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Trail shoes with decent grip

Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:02 pm

Certainly agree that Goretex is overrated!
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby maremalin » Tue Jan 29, 2019 4:34 pm

37201xoIM wrote:Nowthen!

So does anybody have any ideas? As I say, I'm looking for shoes, not boots, and they'd be for general walking of pretty much all sorts (obviously not including scrambling and scree or the like!).

Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated - thanks in advance...


Consider: Scarpa Mojito City GTX
They have "Spyder Arctic sole" It makes soles squeak a bit when walking on polished surfaces but grip is solid

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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:13 pm

maremalin wrote:
37201xoIM wrote:Nowthen!

So does anybody have any ideas? As I say, I'm looking for shoes, not boots, and they'd be for general walking of pretty much all sorts (obviously not including scrambling and scree or the like!).

Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated - thanks in advance...


Consider: Scarpa Mojito City GTX
They have "Spyder Arctic sole" It makes soles squeak a bit when walking on polished surfaces but grip is solid

Marek

Hmm, must admit I'd hesitate to buy Scarpa again; my current (or rather most recent) ones are Scarpa Vortex GTX which cost the thick end of £150 and came with lots of assurances from the vendor when I bought them about a year or so ago.... In practice they proved to be so-so initially, but wore very quickly indeed and are now essentially unusable for anything at all: I can't even walk safely across Leeds station in them!

Thanks nonetheless!
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby onsen » Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:39 pm

Five Ten make a range of approach shoe with a stiffer sole with good sticky treads.
Likewise i also use a old pair trail running hoka oneone speedgoats which have a softer cushioned sole, aggressive lugs & sticky tread.
Use both for general track walking, but they excel when it come to rock hopping upstream, bouldery scrambles, slippery river crossings etc etc
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby onsen » Tue Jan 29, 2019 10:03 pm

Very restricted time if you want to edit your post....grrr

Hokaoneone also make a variety of hiking shoes/mids/boots
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Tue Jan 29, 2019 10:25 pm

Thanks, Onsen, must confess I hadn't even heard of Hoka!
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby onsen » Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:10 am

No worries.
Your lucky too, the UK/European website seems to have more choice than the local Aussie site !
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby maremalin » Wed Jan 30, 2019 1:31 pm

37201xoIM wrote:
maremalin wrote:
37201xoIM wrote:Nowthen!

So does anybody have any ideas? As I say, I'm looking for shoes, not boots, and they'd be for general walking of pretty much all sorts (obviously not including scrambling and scree or the like!).

Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated - thanks in advance...


Consider: Scarpa Mojito City GTX
They have "Spyder Arctic sole" It makes soles squeak a bit when walking on polished surfaces but grip is solid

Marek

Hmm, must admit I'd hesitate to buy Scarpa again; my current (or rather most recent) ones are Scarpa Vortex GTX which cost the thick end of £150 and came with lots of assurances from the vendor when I bought them about a year or so ago.... In practice they proved to be so-so initially, but wore very quickly indeed and are now essentially unusable for anything at all: I can't even walk safely across Leeds station in them!

Thanks nonetheless!


I can't comment on longevity of Mojito City GTX - picked up pair only last week for £80 ;-)
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby kenncunn » Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:55 pm

I use inov8 roclite 325 for most of my walking except winter and find them light and comfortable.Only downside is probably durability if frequently walking on rockier terrain.
I noticed inov8 have brought out shoes with graphene infused soles which they claim to be 50% more durable.
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:23 pm

Just thought I'd post a quick PS here to thank posters for the recommendation and confirm that I have been hugely impressed by Inov8 Roclite 290, having finally done my first "proper" hill-walk in them (I pottered up Ben Hope on Saturday). Brilliant grip (to be fair, I need to try Skiddaw slate one day!) and phenomenally comfortable. Of course they make no pretence at being waterproof, but I don't find that makes a big difference in real practical terms.

In fact, due to my own stupidity (only realised at Newcastle that I'd left my Roclites in Hebden Bridge!) I've now got two pairs... thanks to the nice people in Bridge Of Allan. I note that my second pair (red rather than black!) are a new model - I'm told there is graphene now in the soles (though the profile looks the same as the black pair I bought in Feb). Apparently this is supposed to make the soles wear less quickly?
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Fri Aug 16, 2019 4:40 pm

With hopes my bumping this thread isn't too annoying, I thought I'd provide a quick update - and ask for a further bit of advice.....!

So as stated above I'm basically really pleased with Roclite 290s. I've noticed a BIG difference in the old (2018 model?) ones I bought first as against the new 2019 ones with the graphene soles: the grip in the latter new ones is superlative with no sacrifice of comfort. The old ones' grip was very good, but rapidly tailed off as the soles wore quickly: I've now "cascaded" them down to trainer-esque daily knocking-around wear. I wonder if this is perhaps consistent with the thread last year complaining about how quickly Roclites' grip deteriorated? If so, it looks as though there was perhaps a real issue but that the new model has addressed it.

Anyway, as i say, I'm well impressed with the current 290s and would firmly recommend them.

The only downside with Roclite 290s is of course that they don't pretend to be waterproof (the upper is largely a mesh). I see however that Inov-8 do two models that do have waterproof / water-resistant uppers, and am wondering if anyone has any experience with these? Is grip as excellent as the 290s, and are they (nearly?) as comfortable? The two models seemingly in question are the 350 and the 315.

Thanks in advance for any comments - am tempted to treat myself...
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby malrc » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:01 pm

I also have the Roclite 290 with graphene sole and use it for both ultra marathons in soft conditions and for all hiking/hillwalking (I haven't done any true winter hiking yet, in which case these would not be suitable obviously).

Anyway, this question is essentially the debate between the benefits of waterproof footwear versus lighter, more breathable, non-water-proof options. Personally, I feel breathable and well-draining, non-waterproof, options are the way to go, paired with some good socks that insulate well when wet (eg. wool). Alternatively, socks that are themselves water-resistant (sealskinz, etc.) can be used from the start, or as a back-up if you want dry feet once shoes are wet through for whatever reason.

It's worth noting that the 'let your foot get wet' wool sock option is more effective for those looking to keep moving, and therefore keep warmer, than those taking their time, stopping more often, and/or in particularly cold conditions.

Another factor to consider is how sweaty your feet get generally whilst walking. Gortex trail shoes can keep your feet drier versus (limited) water from the outside, but will actually retain more water from inside. If you are going to have wet sweaty socks even in dry conditions, waterproof shoes will make this worse.

I've taken to starting all my walks in non-waterproof shoes with good wool socks, but always carrying at least one pair of waterproof socks to change into if I need to.

To try and be complete here... current offerings of waterproof socks are not perfect (i.e. they don't stay fully waterproof indefinitely) and do have the same drawbacks regarding sweat as waterproof shoes. That said, in all but dire conditions, they should allow you to keep your feet warm, and mostly dry, whilst still keeping moving in wet shoes.
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:30 pm

Thanks a lot for that. Interesting thoughts which ring true for me. Yes, I have some Sealskinz and some (newer) Bridgedale waterproof socks, and the latter in particular are really not too bad at all for most moderately damp conditions.
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby Claire65 » Wed Jul 15, 2020 11:18 am

Nowthen!

I have a perennial problem with walking shoes and boots, namely that so many of them seem to have soles made more or less out of Teflon, in particular giving very little grip on any halfway smooth stone surfaces. This isn't just on hill-walks: even for example walking on cobbled streets or the marble-type floors you get in many places (e.g. St Pancras Eurostar platforms!) can be amazingly bad for slippage if even slightly damp. I've had this with soles of many types, including Vibram amongst others.

I have relatively small feet (size 42) for my height (and weight!), but have no idea whether that is relevant!

I've asked for advice before from retailers when buying trail-shoes for "mixed use" but really have struggled to find a good solution - or a lasting one: I had, for example, an excellent pair of Keen shoes a few years ago, but for some reason the updated model was useless, so I was in trouble when they wore out.

So does anybody have any ideas? As I say, I'm looking for shoes, not boots, and they'd be for general walking of pretty much all sorts (obviously not including scrambling and scree or the like!).

Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated - thanks in advance...


Why not try the more serious 'hiking' shoes like Lowa, Meindl?
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Re: Trail shoes with decent grip

Postby 37201xoIM » Wed Jul 15, 2020 4:04 pm

Thanks for your reply, but to be honest I have had very mixed experiences with those makes. These days in most conditions I do indeed, after excellent advice from this forum, swear by Innov8 Roclite 290s, which I would firmly recommend for all but truly plodgy underfoot conditions.
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