AchillesBogart
Adventurer
I'll throw my 2 cents into the arena. I make my living on my feet in the woods off the beaten path doing archaeology tech work. So does most of my family, my sister fights fire on a hotshot crew, my dad was a firefighter for the forest service, and my grandpa was a forester. We all own custom made shoes because working feet are an absolute necessity for us.
I got my first pair of custom shoes this summer and I will never go back to off the shelf stuff for any serious walking again. They build the boots to your feet, and let me tell you the fit is like nothing you've ever experienced. The leather and stitching are much higher quality in hand made shoes than OTS, . I wore Georgia's last summer and in 4 months of work the leather was stretched and they leaked like a sieve. I worked longer this summer and my boots still fit tight and are waterproof even though they are untreated leather.
They do cost a lot more, my Kulien's were almost $800, but my grandpa's were 40 years old when he sold them and dad's are 17, so I look at it as an investment. There's still a lot of shoemakers around and if you have the cash and really love your feet, you should pay one a visit.
Also don't wear cotton socks, you should see less and smaller blister's without them. Plus cotton doesn't wick, so if you're feet get wet they stay wet. Here's a scholarly article on the subject of socks and blisters.
http://www.ipfh.org/research/docs/friction_blisters.pdf
I got my first pair of custom shoes this summer and I will never go back to off the shelf stuff for any serious walking again. They build the boots to your feet, and let me tell you the fit is like nothing you've ever experienced. The leather and stitching are much higher quality in hand made shoes than OTS, . I wore Georgia's last summer and in 4 months of work the leather was stretched and they leaked like a sieve. I worked longer this summer and my boots still fit tight and are waterproof even though they are untreated leather.
They do cost a lot more, my Kulien's were almost $800, but my grandpa's were 40 years old when he sold them and dad's are 17, so I look at it as an investment. There's still a lot of shoemakers around and if you have the cash and really love your feet, you should pay one a visit.
Also don't wear cotton socks, you should see less and smaller blister's without them. Plus cotton doesn't wick, so if you're feet get wet they stay wet. Here's a scholarly article on the subject of socks and blisters.
http://www.ipfh.org/research/docs/friction_blisters.pdf
