hiking boots

[Diane Creber]

I got a new pair of Lowa hiking boots in early January and have been wearing them ever since to break them in. I walk 8 km 4-5 days a week and a 20-30 km walk on the weekend (total per week approx. 60-70 km). I plan to walk Camino Francés (800 km) starting on March 29. I'm wondering how much walking is needed to break in a new pair of boots and is it possible to wear the boots out before you even start? Should I give the boots a rest now and save them for the Camino?
Strider

 

[Tia Valeria]

We wore our boots until we felt sure that they were comfortable. Then we wore our old boots until about the week before leaving home. It depends a bit on how tough the external soles and heels are, but we decided that, unless the boots were very stiff, less wear was better than more. Ours are supple enough to wear almost straight out of the box, others may need more wear before setting off.
Hope that helps,
Buen Camino

 

[tyrrek]

I got a new pair of Lowa hiking boots in early January and have been wearing them ever since to break them in. I walk 8 km 4-5 days a week and a 20-30 km walk on the weekend (total per week approx. 60-70 km). I plan to walk Camino Francés (800 km) starting on March 29. I'm wondering how much walking is needed to break in a new pair of boots and is it possible to wear the boots out before you even start? Should I give the boots a rest now and save them for the Camino?
Strider

Hi Diane. I look forward to hearing other responses on this subject, as I've asked myself the same question. I bought my (mid-priced) boots a couple of weeks before starting and wore them every day to break them in before starting in SJPP. By Santiago some of the stitching was starting to fail, but I still got a Camino Ingles out of them afterwards!

 

[andy.d]

Your boots will be wearing out if the sole is getting very thin or has no grip, or if the stitching goes or has a hole, etc. I would have thought you'll be OK. If the worst comes to the worst, you'll be able to buy replacements on the Camino when your feet will be tough, but I'm sure you'll be fine. I wouldn't worry,

buen camino

Andy

 

[dougfitz]

I got a new pair of Lowa hiking boots in early January and have been wearing them ever since to break them in. I walk 8 km 4-5 days a week and a 20-30 km walk on the weekend (total per week approx. 60-70 km). I plan to walk Camino Francés (800 km) starting on March 29. I'm wondering how much walking is needed to break in a new pair of boots and is it possible to wear the boots out before you even start? Should I give the boots a rest now and save them for the Camino?
Strider

I have found that soft soled hiking boots last between 4000-5000km in training and use, ie about two years on your current training regime. In contrast, my hard soled boots (Scarpa with a hard Vibram sole) showed only some small signs of additional wear at the end of the Camino. I don't think you should worry about wearing out the boots doing one Camino - it will take two!

This is consistent with a friend's experience, who had so much wear on his boots at the end of his second Camino that they were amongst the items he burnt at Finnesterre.

On your other question, I was in a similar position in 2010 preparing for the Camino. The crunch came when I started putting in longer distances, and the boot started to crease just behind the toe cap, and press down awkwardly across my toes. They had been fine on shorter distances. As a result, I decided to do the Camino in my older Scarpas.

I have subsequently worn the problem boots regularly on shorter and longer walks without problems. I know that isn't an answer. That said, Lowa make much of the ease of breaking in their leather boots. If that is a genuine feature, rather than just advertising hype, it shouldn't be taking too long your current regime.

Regards,

 

[AJ]

On my first camino, Malaga to Finisterre, carbon rubber soles just made the 1300km.

Last year I had vibram soles which just made 2300km.

A friend needed two pairs of boots to get from Holland to Santiago

Soft soles that last 5000 km? I don't buy that at all.

 

[dougfitz]

On my first camino, Malaga to Finisterre, carbon rubber soles just made the 1300km.

Last year I had vibram soles which just made 2300km.

A friend needed two pairs of boots to get from Holland to Santiago

Soft soles that last 5000 km? I don't buy that at all.

My assessment of the life of my soft soled shoes is based on nearly 10 years experience wearing them for my morning and weekend training walks here in Australia.

I would normally walk about 30km/week without a pack on a combination of sidewalk, soil and gravel, and up to 20km on a weekend with a pack weighing from 10kg to 20kg on bush track and fire trail. Since 2003, I have replaced my soft soled boots twice, and the current pair will need to be replaced shortly. On the basis that I used the soft soled boots about 60% of the time, that works out at around 4500km on average.

My experience with the soft soled boots is consistent with that of a friend, who did his preparation for and has walked the Camino Frances twice in the same set of boots. He burnt them at Finisterre after the second Camino.

My other boots include a pair of Scarpas, with a hard Vibram sole that were worn bushwalking and travelling from early 2005, and a pair made by Columbia, also with a relatively hard Vibram sole which I bought in late 2009 that have seen light use locally. The Scarpas have been my mainstay for travelling and trekking, having now visited North and South America, southern Africa, parts of Asia and Europe. They are worn at the heels, but are nowhere near needing replacement. The Columbias are yet to show visible wear.

Regards

 

[bromeliad]

It all depends on the quality of materials and workmanship of your boots. So I always examine them carefully before I buy. And brand names don't necessarily mean quality. Most brands nowadays have a lesser line to make the boots cheaper and accessible to a wider public.

I have had boots (actually hiking shoes, I don't like anything grabbing my ankles) last me about 5000 km of forest walking. I saw a brand new pair of boots come apart in the first few days of the Camino on the feet of a German kid who had bought them on sale for 35€. I saw two pairs of new North Face boots lose their soles concomitantly at the end of the Camino on the feet of two sisters from Brazil.

The two things I check most thoroughly are the stitching (does it look solid, tight, well-finished?) and the soles (try to pinch the sole with your nails. If it gets dented, it won't last on the Camino).

 

[camino-david]

I have two pairs of boots. The first - Hi-Tec - had 10 years of use, including 9 mountain treks in Nepal, world travelling and my first Camino of 700 kms. After that they required new soles and heels, but are now in good condition and I use them for local day walks.
Last year at the beginning of January I bought a pair of La Sportiva boots (not a cheap pair at $242). After breaking in -say 300 kms at most - plus the Caminos I walked last year of 900 kms, I would have walked no more than 1200kms. After about 600 kms the stitching started to break, and at the end of the Camino the heels (Vibram) were well worn down. I considered this to be unreasonable, so took them back to the retailer (Mountain Equipment in Sydney) who passed them on to the distributer who said that breaking of the stitching and the wear on the heels 'was reasonable'. This to me is completely wrong, and I would never consider buying La Sportiva equipment again, and will be reluctant to use Mountain Designs again as they sell inferior equipment.
I have a wide foot, so am limited in choice, but have found that La Sportiva, Hi-Tec and Merrel fit my feet better than many others. But La Sportiva -never again.
Camino-David

 

[AJ]

I wore Hi-Tech boots on my first camino, Malaga - Finisterre and they were perhaps the most comfortable boots I have worn, They had carbon fibre soles which were in very poor shape by the time I reached Finisterre. Everything else was fine, stitching , uppers and lining all good. The manufacturer tod me that they could not be resoled.

I now wear Asolo boots with vibram soles. The soles on these were in very poor shape after 2300 km last year (Canterbury - Rome, then Leon -Santiago). Once again everything else about the boot was fine. I can have these resoled but I have to send them to specialists in Sydney. The cost would be about $150 plus postage. So I buy new every year.

Now a boot that I could have worn last year form Canterbury to Rome and that I could wear again this year from Rome to Santiago, that would be wonderful!

 

[dougfitz]

I had thought that I was rather heavy on boots. After reading about others' experiences, I might have to re-assess that.

Regards,

 

[Arn]

I wore of pair of Merrell Wilderness, leather topsides, vibram soles on a thru hike of the AT in 96'...the sole on one boot (the left) separated from the upper about 1000 miles/1600 km in. I called Merrell, told them my story, they express mailed a pair of good quality (no break in required)boots, to my next major town, repaired mine and I picked them up just as I entered Connecticut, three days later.

I wore Merrell Refuge Core Mid Waterproof Wide Width on the CF in 2008. I found them too stiff for the tarmac and flat distances.

This past October, on the Caminho Portuguese, I wore New Balance 956 with motion control. No break in required, though I did find that, due to the motion control I developed a "hot spot" on the outside of my right heel. That's probably from the boot forcing me to bring my foot in line. I love the NB shoe, though I don't know how they would fare on the CF.

Arn

 

[Abbeydore]

I wore of pair of Merrell Wilderness, leather topsides, vibram soles on a thru hike of the AT in 96'...the sole on one boot (the left) separated from the upper about 1000 miles/1600 km in. I called Merrell, told them my story, they express mailed a pair of good quality (no break in required)boots, to my next major town, repaired mine and I picked them up just as I entered Connecticut, three days later.

I wore Merrell Refuge Core Mid Waterproof Wide Width on the CF in 2008. I found them too stiff for the tarmac and flat distances.

Arn

That's a-shame, they look good boots. Very good service.......
I don't think I'll have to add Meindl phone number to my phone list(hoping they are bomb proof, well not literally). :mrgreen: :lol: These are very stiff, have walking sandals as fall back.