datoy
Adventurer
My best ever were Chaco Beckwith boots. Unfortunately, Chaco's sandals became so popular they stopped making their line of boots.
I had a pair also and tried others and the found the Zamberlans which are also made in Italy.
The best adventure travel boots.
- Thread starter datoy
- Start date
I had a pair also and tried others and the found the Zamberlans which are also made in Italy.
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
Best adventure boot? Depends where the adventure is taking me I suppose. Right now my day to day adventure boot seems to be these. Love my Sorel's.
At the other end of the spectrum I just picked up a pair of these for some wet jungle sloshing. I'll have to report back on how they do.
Ironically enough I do have a pair of traditional backpacking boots, but I almost never wear them, they were kind of a waste of money in my opinion. These are them, Scarpa M3's. Great boot just not practical for most styles of outdoor activities that I do. They never really seem to hit the right spot.
These are my latest go to shoes for almost everything outdoors. The Merrell Intercept. Pretty nice shoe, and it can pull double duty, it works well in both urban and natural environments which is great so I'm not lugging around different footwear for different environments.
For casual kicking around I wear Tom's.
At the other end of the spectrum I just picked up a pair of these for some wet jungle sloshing. I'll have to report back on how they do.
Ironically enough I do have a pair of traditional backpacking boots, but I almost never wear them, they were kind of a waste of money in my opinion. These are them, Scarpa M3's. Great boot just not practical for most styles of outdoor activities that I do. They never really seem to hit the right spot.
These are my latest go to shoes for almost everything outdoors. The Merrell Intercept. Pretty nice shoe, and it can pull double duty, it works well in both urban and natural environments which is great so I'm not lugging around different footwear for different environments.
For casual kicking around I wear Tom's.
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At the other end of the spectrum I just picked up a pair of these for some wet jungle sloshing. I'll have to report back on how they do.
I used some shoes similar to that on a trip to Costa Rica's Caribbean coast while working a sea turtle research field station.... did my share of "jungle sloshing." I dont know your plans or where you're going.
My experience with the style of shoe was bad, to say the least. From sand abrasion all over and being unable to get to stinging ants! On more recent trips down to Central America I wore regular sandals which allowed for easier extrication of said stinging insects. Your mileage may vary though.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Patagonia IS Merrell. Patagonia doesn't make their shoes. They have a licensing agreement with Merrell who actually builds and distributes their shoes. Patagonia FOOTWEAR as an organization simply takes design cues from teh Patagonia team to try to design a footwear line that compliments the aesthetic and green principles held by Patagonia clothing. I like Patagonia Footwear's designs, but their use of green materials has lead to some durability issues.
We sell close to a couple thousand pairs of shoes a year. In terms of product failures nothing, and I mean NOTHING rivals the blow out failures of KEEN. Our KEEN failure rate is the worst I've seen in 15 years of retail. Second to KEEN is Merrell. The fewest number of blowouts comes from Asolo, Scarpa, Lowa and La Sportiva. Salomon probably should be on that list, too as they're pretty solid.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
My favorite footwear:
Fabiano Mountain Masters (Heavy backpack)- Bar none the best backpacking boot made in the true Norwegian Welted tradition of making boots. Find me a better Norwegian Welted boot. I almost dare you.
Scarpa Assaults (Alpine Climbing) - They don't make them any more, but dayum the are sweet. Anything from steep ice to multi-day approaches under heavy or fast and light loads. Mountains are scared of these boots.
La Sportiva Trangos (Fast Alpineering) - Svelte and light but bomber. Great all-mountain boots.
Asolo Fugitives (Light Backpacking) - These boots are light underfoot and hold up far better than they should. I'm stoked to be getting a pair of Moran's from Asolo to test for 2010. They're the upgraded Fugitives.
Scarpa Cinque Terres (Approach) - They don't make these any more either. Mine are 11 years old, been resoled twice. These were stitch down soled approach shoes. $220 was a hard pill for shoes but hey....11 years!
Chaco Z2 (sandals) - Sure, the new ones are made in China and owned by Merrell, but they still rule. I have Paonia models that are going on sole 3.
Exofficio Cruz'rs (Travel and bar) - Skate shoe meets travel shoe meets bar stool. Love those dogs.
As a shoe junky the list is long. :sombrero:
Fabiano Mountain Masters (Heavy backpack)- Bar none the best backpacking boot made in the true Norwegian Welted tradition of making boots. Find me a better Norwegian Welted boot. I almost dare you.
Scarpa Assaults (Alpine Climbing) - They don't make them any more, but dayum the are sweet. Anything from steep ice to multi-day approaches under heavy or fast and light loads. Mountains are scared of these boots.
La Sportiva Trangos (Fast Alpineering) - Svelte and light but bomber. Great all-mountain boots.
Asolo Fugitives (Light Backpacking) - These boots are light underfoot and hold up far better than they should. I'm stoked to be getting a pair of Moran's from Asolo to test for 2010. They're the upgraded Fugitives.
Scarpa Cinque Terres (Approach) - They don't make these any more either. Mine are 11 years old, been resoled twice. These were stitch down soled approach shoes. $220 was a hard pill for shoes but hey....11 years!
Chaco Z2 (sandals) - Sure, the new ones are made in China and owned by Merrell, but they still rule. I have Paonia models that are going on sole 3.
Exofficio Cruz'rs (Travel and bar) - Skate shoe meets travel shoe meets bar stool. Love those dogs.
As a shoe junky the list is long. :sombrero:
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
Huh, that's funny. I'll be hitting up the San José area, La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Quepos before making a jump to Panama and onto the Dom. Republic. Thanks for the heads up, it's good to know. Now I'm not so sure of these things. LOL
La Fortuna and Quepos are both pretty hot and the shoes will do fine there. The trails around the Manuel Antonio NP are sand. Hike to the southern point in the park (ask a guide or ranger) and you can see the Osa Peninsula and Panama. You might do a bit of jungle sloshing at La Fortuna--- and I recommend going to the Rio Fortuna waterfall just outside of town. Dont rent a motorcycle from the guys in La Fortuna, lets just say I have some credit issues that were sourced to these guys! Monteverde will be chilly, you'll want your regular boots or shoes.... or even rubber boots if you go into the jungle there. Spent a couple weeks in Santa Elena (near Monteverde).
La Fortuna is my favorite spot in Costa Rica. Absolutely beautiful area! But thats for another thread another day.... This post is mainly for shoe recommendations for your trip. :coffeedrink: PM me if you have any questions!
bigreen505
Expedition Leader
At the other end of the spectrum I just picked up a pair of these for some wet jungle sloshing. I'll have to report back on how they do.
Those are far and away my favorite footwear (Sandals? Shoes? Not sure.). I'm not sure they are a very good fit for what you have in mind, but they are my favorite shoes by a mile for wet environments when traction is important (marine, wet rocks, etc.) but I would prefer to be in a sandal. I get nervous around stinging insects because as LaOutbackTrail said, when they get in you can't get them out. That goes for sand and mud too. Tread life is minimal.
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Co-opski
Expedition Leader
Now back to boots.
I was looking at the Lowa GTX boots to replace my Scarpa M3s. Both very nice boots. I went with the La Sportiva Glaciers.
For wet muck boots I have always got my Xtra Tuff insulated boots. I live in these spring and fall.
For winter pack boots the Sorel Big Horns are keeping me warm when it dips -20.
I recently bought a 2nd pair of Keens. The first pair was still going strong after 5 years. During that time I wore my Bronx desert hiking, and walking all over Manhattan and never had a problem. The only reason I bought a new pair was that the old pair was starting to show their age and the new pair was only $25.
The other pair of boots I have that I really like is a pair of Danner USMC Temperate boots. I added a pair of insoles but for hiking in the desert they are great. I generally wear them on trails although I have done some minor bushwacking with them. I haven't had any of the problems that I've encountered with other boots that aren't full leather with having my foot tormented with rocks and thorns. Once again I got a great closeout price on these U.S. made boots.
Chad
The other pair of boots I have that I really like is a pair of Danner USMC Temperate boots. I added a pair of insoles but for hiking in the desert they are great. I generally wear them on trails although I have done some minor bushwacking with them. I haven't had any of the problems that I've encountered with other boots that aren't full leather with having my foot tormented with rocks and thorns. Once again I got a great closeout price on these U.S. made boots.
Chad
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
Oooohhh these are awesome, they feel like rugged slippers and I haven't even broke them in yet! Now I know what all the hype is about.
Blundstones
Blundstones
Jonathan Hanson
Supporting Sponsor
Wow, Christophe. That's the first time I've heard anyone mention Fabiano in a long time. I wore Fabiano Rias for years. A step down from the Mountain Masters, but still stout. An equivalent today would be Limmers.