trashswag86
Well-known member
Ok, so I’ve most of my gear figured out, which wasn’t that hard for the most part, but I’ve gone back and forth on what footware would be best. I’ve got these nubuck Timberlands that I picked up from a thrift store for 30 bucks, and I *love* that classic look, but ultimately I’m not wanting to look good, I’m wanting to be as utilitarian and not miserable as I possibly can. The net tells me nubuck leather loses it’s waterproofing when dirty. I’m assuming that’s not a gross exageration to get me to buy nubuck leather cleaner, which would be a hassle and more weight and space than I wanna carry. Plus these boots are heavy. I did consider getting the same boot in full grain leather, but other than style I’m just not convinced that I need them. I’ve read stuff online that suggests that ankle support isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, that you can still hurt your ankles and the best method to avoid it is to stretch and strengthen them. I’ll leave it to you to investigate this point further, since it’s not my primary concern.
My main concern is moisture. So for awhile I tried to find a boot/shoe that was *both* highly breathable and waterproof. The Vasque Breeze III looks like it’s up there. It's nubuck and gore-tex mesh vents. But the durability doesn’t sound to be to good, plus I don’t want nubuck.
Something somewhat in this category, but with purportedly very good durability would be the Salomon X Ultra 3 GTX Hiking Shoe. It’s thinner material dries out faster than more rugged goretex hiking boots/shoes. (This one is still in my list of considerations -either with or without goretex)
Then I considered getting some gore-tex trail runners and a pair of hiking sandals. Like yeah, I would be packing my shoes on hot days. This is maybe not a bad idea if you’ve got some seriously lightweight trail runners.
I briefly considered jungle boots, but those would be death in cold and wet conditions, and probably really not that great even in warm and wet conditions.
Now, I’ve stumbled across waterproof socks! Never knew this was a thing. I’ve still yet to read enough reports to know what I think of these. They vary greatly in terms of durability, waterproofness, breathability, warmth, and comfort. So I’m wondering if I could just skip the waterproofing all together with the footware, get some 3 season boots or shoes, and have one or two pairs of these socks ready for the rain? Anybody got thoughts on these? Some of them are pretty spendy, but they'd let me be less picky with the shoes I end up with.
Here's a review on some different wp socks
Here's an opinion article on why you might skip boots for shoes
My main concern is moisture. So for awhile I tried to find a boot/shoe that was *both* highly breathable and waterproof. The Vasque Breeze III looks like it’s up there. It's nubuck and gore-tex mesh vents. But the durability doesn’t sound to be to good, plus I don’t want nubuck.
Something somewhat in this category, but with purportedly very good durability would be the Salomon X Ultra 3 GTX Hiking Shoe. It’s thinner material dries out faster than more rugged goretex hiking boots/shoes. (This one is still in my list of considerations -either with or without goretex)
Then I considered getting some gore-tex trail runners and a pair of hiking sandals. Like yeah, I would be packing my shoes on hot days. This is maybe not a bad idea if you’ve got some seriously lightweight trail runners.
I briefly considered jungle boots, but those would be death in cold and wet conditions, and probably really not that great even in warm and wet conditions.
Now, I’ve stumbled across waterproof socks! Never knew this was a thing. I’ve still yet to read enough reports to know what I think of these. They vary greatly in terms of durability, waterproofness, breathability, warmth, and comfort. So I’m wondering if I could just skip the waterproofing all together with the footware, get some 3 season boots or shoes, and have one or two pairs of these socks ready for the rain? Anybody got thoughts on these? Some of them are pretty spendy, but they'd let me be less picky with the shoes I end up with.
Here's a review on some different wp socks
Here's an opinion article on why you might skip boots for shoes