Winter Camino boot recommendations

[Castro]

Hello everyone, I am planning a Camino mid-January to whenever I get there and I wanted to ask some advice on footwear. I have a pair of gortex Adidas trail shoes but I'm not sure if they will be adequate. I am trying to keep my expenses really low, so money is definitely a priority. I plan to get a lot of my clothing from 2nd hand adventure stores, but I want to make sure my feet stay in decent condition. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[mspath]

Castro,

Remember that you will be walking in snow; be prepared.

This is not an ad but a personal comment. Most of my kit comes from Decathlon; here are the boots. Lightweight, water proof and sturdy; each pair last through at least two
late autumn/winter caminos.

Good luck with your winter plans, stay safe and Buen camino!

 

[Bradypus]

I wear boots for all my Caminos. For the past few years I have been wearing leather or fabric safety boots sold for use by builders. Cheap (about 25 euros) and sturdy and they work well for me. I usually replace the standard insoles with a gel pair. I would not walk any of the Caminos in January in trail shoes. Weather can be atrocious in winter on the Caminos and I never find shoes give enough protection against penetration by rain or melting snow. There is a severe weather warning in place from the Spanish government's weather service at the moment for low temperatures, high winds and heavy snowfall in parts of Leon and Galicia. No reason to suppose that the same will not happen in January.

https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/soci...tiene-en-alerta-a-23-provincias/10004-3464420

 

[nycwalking]

Winter 2014, I wore my standard summer/ fall camino shoes: Nike runners. Big mistake. Wear boots. You will need them for the mud and rain and snow!
Buen camino.

 

[t2andreo]

There are some very good reasons why many pilgrims prefer mid-height hiking boots to trail shoes. This thread highlights a few: warmth and dryness. Both are vital to any camino but critical in the winter, or in seasons when winter-like weather can be experienced.

I counsel using mid-height hiking boots that are waterproof, with two pair of liner socks to provide adequate cushioning and insulation. If properly done, you can even walk part of the day with soaking wet shoes. I have done so, with no ill effects.

I hope this helps.

 

[J F Gregory]

I hike regularly here in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) and I have learned the hard way that boots are the best. On our winter 2016 Camino my Keene's water proof boot worked very well. 12 days of snow and the rest rain, sleet, hail, and lost of mud. Our next Camino is next October.

 

[lettinggo]

Hello everyone, I am planning a Camino mid-January to whenever I get there and I wanted to ask some advice on footwear. I have a pair of gortex Adidas trail shoes but I'm not sure if they will be adequate. I am trying to keep my expenses really low, so money is definitely a priority. I plan to get a lot of my clothing from 2nd hand adventure stores, but I want to make sure my feet stay in decent condition. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Hola

In winter your main objective is to stay dry.
Invest whatever you can afford in some boots.
As for the rest of your gear, layer up. Bring a sleeping bag, as it will get cold.
And try to get some wool gloves and mitten for wet days.
Remember. Your cloth has to dry as much as possible during night, and not all places got heating.

Here is a post I made some years ago.

Hola

When I walked a winter Camino I had a sleeping bag around the same weight and it worked out fine for me.
To give you an idea about what I was carrying, I started out with a back pack weighing around 10-11 kg and ended up with 14 kg.
I am a man, late 40's and in good physical condition.

Here are some advices regarding sleeping bags:

• Use an inner silk or fleece liner/bag.
A silk liner adds about 5° degree celsius to the bag and a fleece 8°.
On winter camping/trekking two liners are often used as the effect adds up and the liners are light weight.

• The sleeping bag does not make you warm.
It function as a thermo and isolate you.
This mean that it contains the warmth/heat you put in, so make some gymnastic before you enter and you will sleep warmer.
Think of the difference of poring cold or hot water into a thermo.

• Wear a beanie, scarf, long johns, gloves, cloth while sleeping.

• Unpack your sleeping bag early before going to sleep as the down/synthetic needs to unfold to provide maximum insulation.

• Ventilate you sleeping bag in the morning to get rid of sweat before packing it up.

• Do use a sleeping bag that matches your size. A to large result in to much air that needs to be heated and a to small result in to little air to provide best insulation.

• Put some hot water in your 0.5 water bottle and bring it into the sleeping bag.

• Never go hungry to bed. Energy equals heat.

• Remember to go to bathroom and pee off before going to bed.
The body uses a huge amount of energy if you are in a state that needs to go to the bathroom.

Buen Camino
Lettinggo

 

[Castro]

Castro,

Remember that you will be walking in snow; be prepared.

This is not an ad but a personal comment. Most of my kit comes from Decathlon; here are the boots. Lightweight, water proof and sturdy; each pair last through at least two
late autumn/winter caminos.

Good luck with your winter plans, stay safe and Buen camino!

Thank you, and my concern is definitely waterproof first and foremost, but I am also concerned about cost and weight.

 

[Sixwheeler]

Keep your feet dry or suffer. Waterproof boots and consider waiters. The alternative is trench foot!
Ultreïa

 

[Sixwheeler]

GAITERS!

 

[Trude]

Hello everyone, I am planning a Camino mid-January to whenever I get there and I wanted to ask some advice on footwear. I have a pair of gortex Adidas trail shoes but I'm not sure if they will be adequate. I am trying to keep my expenses really low, so money is definitely a priority. I plan to get a lot of my clothing from 2nd hand adventure stores, but I want to make sure my feet stay in decent condition. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

I Remember doing it in February once and wishing I had worn rubber boots or for the English Wellington boots.....Snow, rain, slush
I loved it though. Had to buy a hairdryer in Puenta La Reina for the shoes. Then Shared it around.

 

[Consigliere]

I second the GAITERS option...

Even though a shoe may be Gortex lined, in any rain or snow, the killer is SEEPAGE. Generally the water will not enter from the shoe itself unless immersed for a significant period of time - or the Gortex lining is poorly designed.

With decent Gortex lined shoes or boots - 90% of the time water ill enter from the ankle or above. Where the heat from your leg melts the snow, or the water finds a way in - dribbling down your leg (gotta hate that). With Gaiters you negate this, and allow for a pair of trail runners to act with ankle boot water protection. Socks can also draw the water down.

Over the years I've tried various full boots and ankle boots with varying degrees of rain protection. And I've always found the old bush walkers adage to be true... NO hiking shoe is waterproof. Water always finds a way in. It's just a matter of how long you can stall this and dependent on the weather. More advice - pick a shoe that will be reasonable easy to dry, as much as this is possible. It will get damp - but if it's able to mostly dry overnight - joy.