Thread 2845969

So I have been looking for hiking boots that double as everyday leather boots too. Been looking at the jim green collection. And I am torn between a razorback, a normal AR8 and a tyre wedge AR8.
> The normal AR8 are nice, with a good sole, but they are a bit chunky
> The tyre wedge AR8 are lighter, but I am unsure if the sole is good for hiking
> The razorback is probably the best one for hiking, but it looks perhaps too "outdorsy"

Ignore prices btw

>>2845969 (OP)
>So I have been looking for hiking boots that double as everyday leather boots too.
Don't bother. They are optimized for different, mutually exclusive things.

If you live in a hot climate just wear very breathable run of the mill hiking boots low ankle very breathable etc
I live in a pretty cold snowy/wet place so these with GOOD wool socks (i mean 30$ a pair good at least) since they are waterproof are what I wear.
I am not jogging in these and creeks, deep puddles, and snow mean nothing to me. I went with the fake hardened toe instead of the steel toe. 3 months of breaking in and they are perfect. Also stylish and comfortable because they hug the foot immaculately. So if you have girly feet these will help you.
If you have 800 bucks to drop then I would go with some White's. Lifetime guarantee and are just all around amazing for hiking in all weather.

>>2845989
800?!?! Anon, i am NOT that well of

>>2845969 (OP)
Just get trail sandals. You dont really need boots unless youre goin deep innabrush.
If you are, then I hear Merrels are pretty good.

>another month of shitty boot threads recommending trash
those boots won't be good for your body health long term anon. it's hard rubber with a tall heel. it will damage your foot with lack of movement, weaken your ankle, and send shockwaves to your knees, hip, back. Even firefighters are moving to polyurethane boots over this. Military made the change decades ago.
The AR8 wedge sole are a softer, blown rubber but in my opinion they will wear down extremely fast. I wouldn't buy a boot that didn't last that long.
If I went with a Jim Green i'd probably just go for the Velly. Hard rubber, light weight, and you can toss a cushioned insole in.
The only 2 reasons I see to get a boot like yours is:
1) if it's the end of the world
your boots still gonna be fucked after a few years
2) if work requires it
but most work places that needed it in the past have switched or are switching to foam.
And yes a few places like David Paige in Seattle will resole polyurethane boots.

I just use shoes with long pants now or gaiters, unless work requires something else. There's even some good minimalist shoes that have enough durability in them that you can supplement with a cushy insole. I currently use Belleville Mini-Mil shoes ($80 on govx if you're a current/former gov worker) and use a meindl cork insole. Good price, durability, light.

If you go the trail runner route. Moabs are cheap. I don't like the upper, but it works.

If I needed something more supportive for work i'd just go with lowa or meindl. The European boot companies have it figured out. I personally like Sievi with their XL last for a wide foot shape. Sadly they're a bitch to get in the US. The African stuff is made for a tough environment that isn't very mountainous or wet using revolver tier technology before some of the more recent health discoveries of the last century starting with the munson last.

>>2846284
I'm speaking from experience too. I've met a lot in wildland fire that had foot to spine related injuries because of the 5 pound wildland firefighter boots people on Reddit covet. I'm talking from people that needed a knee replacement before 30 to being told they won't be able to walk before 50 if they don't stop. The people that switched to Haix Missoula or Danner's wildland fire boots reported a lot of the issues went away.
The military also has a long history with this issue and only switched around 2000 to more modern boots even though there's very few polyurethane boot companies here (belleville/thorogood the only two that pop off the top of my head.
Australia (mongrel, redback, rossi, blundstone) and Europe (haix, meindl, lowa, kennetrek, hanwag, zamberlan, sievi, crispi, alfa, altberg, i could go on and on with a google search) switched a long time ago and now have plenty.
dont fuck your body anon.

I thought like you a long time ago, and it took a decade of bad decisions to pull the wool from my eyes and change.

If you really want something that will treat your body better and last forever, take the sandal pill and use something like Bedrock Sandals. Someone wore one of those for the entire Pacific Crest Trail without resoling them.

Irish Setter Wingshooters are my current boot. I like em.

>>2846285
>Someone wore one of those for the entire Pacific Crest Trail without resoling them.
That's because he was travelling by magic carpet, don't let these sneaky arabs trick you.

>>2846285
Thing is, i live in Scandinavian. Having those mountain sandals will only work in the summer.

What about Jim Greens barefoot shoes?

>>2846365
I would love if jim green did a barefoot shoe with a hard rubber, but for whatever reason they've chosen blown rubber for all of their ranger boots including the barefoot variants.
I'll also add that if you're wanting to change your stride to ball first instead of heel first, welted shoes/boot don't work with it. I think it's the way the heel juts back or the lack of flexibility that makes it harder to change your stride.
Because of both these factors, forcing a heel strike with each step, is likely what led Jim Green to using such a soft rubber for these.
I mean if you really want to, you could wear the sole down and then have a cobbler replace the outsole with something from vibram like the kletter.
For barefoot shoes, I like the Belleville shoes like I mentioned. The vivobarefoot Tracker/Forest Esc is also really good. Sadly their resole service is only good for the UK though. I don't recommend most Vivobarefoot but the tracker/forest esc are the best barefoot shoes for outdoors bar none.

If you have dry snow in Norway, these may also work well for you.
https://mukluks.com/products/camuks-extreme-mens
They use a natural rubber so avoid stepping in oil. It's meant for snow use primarily but could be a long lasting boot with great breathability and insulation.
You have alfa in your country. I have used the M77 in the past and it works decent, albeit I prefer the Estonian made versions now since Alfa outsources theirs to Romania. I find Sievi makes great products in Finland. I used the soft solid xl in the past. I wish it had a hard rubber bottom, and they sell versions with it. They'll be a bit heavier.

>>2846256
This.
I just use some cheap ass Colombia or Ozark trail, trail sandals. If I dive innawoods I just wear my old timberland hiking boots.

>>2846380
>Sievi
seeman here. sievi makes some wicked shit when it comes to workplace boots. light, strong, durable and yet very comfy to wear.

>>2846256
Spoken like a pussy Southern Hemispherer.

>>2847175
Yup. I'm seriously impressed by Sievi. A lot of companies just make a design like the often talked about m77 here and just leave it to the history books to follow the pattern. Sievi's continuing to improve their models though. They started adding the foam in Adidas boost (ETPU) into their boots to help the comfort. They make an actual wide last thats foot shaped. Their leather is strong and doesn't scratch easy.
If they were easier to get in the US, it'd be hard to recommend the other options.
However they tend to be more occupation oriented then outdoors
Their website has a way to filter what you want/need though.

How about Keens? I've found them to be incredibly comfortable.

>>2847291
I use their sandals for hiking/bike basically from May to September. top comfy.

>>2847304
>basically exclusively
again, great sandals.

>>2847304
I like the meme olukai

>>2845969 (OP)
>high (to the shin) leather trekking boots are overkill unless you're going offtrail in the woods. they also have hard solid undersoles that are a bitch to break in. lots of normies think they need these to go trail walking through a state park but they're total overkill unless you're hiking in real rough terrain where maybe the trail hasn't been maintained for years or just off-trail
>mid boots (to the ankle) are fine for rough terrain but not trail blazing through the bush
>waterproof hiking shoes (columbia or merrel) are the best for all-purpose use especially if you want to wear them in town.

consider also whether the boots' soles are designed for traction, or grip and which is most effective for the environment you will be hiking in. grip is more important for harder, slippery surfaces while traction is more important for looser soil, mud, sand etc.

also, I have a feeling that you're looking for advice from /fa/ more than /out/ considering your price range, aesthetic confines and the fact that you want them to double as everyday boots in town. if you want a cool looking pair of trail boots that don't look too autistically outdoorsy just get a pair of Steinadler feldschuh leicht

>t. professional boot and shoe salesmen for /out/door shop

>>2846284
Okey anon, I've been thinking about what you said. I did a bit of digging, and looked after barefoot boots that had vibram soles. And I think i am just not going to care about looking aesthetic, it's ok to have autistic shoes.

Anon, are these good?
https://bearfoot.store/products/bruin-patriot-crazy-horse
I have no clue. Also i looked into those vivo barefoot hiking shoes, they look nice, but they look like they ain't gonna hold up to the cold norwegian weather. It rains alot here too, and the vivo shoes are not waterproof. These boot however, I think they can get waterproofing done. I was thinking about the m77, but nah they aren't too waterproof. Uh thats important for me. I looked into sievi and they look more like workboot ish. I dont know if thats what I am going for as I want shoes that are better for the environment, hence why I am going for leather boots that can be resoled. Also i looked into going barefoot, I think thays what i am gonna do. I have always had "duck feet" but not flat feet. I have a wide toe splay and high arch. I walk barefoot when I am home, so most of the time. But I used to wear converse with are som bastard shoes. Smushed my little toe.

>>2847349
Thanks anon. Will look into them. They look narrow

>>2847376
I have a pair as my main trekking boots and they're actually quite wide. They are also surprisingly lighter than your standard bulky trekking boots despite being completely leather. They are a fucking bitch to break in at first however and seeing as you're Norwegian might not be suitable for winter conditions (I messed up and switched the words grip and traction in the previous post; the Steinadler boots have excellent traction but poor grip meaning they're great for walking in the forest or mountains but you will slip and fall as soon as the ground gets icy)

>>2847380
Yeah norwegian weather is a bitch. But hiking in winter weather (which spans for like 5 months) is gonna be hard. For the extra snowy winter I have some sorel boots. They are not barefoot though, I have tried looking into barefoot winter shoes, but I dont even think any barefoot winter shoes could tackle the weather here. Wish I lived in the fucking mid West (for the weather and climate only, the us is a shithole)

>>2847376
i heard there was quality control issues ith the bearfoot stuff. i think i mentioned it before too but its hard to get a forefoot step with welted boots. the other issue i have too is boots above a chukka in length tend to have issues locking your heel down which makes a forefoot step even more difficult. 8 inch boots even moreso have a harder time as the instep eyelets get slack when you get to the higher eyelets/hooks. those look particularly bad. There's a reason companies like Meindl/Lowa use hooks, fancy eyelets with rollers, and a cut for the leather to fold between the 3/4 eyelet and upper hookups.
That's either the first generation of a product or one designed for style with a work boot aesthetic. I feel the same about soft star leather even though they've been doing minimalist shoes for a lot longer.
If I had that big of a hole to burn in my pocket i'd just buy vibrams from eBay like the kletter or another of their minimalist outsoles and mail it to jim green in south africa for them to add to a custom veldskoen or whatever other model you want.
again though i caution any 5+ inch height design to find something that has a solid lacing system for your foot. The only other way I find to correct it is to add volume via an insole.

>>2847376
i never had an issue with water in my m77s. they're a single layer of leather which I understand doesn't have a goretex liner but with proper conditioner i've found some leather's (m77 included) to be very water repellant. I live in a climate that's consistently wet but light rain instead of heavy.
If you need goretex level of water conditioner you either need something fully water proof (ie rubber/polyurethane/eva rubber boot) or a company that uses goretex well. I've almost always found goretex to work for only about a year before issues arrive. I believe some of the German/Italian companies tend to be more consistent then others. I think Zamberland is the best of them but they tend to be a bit narrow. If you want wide, just swallow and use Sievi and stop being a faggot about fashion.

>>2847180
Sounds like a faggot cant take the heat. Skill problem on your end. Feet cant get a little cold either? Gonna cry pussy bitch?
That's what I thought.

so fucking annoying i brought the razorbacks a year ago from multiple /out/ rec's and now some dude is telling me that its actually a shit boot that will fuck up my legs within a single decade

make ur fucking minds up

>>2847471
>razorbacks
Never heard of em. Post pics?

>>2847472
Look at OP pic anon. To the left

>>2847444
You are so smart anon. Thank you. What size of vibram kletterlift fits size 9 men's?
>>2847447
I will never stop being a fashion fag. Now get lost. Your autism can be spotted from a mile away!

>>2846256
Merrells are goated