoes (on recommendations) but unfortunately, much as I have tried to break them in and they cause me discomfort every time i wear them for more than 1-2 hours. Should I just bring well worn pair of running shoes? They are study and good quality.

Thanks for any advice.
H.

 

[C clearly]

There is little point in bringing shoes that are uncomfortable after 1-2 hours. Have you tested your running shoes for 20-km days?

New shoes of modern materials should be comfortable right out of the box, except for minor stiffness. "Breaking in" is more a case of testing them.

 

[FrenchFancy1234]

yes, I am very disappointed, they are Columbria so shouldn't have this issue. They seemed fine in shop. I think they are just different to my normal shoes and using different muscles.

I haven't tested the runners for such a long period, no. That is why I am not sure what to do.

 

[MTtoCamino]

Buy some keens put some sole inserts in & go. Try to find some that are not water proof your feet will breath

 

[FrenchFancy1234]

Buy some keens put some sole inserts in & go. Try to find some that are not water proof your feet will breath

Thank you..that is a good suggestion, I need to bring sandels for evening so maybe I could bring keen as a back up and wear at evening time

 

[grayland]

Shoes are very personal and each of us will recommend the one we find fit our feet the best. It is very likely to be different for you and you have find the one that fits your feet.

What is important.....do not leave home with a pair of shoes that are already uncomfortable! It is a prescription for disaster
If you do not have time to find new shoes, I would take the comfortable running shoes with a Superfeet or Soles insert.
Leave the shoes that hurt at home.

 

[whariwharangi]

hi all

I begin Camino this Friday from Astorgia to Santiago.

1. SLEEPING - I have silk sleeping bag liner -- should I bring sleeping bag as well? or alternatively my liner with a small warm blanket which would take up same size / weight as bag? Not sure if Liner is enough.

2. SHOES: I had unfortunately luck with shoes. My long standing trekking boots came apart a month ago during a trek. I replaced them with Walking Shoes (on recommendations) but unfortunately, much as I have tried to break them in and they cause me discomfort every time i wear them for more than 1-2 hours. Should I just bring well worn pair of running shoes? They are study and good quality.

Thanks for any advice.
H.

Try sleeping in a cold room with your liner and you will have your answer.

Well worn running shoes won't give you the support you need. Much of the path on the section you are walking is eroded and consists of rocks. Get something that fits.

 

[grayland]

I agree that the running shoes will also present problems.
The OP is leaving for Spain on Friday.

It appears the choice will be between shoes that hurt and comfortable running shoes.

The best option would be a new well fitting shoe, if time allows.

 

[FrenchFancy1234]

ok thank you for your responses.

1. regarding sleeping bag, I will purchase one, I was advised by trekking shop (by girl who did camino twice) that liner was all as there was blankets supplied in hostels, I believe sleeping bag will be important for me.
2. I will return to shop to try get new shoes tomorrow. I have just purchased sole inserts for my running shoes should that be my option I have to take to add comfort.

Thanks a million for your advice --- hopefully it will work out ok. Fingers crossed

 

[whariwharangi]

ok thank you for your responses.

1. regarding sleeping bag, I will purchase one, I was advised by trekking shop (by girl who did camino twice) that liner was all as there was blankets supplied in hostels, I believe sleeping bag will be important for me.
2. I will return to shop to try get new shoes tomorrow. I have just purchased sole inserts for my running shoes should that be my option I have to take to add comfort.

Thanks a million for your advice --- hopefully it will work out ok. Fingers crossed

There are blankets available at many but not all albergues.

 

[MTtoCamino]

@frenchfancy
The point that everyone's feet are different is well taken I have met very few who could not put on Keens & go that said. You should take a 10 k walk before you leave to test whatever you have. The other thing you can do if you get into a time crunch is visit a shoe shop where you begin. The Spanish must deal with this frequently along the Camino as I have seen many with new shoes walking after discarding their boots.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Wht are the odds you might have flat feet, lr other foor ailment, and could benefit from orthotics? I used to blame the shoes until given a pair of trekking sandals with high arches, and then visited the podiatrist. Super happy in just about any shoe as long as I wera my orthotics (and as long as plantear fasciitis doesn't flaire up).

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi H,
If you are a younger person and you take a liner and your running shoes, you'll just be matching the kind of kit that lots of other younger people take - and quite a few of the more mature folks too. Either way, for shoes, it's problematic trying to change to new ones three days before you leave, as Grayland points out. Your existing runners, ideally with some inserts, look like the best option to me - and a good one too.
You'd be unlucky to get a night/room cold enough to require a blanket between now and mid/late September and bizarrely unlucky if on that rare night you also rocked up at an albergue without blankets. I'd only consider changing up if you feel you require the extra reassurance of a sleeping bag or you're someone who really feels the cold.
Cheers, tom

 

[james walter purdum iv]

salomon GTX ULTRA....i put them on for the first time on the plane and they were excellent. good sole but very pliable uppers and its a mid so great support without causing shinsplints. i got so lucky but it worked out for me..1 size bigger for swelling!!

 

[MCFearnley]

My recommendation is to try on every brand from boot to mid to shoe to find what works the best for your feet. I was set on buying Keens and asked to see that brand. After finding one that was nice and walked around a bit, I was ready to purchase them. Then something told me to ask if there were other brands that the sales clerk would recommend. He suggested Oboz for my wide feet. Well, that took it to a whole other level. They were bliss on my feet. I walked about the store with a weighed-down pack as I was doing the rest of my shopping and by then I knew I had to get those. The next day to "break them in" I walked 12km, the day after that 20km on hills with 25lbs pack, the next day 12.5km with the same pack, and yet again on the next day 15km, but with a lighter pack. Nary a blister nor a hot spot to be seen or felt.

Go to your outdoors store and try on everything and don't be afraid to be nit-picky. I would have bought the Keens even if there was a little movement on the heel had I not asked for a second opinion. With the Oboz my feet and the shoe move as one. Take your time. Make sure you take the same sock combination you will be wearing on the Camino to ensure a really good fit.

 

[Introibo]

Sleeping with a liner and an albergue blanket was bliss after the restrictions that a sleeping
bag brings. As Tom says, the chances of it being cold enough to need more and not having
blankets in the albergue.....

As for your feet, my Salomon fell running shoes were like slippers. Non gortex they breathed
well and whilst they weren't waterproof they always dried out overnight. Coupled with merino
wool socks my feet were fine.

Pax et bonum

 

[G.White]

I start on the 12th and I'm seriously considering leaving my sleeping bag and home and just bringing a silk liner. I need to shave off a few pounds and I'm already down to 2 of each pieces of clothing.

 

[Laura Olsen]

Running shoes? Will that not be really inconvenient if it rains?

 

[MTtoCamino]

Running shoes? Will that not be really inconvenient if it rains?

It really rains in Spain no mater what your wearing it is inconvenient. Unless of course you get lucky & it is a warm rain.

 

[C clearly]

Running shoes? Will that not be really inconvenient if it rains?

Many people walk with non-waterproof shoes, especially in the drier months.

 

[MCFearnley]

Why do I have the song from My Fair Lady running through my head?
"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain"

 

[Diane Kinney]

ok thank you for your responses.

1. regarding sleeping bag, I will purchase one, I was advised by trekking shop (by girl who did camino twice) that liner was all as there was blankets supplied in hostels, I believe sleeping bag will be important for me.
2. I will return to shop to try get new shoes tomorrow. I have just purchased sole inserts for my running shoes should that be my option I have to take to add comfort.

Thanks a million for your advice --- hopefully it will work out ok. Fingers crossed

If you are buying new shoes make sure they are one half to one full size larger than you usually wear. Your feet will swell with back to back 20k plus says. Swollen feet and too tight shoes stopped my friends Camino in May.

 

[AlwynWellington]

@FrenchFancy1234 , hi

As others have said, our feet are different so generic advice is difficult.

My issue is wide feel so I go for a brand that offers a range of widths. The brand accessible to me that offers a range of widths is New Balance. There may be others brands in your part of the world.

And what I have walked more than 5,000 km wearing have always been running shoes with ventilation on top. So my feet never over heat, so (for me at least) no blisters in more than four years doing distance walking.

But horses for courses.

Kia kaha (have courage, be strong, get going)

 

[movinmaggie]

I start on the 12th and I'm seriously considering leaving my sleeping bag and home and just bringing a silk liner. I need to shave off a few pounds and I'm already down to 2 of each pieces of clothing.

G.White I walked the CF the last week of Sept and all of Oct without a sleeping bag, but with something called the Intrepid Traveller purchased in Canada. It is like a silk liner but with an extra layer on one side and fit into a very small stuff bag. But then, I lucked out with beautiful weather almost the whole way. Some soft rain in Galicia (of course) and a few overcast days. Hope it works out for you. Buen Camino.

 

[G.White]

I think maybe I am overthinking the whole thing, my pack weights 13 lbs without food or water. Right now I have the McKINLEY’s ultralight X-Treme Light 600, I think I'll stick with that. Thanks.

 

[naplesdon]

Silk liner and a blankets from the albergue, just fine. Shoes, a way to personal subject, I have done them all and never found the answer.