HikeArizona.COM

1. What is/are your favorite Approach Shoe(s)

2. For those who have had the privilege of wearing the 5-10 Camp 4’s (and LIKED them… cuz it’s probably NOT your cup of tea if ya don’t venture off trail or if you value light weight over breaking a toe), what other shoes (if any) did you find similar.

My answers:
TBD

Can't help on the new list. I had some Raichles ( mammut) a long time ago and were bomber but very heavy and more of a mountaineering style boot. You could step on a cactus with them though and have no problems with penetration.
The Asolo's I tried a long time ago and on a difficult Death Valley hike even tho I had the boot fitted at a highly regarded outdoor store I had pistoning in the heel and as a result had a partial loss of the skin covering about half of my Achilles tendons. Couldn't wear shoes for a while after that even to work, had to be a slip on sandal till it healed. So I don't think much of them personally.

The others I have heard of but have no direct knowledge and really on none of them of a recent nature.

Garmont Dragontails are heavy low tops and pretty bombproof. They run a bit small.

The aforementioned Salewa Mountain Trainers worked pretty well for me a while back (I had them in mids for alpine stuff) - very good for technical work, not as comfortable for extended trail time. But I guess that's a common trade off.

I approach a lot of things wearing my Luna Osas. Very few problems so far.

@rcorfman
Do you have a link... can't find these with a quick search as I can for most.

I have not tried any Salewa's; doesn't mean I won't get to it in the future if I am still doing off trail. My only other experience lately is with another discontinued shoe Hoka One One ultra hi TOR, initially really liked it, good cushioning, wide toe box and I found very grippy. But with my orthotics etc I found I felt too high in the boot, which makes it feel a bit unstable. Super expensive now even used, I have a few and will likely still use them occasionally.

While it would have been nice to have found a new favorite shoe to stock up with the crazy holiday sales, I still made out incredibly well! Got to love the pre-Black Friday sales!!!

@RedRoxx44
Hokas seem to have exploded in the past 5-10 years. None of them made my list but I'll have to give it a second look. Off memory, I think my two biggest concerns were protection (toes/sides particularly) and climbing/edging ability. I'm pretty selective when it comes to the protection factor - i.e. I know a few folks who swear by the La Sportiva TX Guides for instance but in my opinion the PU Tech Lite toe guard on that shoe is a joke compared to most of Scarpas approach shoes and to both Salewa and Five Ten Approach shoes.

@AZHiker456 I remember the dragontails being pretty stiff (I had a pair in... 17?), haven't tried those other shoes. I imagine it's shifted a bit in design since.

The mountain trainers (haven't tried the light version) were just more of a technical build than what I'd normally go backpacking in, but had a my previous boots fail mid-season and they were on sale in town so I picked them up. Tightish toebox, less cushioning for better groundfeel etc. On long days of backpacking my feet would feel a little more beat than usual, but there wasn't any particular issue with them. For dayhikes they were fine, sometimes a little uncomfortable after long drops. Everyone's feet are different.

@AZHiker456
https://lunasandals.com/collections/tra ... ed-edition

@eru
Thanks for that feedback!

@rcorfman
Explains why I couldn't find them (top hits copying and pasting from your original post was bringing up some shoe by Obo)...

...to each his (or her) own / whatever floats your boat!

Field Night I guess... packages arrived in the PM! Gotta be at least 3 of the 6 remaining pairs in there...!

@AZHiker456
Perhaps in the interim between now and starting a new wildly successful shoe company, you could write a blog. Your opinions and detailed reviews can probably be monetized and you'll never have to pay for another shoe again.

@chumley
Right on! I've heard of others being successful in this regard. Truth be told, I'm extreme 'math-brain' and hate to write (although for something like product reviews and writing about my hikes, it comes much more naturally and is a definite exception!).

Though right now, [after the hell my life became (mid 2016 - mid 2021)], I don't have the strength to do much of anything new (other than execute! execute! execute! in terms of things I have a knack for already).

If someone wanted to partner with me and be like, "just try the d@mn shoe and keep writing and I'll take care of the rest!" that would be one thing, but if I have to do all the back-end crap on my own, just no fight left other than my life obsession & passion: wilderness adventuring/peaking bagging.