What hiking shoe?

Ok, not to hijack the thread, but i like to read existing info before posting and this thread is close to what i need to know. What about for COMFORT? While i am losing fat weight, i am still very heavy dude at 275. My poor feet are killing me in Keen boots. They used to be comfortable, but i notice issues now and i think i may have wore them out. FYI, i use $60 dollar shoe inserts that are for the way my feet work, I put weight on the outsides of my feet and the balls of my feet, the inserts correct that and help a lot. Sunday I wore a pair of the expensive grade of New Balance, the ones i work out in, at an Apex Defense class and they helped quite a bit. I usually like the ankle support of boots, but comfort is also critical for 8-9 hours of on your feet. Are there any other dense dudes out there who know love their/shoes boots and if so what are they? I would like to get a hiking type shoe and maybe some new light weight low "sneaker" type shoe. I've always been heavy, even when i was in my 20's and a 28 inch waist i weighed 189.
 
@Variable , you are big fella, and I am not knocking that. Weight plays hell on footwear. Try trail runners instead of a hiking shoe. The trail running shoes tend to have softer, more athletic soles. The uppers are essentially the same as a hiking shoe, the difference is the sole. A hiking shoe will last longer, but after a few hours will be more uncomfortable (like a boot).
 
Variable said:
Ok, not to hijack the thread, but i like to read existing info before posting and this thread is close to what i need to know. What about for COMFORT? While i am losing fat weight, i am still very heavy dude at 275. My poor feet are killing me in Keen boots. They used to be comfortable, but i notice issues now and i think i may have wore them out. FYI, i use $60 dollar shoe inserts that are for the way my feet work, I put weight on the outsides of my feet and the balls of my feet, the inserts correct that and help a lot. Sunday I wore a pair of the expensive grade of New Balance, the ones i work out in, at an Apex Defense class and they helped quite a bit. I usually like the ankle support of boots, but comfort is also critical for 8-9 hours of on your feet. Are there any other dense dudes out there who know love their/shoes boots and if so what are they? I would like to get a hiking type shoe and maybe some new light weight low "sneaker" type shoe. I've always been heavy, even when i was in my 20's and a 28 inch waist i weighed 189.
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Keep in mind too that comfort is a function of paying attention, to a point. Pay attention to where you are stepping. Don't step on medium sized rocks or anything sharp. It sounds annoying but I only really pay attention when I'm in a rocky area. Then I pick my path to miss the rocks or step on the flat large rocks to protect my insoles. Nothing is more miserable than hiking on bruised feet from not paying attention. But after a day of hiking it can really make a difference.

I wear the trail runners with superfeet insoles and just did 4 days in the smokies with 2 days pushing 12 miles. Feet were fine. But I'm almost 100 lbs lighter. If your pain is on the bottom of the feet after hiking look for something with a full length shank in the soles. Plastic shank will be lighter. That will provide another barrier to protect your feet from getting beat up by rocks etc.
 
I use Aetrex insoles in every pair of shoes I have, and it's almost more dependent on having them than it is the shoe being comfortable at this point.

I've been wearing Addidas Rockadia trail runners for almost a year now at work. I am generally standing/moving for 12 hours at a time and they have been great shoes that became even better once I dropped insoles in them.
 
Count me in the Keen camp. Been wearing them 7 days a week, 14-16 or so hours a day for years.

Great quality, but what I like the most about them is that my feet don't hurt the way that they did with previous boots.

Previous include Redwing, Carhart, Justin, Danner's and Caterpillar.

One thing that I learned is that our feet are shaped differently, and not all boots will fit you correctly.

For me, the Keen's work best.
 
At this point in my life, not to reinjure my back is critical. I shop for lightweight boots first and understand that they are good for one or two years at best.

Once you get on the lightweight track its very hard to go back to normal weight shoes or boots. I personally love the Under Armor Speed Fit and the Under Armor Infil line.
 
I had many pair of Merrell shoes and boots, they aren't what they used to be, issues with them coming apart or whatnot.
I wear Salomon Forces XA Mid GTX as my work boots, 12-24hrs at a time. I find them to be the most comfortable option. I have a pair of the Salomon forces Quest 4D GTX I use in the winter time at work, however find they cause me to have a ache across the top of my foot after about 10-12 hrs.
For me Salomon are the most comfortable for daily wear as well, I have a pair of their trail runners as well and they are my everyday shoe.

I have a pair of Keen boots that I use doing work around the farm and they are second most comfortable.

When we went to the desert in Nevada I got my wife and I a pair of the Xero shoes on a recommendation from a friend who spends a lot of time in the desert, they are a minimalist shoe with thin soles and a lug pattern. For crawling around rocks in the desert in Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire they were perfect, I would not want to wear them faced with mud or wet terrain.
 
foopid stucker said:
my merrils didn't last. the keens are holding up well and comfortable
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I just change to Keens too. The last 2 pairs of Merrils, something has changed with them. They smell like cat piss! And I got other boots my feet get hotter in and they don't stink. I think the glue is different.

The Keens are more boot like, less sneaker like. But they wear good even for my wide foot. Plus made in USA
 
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