Roger Fleury
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Del Norte June 2018
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I walked the Camino del Norte in June 18.
Like everybody, I enjoyed my experience. Walking 20-30KM a day/ getting lost regularly/blasting the rain and complaining about the heat... but overall a fantastic experience.
Like many pilgrims,I started my walk as a personal meditative experience and switch to a more spiritual discovery of oneself .
The only shadow on my walk were only the fact I wore the wrong shoes.
I had blisters on the first day and lost 2 toes nails after my walk.
Reasons?:I started walking on road surfaces with a pair of leather Colorado/ hard soles / tight fit( bad idea); then switched to soft Sketchers with very soft soles.( also a bad idea)
Half way on the trail,I bought some gel insoles for the Colorado which improved the comfort but squeeze my feet a lot more.
Over the pain now and I am already planing my next Camino Primitivo.
I noticed that a lot of pilgrims were wearing Salomon shoes so i decided to give them a go... but which one?
Low hiker:
-Salomon XA PRO 3D
-Salomon XA PRO 3D GTX
-Salomon Radian GTX
or
Mid Hiker:
-Salomon HillrockGTX
All seems to offer a comfortable fit with a good sole grip.
I would be oversizing them as I learn that your feet to "feel" larger after hours of walk carrying 8Kg .
Thank you to the Salomon fans on the forum..
Buen Camino to all pilgrims
I walked the Camino del Norte in June 18.
Like everybody, I enjoyed my experience. Walking 20-30KM a day/ getting lost regularly/blasting the rain and complaining about the heat... but overall a fantastic experience.
Like many pilgrims,I started my walk as a personal meditative experience and switch to a more spiritual discovery of oneself .
The only shadow on my walk were only the fact I wore the wrong shoes.
I had blisters on the first day and lost 2 toes nails after my walk.
Reasons?:I started walking on road surfaces with a pair of leather Colorado/ hard soles / tight fit( bad idea); then switched to soft Sketchers with very soft soles.( also a bad idea)
Half way on the trail,I bought some gel insoles for the Colorado which improved the comfort but squeeze my feet a lot more.
Over the pain now and I am already planing my next Camino Primitivo.
I noticed that a lot of pilgrims were wearing Salomon shoes so i decided to give them a go... but which one?
Low hiker:
-Salomon XA PRO 3D
-Salomon XA PRO 3D GTX
-Salomon Radian GTX
or
Mid Hiker:
-Salomon HillrockGTX
All seems to offer a comfortable fit with a good sole grip.
I would be oversizing them as I learn that your feet to "feel" larger after hours of walk carrying 8Kg .
Thank you to the Salomon fans on the forum..
Buen Camino to all pilgrims
Hello,It all depends on what fits your feet and to some extent the time of the year?
buying a brand as such can be the wrong approach. I find the light weight Salomon shoes are OK and walked my first Camino in them. They leaked after a while. Tried the Salomon footwear with ankle support and they are too narrow.
Currently wearing a pair of Hanwag low cut hiking shoes which are sturdy, light and better made than my current Salomon x-ultra. Hanwag can be completely re soled.
Keep looking,
Buen Camino
happymark
Are they all equally comfortable? Salomon is a good brand but there are many good brands. What matters most is what your feet think. Examine the comfort very critically, perhaps wearing a size smaller than you will ultimately buy, so you can really test out the design of the shoe for your foot. - are there any spots or pressure points at all that you notice? Seams hitting the wrong spot? If you can, wear them for a brisk walk around an indoor shopping mall, perhaps with different shoes and/or different sock combinations. Pick the best one. Then go a size bigger to see if it is do-able. Then try a size bigger. Stop and go back when it gets "too" big. The size differences are really quite small.All seems to offer a comfortable fit
And always go buying hiking shoes/boots at the days end when your feet are a bit swelled! Because that's exactly what will happen on the Camino after day by day walking with a backpack. Or at least try them on with double socks.I have loved Salomon in the past but they were always made on a fairly narrow last. Now my feet have just got too wide for them at all. I do urge you to check with as well as length when buying, go to a reputable outdoors supplier that stocks a good range of makers. Take your own socks and allow plenty of time. And finally, make sure that the salesperson is trained in footwear fitting and not just bu6one manufacturer. Good Luck.
Will look up Davebugg.. Thank you for your advice.Most Important - The Fit (your foot is different than mine and everybody else's on this forum)
Less important - The Brand or Model
I used Salomon Quest 4D3 GTX for 90% of my 500 mile Camino and XA Pro 3D GTX for 10%.
I had one blister on my trip.
I wore the boots because they were more comfortable on the bottom of my feet. I had a very heavy pack and plantar fasciitis so the boots were much more comfortable than the trail runners. I loved the boots.
I met a guy on the trail hiking up to El Perdon. He had the exact same boots and loved them for alpine trekking and HATED them for the Camino because they were too hot and sweaty. His feet were in terrible condition requiring two hospital visits during the whole camino. He had a heavy pack and was walking 40 km/day. He got rid of the boots part way thru. Replaced with something new, tried unsuccessfully to break them in with raw damaged feet and wished for the old boots back. His strategy to do 25 mile days every day backfired.
There was a lot of rain on my Camino 5/13/18 to 6/18/18. My feet were damp with sweat everyday regardless of air temperatures and falling rain but not damp/wet enough to cause my feet problems.
Look up Davebugg, a member of this community. He is the authority with tons of information on foot wear and foot care. I'm intrigued by a brand he likes and may try them in the future. Hoka - one one Bondi 5 or 6.
Good luck with your search, try to ignore the outer package (the looks) and pay close attention to the fit. Bring the socks you will hike in when fitting the shoes. Find Davebugg.
Good advice , thank you.And always go buying hiking shoes/boots at the days end when your feet are a bit swelled! Because that's exactly what will happen on the Camino after day by day walking with a backpack. Or at least try them on with double socks.
The problem I had was due to the leather shoes being to narrow and they had a thick hard sole. Lots of asphalte on the Camino del Norte.I will be looking for a wider fit, flexible and soft soles with some grip.I have worn the speedcross on my 2 previous caminos (a pair only lasts for one) and then, obviously, bought a new pair for this years. But they have made a new model and after 2000 km in my old shoes with no blisters this new model gave me 2 after only 4 km. They were small though (or could have been had I tended to them properly) so I will still bring my speedcross also because the soles are really soft but next time I may try something new...
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