Which shoes for extreme dayhikes?

[corlukan]

I am looking for a shoe that can withstand day hikes of 20+ miles. Currently I am using Merrell Chameleon Wrap XCRs and absolutely love them until I hit about 15 miles for the day. The balls and arches of my feet start to feel the pain, and this is with liners, good quality light to midweight socks (have tried both) and Superfeet inserts. Anything less than 15 miles, and the Chameleon Wraps are responsive, grippy and rugged enough to take the abuse of rocks, up and down, and scree of Arizona trails. I am planning the Mt. San Jacinto Cactus to Clouds hike for this month (10,000+ elevation gain over about 22 miles) and want to spare my feet as much agony as possible. Any suggestions on a shoe that is sturdy enough to take the beating of a long, fast hike yet light enough to not drag me down?

Cory in Yuma

[Jeffshadows]

I've gone through the same iterations you seem to be getting to now, so I'll try to weigh-in with my experiences. I've finally landed on a pair of Merrell Moab Ventilators. They grab everything; wet, dry, crumbly, doesn't matter. Plus, they're reasonably priced. I used to use the Gore-Tex Chameleon, but my feet sweat profusely and now those only come out during monsoon season. Throw in a set of SuperFeet green inserts and my feet feel great after ten or eleven hours out on rocky trail ('Great' being a comparative term). I used to use different shoes or boots for different trails, now these go everywhere. They're a great balance of size and weight.

What you want to stay away from, IMHO, is the temptation of using "trail runners". I used to go through two or three pairs of those a year because I enjoyed how light they were. AZ trails tear them up, the lace "thingies" Soloman uses break a lot, and they provide almost zero ankle roll protection. I can't even count all the times I had to "shoe goo" the heels back on because the heat and rock decimated them...ugh. Bad news...

[fairweather8588]

I use Inov-8's for all of my hiking needs now, did a 20 mile day loop in them awhile back and didn't have much of a problem

[Davis2001r6]

I am planning the Mt. San Jacinto Cactus to Clouds hike for this month (10,000+ elevation gain over about 22 miles) and want to spare my feet as much agony as possible. Any suggestions on a shoe that is sturdy enough to take the beating of a long, fast hike yet light enough to not drag me down?

Cory in Yuma

Hope your starting at like 10pm, man that would be ridiculously hot right now. I've had luck with some Vasque Velocity shoes. Although I haven't done too many 20+ miles I have done plenty of 15-20 milers. The shoe that probably has seen the most number of 15+ mile days for me are just a pair of New Balance Trail Runners, like the 470's or 475's. A few Rim-Rim's in those.

Good thing about C2C is that it's mostly uphill, downhill is usually what wears on my feet. Good Luck.

[rally_toad]

I have some nike Alltrac hiking shoes that I really like. Unfortunately mine are starting to fall apart.
But on another topic I think that after 15-20 miles on the trail your feet are gonna hurt no matter what shoes your wearing.

[Grasshopper]

..I think that after 15-20 miles on the trail your feet are gonna hurt no matter what shoes your wearing.

GOOD POINT!! and why it is difficult to recommend a pair of hiking shoes that will assure you 20+ miles

[big_load]

..I think that after 15-20 miles on the trail your feet are gonna hurt no matter what shoes your wearing.

GOOD POINT!! and why it is difficult to recommend a pair of hiking shoes that will assure you 20+ miles

That's right. The best way to get the extra miles is do more long distance hiking and to give your feet some good breaks along the way.

[Jeffshadows]

..I think that after 15-20 miles on the trail your feet are gonna hurt no matter what shoes your wearing.

GOOD POINT!! and why it is difficult to recommend a pair of hiking shoes that will assure you 20+ miles

That's right. The best way to get the extra miles is do more long distance hiking and to give your feet some good breaks along the way.

Thicker socks help a little, too. What I can say is you definitely know when your feet hurt worse than the *should* after that distance, and that something was wrong with your setup...