Sandra Corrales-Potts
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- future September/October (2014)
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Hi Sandra, I met several people last year on the Camino that did a combination of sandals and boots = sandals on the hot/dry days over level ground and then the boots on rainy days and rough terrain (and we all wore sandals at the end of the days walk). I will be taking both sandals and boots on my upcoming Camino. Buen Camino!Hello, This may sound crazy, but has anyone ever used a good pair of hiking sandals? I have bunions and any kind of shoe is potentially painful for me. I do have a pair of hiking shoes that are fairly broken in from my backpacking in the pacific northwest. The sandals would seem to have the ability to tighten or slacken depending on swelling etc. feedback please and gracias!
Sandra
HiHello, This may sound crazy, but has anyone ever used a good pair of hiking sandals? I have bunions and any kind of shoe is potentially painful for me. I do have a pair of hiking shoes that are fairly broken in from my backpacking in the pacific northwest. The sandals would seem to have the ability to tighten or slacken depending on swelling etc. feedback please and gracias!
Sandra
[...] No problems at all, well I had to stop now and then to remove a stone or so. And in rain I use seal skinz (gore text socks) to keep my feet dry.
Water is easy to protect from, gore-tex socksYou can walk it in sandals, probably will get away with it...this time. No support for your ankles, knees, lower back, no protection from water, thorns, mud, or stones. We all accept the need for sun screen but that particular song continues, "Be kind to your knees, you will miss them when they are gone". Proven true on my part.
In theory I agree. I did all my training walk in the boots but they ended up in my backpack anyway and I wore my sandals that had never been used with backpack before and never over 15 km.Your footwear is your most important piece of Camino equipment and it is a highly personal issue, dependent on the nature of your own, very unique, feet. As such, you should not make a footwear decision based on the opinions and experiences of others, well meaning and noble as those opinions may be. It is part of our social human nature to want to help others, advise others based on our own experiences, but that doesn't always translate into sound, beneficial advice when it comes to footwear or other very personalized types of equipment.
Whether the majority of pilgrims or forum participants use or don't use a certain type of footwear should not influence your own footwear decision. In fact, basing your decision on this could be the worst decision for you.
I have been a hiker and walker most of my life and was fortunate to know, from experience, what footwear might work best for me on my Camino. If you don't have the benefit of this type of experience, you will need to experiment, preferably in consultation with a foot specialist or physiotherapist, until you find what works best for you over long distances and varied terrain.
This forum is a great place to gather general information on equipment issues, but when it comes to something so personalized as your feet and the best footwear, you may be doing yourself a true disservice in allowing others to answer this question for you.
If I had heeded much of the forum advice on footwear and attempted my Camino in my Nike runners or Keen sandals, I'd have likely not gotten further than Pamplona and probably would have done considerable damage to my feet.
If you have time, why don't you try taking one of your weekends, doing 10 or 20km on Saturday and then again on Sunday in your preferred type of footwear? That would give you a pretty good idea. Short walks in sandals can feel deceptively comfortable. You really need to put footwear to the test before you know if they will work for you.
Hi SandraHello, This may sound crazy, but has anyone ever used a good pair of hiking sandals? I have bunions and any kind of shoe is potentially painful for me. I do have a pair of hiking shoes that are fairly broken in from my backpacking in the pacific northwest. The sandals would seem to have the ability to tighten or slacken depending on swelling etc. feedback please and gracias!
Sandra
Towards the end of two caminos, I have had a "Farewell good Boots" ceremony, and dumped them in the albergue rubbish bin, before completing the last few days in Ecco sandals. If I'm honest, I much prefer sandal walking but have delicate feet, and can feel the tiniest stone imaginable!How many people on this forum have discarded boots in favour of lightweight shoes or sandals? I don't know many whose Camino experience causes them to go the other way. But I may be wrong. If I knew how to make a survey on the forum I would.
I walked from for 42 days last Sept./Oct. in sandals and was so glad I did. I started out with keens and then bought Tevas to replace them when they got a little worn. I never had blisters and just wore wool socks on the rainy days. When the rain stopped I just changed socks and was instantly dry. I plan on hiking again in 2015 for my 60th bday and will again wear sandals. The trick is to keep your pack light, but that is the trick on the camino anyway.Hello, This may sound crazy, but has anyone ever used a good pair of hiking sandals? I have bunions and any kind of shoe is potentially painful for me. I do have a pair of hiking shoes that are fairly broken in from my backpacking in the pacific northwest. The sandals would seem to have the ability to tighten or slacken depending on swelling etc. feedback please and gracias!
Sandra
Hello, This may sound crazy, but has anyone ever used a good pair of hiking sandals? I have bunions and any kind of shoe is potentially painful for me. I do have a pair of hiking shoes that are fairly broken in from my backpacking in the pacific northwest. The sandals would seem to have the ability to tighten or slacken depending on swelling etc. feedback please and gracias!
Sandra
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