Approach Shoes?

[MakersTeleMark]

My feet are 100.5 wide. Would these shoes work?
I'm pretty sensitive to lateral pressure

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I would say no. They have a pretty narrow last.

[GeezerSteve]

My feet are 100.5 wide. Would these [Garmont Dragontail MTN] shoes work?

Maybe with alternative lacing. I wear a 101 lasted ski boot and the Dragontail MTN fits me fine with lacing in the pic below. Some people size up 1/2 size with Garmont mountain boots. FWIW, my Dragontail MTNs run a bit wider than my Scarpa Zen Pros.

[waveshello]

+1 on the LaSpo TX4... They're actually on my feet right now. My favorite approach/hiking shoe I've used to date. They are pretty wide but that's good for me. They aren't as sturdy as a shoe like the LaSpo Boulder X (narrower, sturdiest of the three) or the Scarpa Crux (between the two in width and stiffness). I'm about 8 months in to my TX 4s and they are holding up well. They really aren't that stiff, you feel a little more trail through the sole than you do with the other two. I for one like some of that feedback that you don't get in a stiffer shoe.

I used my Scarpa Cruxes for everything, including summer backpacking, for 2+ years. They were a great shoe but suffer from an annoying issue where the tongue slides to the side. They hike and climb well.

The LaSpo Boulder X is a great shoe and offers tons of support for longer hikes and heavier loads. It's the stiffest and narrowest of these the. Because of the added stiffness and sole height I didn't think it climbed as well as the other two, but probably the best option if you want to backpack with one of these shoes. If you have a propensity to roll your ankle, I would steer clear... I thought they felt a little "tippy" due to the narrow platform and additional height in the sole. I returned mine after 2 weeks because they didn't play nice with my heel... But I have a weird heel (haglofs deformity or something??) and not everything works with it. I really wanted them to work for me, but it wasn't happening.

I also own a pair of LaSpo Bushido 2s and they are also a narrower shoe. I think you can get away with quite a bit of climbing in them as long as you aren't edging all day. They really are more of a tail runner, but I've been using them a lot this spring to burn miles from the gate to where the snow starts... They have great traction on snow as well, and they dry quick.



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[nickwm21]

I burned thru a pair of 5:10 approach tennies. Now I’m on Hoka trail runners. I see no need to buy hiking boots or approach shoes.


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[Andyski]

If you have a propensity to roll your ankle, I would steer clear... I thought they felt a little "tippy" due to the narrow platform and additional height in the sole. I returned mine after 2 weeks because they didn't play nice with my heel... But I have a weird heel (haglofs deformity or something??) and not everything works with it. I really wanted them to work for me, but it wasn't happening.

I annihilated my ankle carrying a really heavy pack in those, so yeah. My bad for using that kind of shoe with that kind of load. Even if they were super stable the utter lack of cushion was fucking brutal on a ~15 mile or more day. Felt like my footbeds were right on top concrete. Never again. Scrambling only, as intended.

[waveshello]

I annihilated my ankle carrying a really heavy pack in those, so yeah. My bad for using that kind of shoe with that kind of load. Even if they were super stable the utter lack of cushion was fucking brutal on a ~15 mile or more day. Felt like my footbeds were right on top concrete. Never again. Scrambling only, as intended.

I liked them, but I probably didn't push them to the limit. I did some around town and local stuff and then one 22 mile rt ~2k vert backpacking trip before I returned them. They are a surprising burly shoe. I thought they would be great for bigger loads, or where you might want a little extra foot protection in the sides and top of the shoe (surfing scree on a descent comes to mind).



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[riff]

This discussion is helping me out a bunch.
I’ve got nerve damage from a former life as a patroller, so adequate width is very important. I’m also working through some plantar fasciitis, so I can’t rally on rough ground with a loaded pack and get away with it, and I’m really trying to avoid full on boots.
Dragontail looks awesome but probably too narrow, wish i could try some.
Keep talkin it out y’all


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[jackattack]

When my last pair of 5.10's wore out I grabbed a pair of the Altra Grafton's. Much more comfortable if you're going to be on flat-ish ground or need a wide fore-foot. I wear these for work, a lot of time on ladders/structures and in the dirt every day. So far so good. They tend to collect rocks so I hope Altra comes back with an improved mid-height version. Keep an eye out if you need more width from an approach shoe.

[MarcusBrody]

This discussion is helping me out a bunch.
I’ve got nerve damage from a former life as a patroller, so adequate width is very important. I’m also working through some plantar fasciitis, so I can’t rally on rough ground with a loaded pack and get away with it, and I’m really trying to avoid full on boots.
Dragontail looks awesome but probably too narrow, wish i could try some.
Keep talkin it out y’all


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This is almost exactly what I use the Millet Tridents for. When I got them, I was wearing trail runners to carry a 25-30lb pack or so every day (my son in a backpack). The more supportive footbed of the Tridents helped things immensely. I don't have wide feet, but I have some tailor's bunion issues and their somewhat wide forefoot works for me with that. I think it's a pretty ideal category of shoes to replace hiking boots as I find the footbed stability is more important than having my ankle wrapped up more.

[waveshello]

This is almost exactly what I use the Millet Tridents for. When I got them, I was wearing trail runners to carry a 25-30lb pack or so every day (my son in a backpack). The more supportive footbed of the Tridents helped things immensely. I don't have wide feet, but I have some tailor's bunion issues and their somewhat wide forefoot works for me with that. I think it's a pretty ideal category of shoes to replace hiking boots as I find the footbed stability is more important than having my ankle wrapped up more.

I'll have to check these out... How stiff is the sole? The wider footbed and stability is what made the tx 4 so sweet for me (I also have tailor's bunion issues) but I wish they were a just a little stiffer.

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[Bronco]

I run a pair of green superfeet in my TX-4s for this reason. I have high arches and wanted a little more stiffness in the sole.

[mall walker]

I think it's a pretty ideal category of shoes to replace hiking boots as I find the footbed stability is more important than having my ankle wrapped up more.

yeah, since I got my Sportiva Akashas I haven't used my hiking boots except for dirty yardwork or things like that. they're better in every way.

(I would probably wear boots for backpacking w/a big pack though for the ankle stability, I just don't do much of that)

[Boissal]

I've been hauling super heavy packs over very rough terrain for quite some time and been really happy with whatever model is now the Garmont Dragontail.
I have really flat feet and crappy ankle but the super stable base is enough to avoid issues even with 80 to 100 lbs in the pack (pretty much the norm we I haul rope, rack, drill, batteries, bolts, chains, bits, etc... up some heinous talus cone in the middle of the desert).
Boots obliterate my feet, mainly from overheating. Approach shoes are much lighter and more breathable. I do a fair bit of packless hiking in them, mostly techincal ridge walking/scrambling where a running shoe would be great due to lighter weight but eventually trashes your feet from standing on pointy rocks all the time. The only time I don't like them is for regular trail hiking when they're overkill...

[alpinevibes]

+1 on the LaSpo TX4... They're actually on my feet right now. My favorite approach/hiking shoe I've used to date. They are pretty wide but that's good for me. They aren't as sturdy as a shoe like the LaSpo Boulder X (narrower, sturdiest of the three) or the Scarpa Crux (between the two in width and stiffness). I'm about 8 months in to my TX 4s and they are holding up well. They really aren't that stiff, you feel a little more trail through the sole than you do with the other two. I for one like some of that feedback that you don't get in a stiffer shoe.

I used my Scarpa Cruxes for everything, including summer backpacking, for 2+ years. They were a great shoe but suffer from an annoying issue where the tongue slides to the side. They hike and climb well.

The LaSpo Boulder X is a great shoe and offers tons of support for longer hikes and heavier loads. It's the stiffest and narrowest of these the. Because of the added stiffness and sole height I didn't think it climbed as well as the other two, but probably the best option if you want to backpack with one of these shoes. If you have a propensity to roll your ankle, I would steer clear... I thought they felt a little "tippy" due to the narrow platform and additional height in the sole. I returned mine after 2 weeks because they didn't play nice with my heel... But I have a weird heel (haglofs deformity or something??) and not everything works with it. I really wanted them to work for me, but it wasn't happening.

I liked them, but I probably didn't push them to the limit. I did some around town and local stuff and then one 22 mile rt ~2k vert backpacking trip before I returned them. They are a surprising burly shoe. I thought they would be great for bigger loads, or where you might want a little extra foot protection in the sides and top of the shoe (surfing scree on a descent comes to mind).

Funny, I've had a pretty similar path with shoes and also have a haglund's deformity with my heel. I've worn through the back of most every approach shoe I've owned, but noticed the quickest with the 2-3 pairs of Boulder X's. I had two pairs of Scarpa Cruxes that I liked all-around, but the tounge thing was annoying and it was a little less stable/burly than others. It was a nice MTB shoe before I went clipless! The Salewas Mtn Trainers were the best all around, but less of a climbing shoe. I've got some Alpina Royal's now that are similar to the Salewas overall, but are less burly than the Millet Trident or Garmont's listed above. I might go that route next, as the Alpina's are getting toasted after a year of use.

On the other hand, I will say I have pretty well pushed all these shoes to their limits. I haven't used traditional boots for about 10years and have done a lot of trips with approach shoes and heavy packs. In general, my day to day use involves a lot of time in shallow snow during the work day, driving (kills the heels) and all manner of other surfaces. More specifically: the Boulder X saw a 6 day hut-to-hut backpacking carrying 50lbs, consistent class 3/4 scrambles and big daily vert in Slovenia. We also did a 5 day backpack and summit climb on Mt Kenya that involved a lot of mud, rock, scree and finally a 20 pitch, 5th class rock climb from 15-17k to the summit. We hiked out 32km the next day, half pavement, which really made me feel the shoes at their worst. I did some trekking in Ecuador and Indonesia in the Scarpa Cruxes that put their moisture management to the test. My takeaway from all this is that the shoes can handle abuse and carrying weight, but having a good GTX version would be really nice for longevity if you're in snow, mud, or lots of moisture.

[glademaster]

BigSteve is about to launch into a 1500 word diatribe about how you're completely wrong for wanting GTX footwear, even for wet conditions.

[davjr96]

Wow thanks for all the info all! I'm still young and have normalish feet where fit has never really been an issue. I have altra lone peak 4s for trail running and love em but as described in OP was looking for more. I'll start checking out all the options listed and see what I can get a deal on.

[MarcusBrody]

I'll have to check these out... How stiff is the sole? The wider footbed and stability is what made the tx 4 so sweet for me (I also have tailor's bunion issues) but I wish they were a just a little stiffer.

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They're relatively stiff, though obviously it depends on your comparison point. Much stiffer than a trail runner, much less stiff than my Salewa Crow light mountaineering boots, which are the only boots I tend to wear these days (like mall walker, I use shoes for everything else). They are pretty laterally and torsionally stiff, which I really like, though they flex horizontally in the forefoot, which makes walking more comfortable than in the Salewas. These are also two years old, so I think they were stiffer in that direction when I first got them. I can't verify this, but I subjectively felt that the Gore Tex pair I had were slightly stiffer than the non-Gore Tex pair, but that was likely because they were also a half size smaller. I eventually gave them to my dad, so I can't check now.

In any case, I don't know if these are necessarily better than anything else in the category (I liked the Mountain Trainers, they just didn't fit my foot quite as well and were a bit heavier), but they fit my feet well and have been great as a boot replacement given their stiff, supportive footbed. They just didn't fit my foot as well. I'd say that both are worth trying if that's what you're looking for. I usually wear trail runners if I'm not wearing a back or walking on chunky stuff, but these serve well for those purposes.

[zion zig zag]

BigSteve is about to launch into a 1500 word diatribe about how you're completely wrong for wanting GTX footwear, even for wet conditions.

Ha!

[zion zig zag]

Good to know about the width of the TX4's. I wrote off La Sprotiva's years ago for being too narrow, I'll have to try a pair.

[MakersTeleMark]

Above 10.c I will only rock these.

[rob stokes]

I had some Scarpa Mojito about ~15yrs ago and I constantly rolled my ankle in them. I think it was because of the relatively stiff sole (torsionally) and lack of ankle support...although having said that I think ‘ankle support’ is somewhat of a myth unless your boots are Sportiva Nepal height, but I digress. Could be worth thinking about if you have pathetic ankles like me, and are thinking about the stiffer shoes though.

Other shoes I have liked are Guide tennies-one pair was shit (soles fell off) but next pair that I got on warranty have been cracking. 5.10 also let me keep old pair which I shu-gued the sole back in and keep in the back of my truck for backup if my shoes get wet or something. Soft soles less suited for long hikes and heavy packs but awesome for climbing. I’d love some guide tennie ‘high tops’ but not sure if they make them anymore.

Middle ground between stiff (scarpa) and soft (guide tennie) that I have used is the Salewa mtn trainer. I liked them a lot.


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[old goat]

Honnold and Caldwell Fitzroy Traverse
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web14w/n...ldwell-honnold
"Caldwell and Honnold wore rock shoes to climb Pilar Goretta and the north face of Aguja Poincenot but climbed everything else wearing approach shoes."
Maybe ask them what kind of approach shoes they recommend.

[waveshello]

I've seen honnold wear the la sportiva tx series shoes. I think he wears the lighter tx2.

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[GeezerSteve]

BigSteve is about to launch into a 1500 word diatribe about how you're completely wrong for wanting GTX footwear, even for wet conditions.

Nah. This time I'll let Andrew Skurka do the talking: Complete failure: I gave “waterproof” Gore-Tex hiking shoes a second chance

[glademaster]

Nah. This time I'll let Andrew Skurka do the talking: Complete failure: I gave “waterproof” Gore-Tex hiking shoes a second chance

OT, but since you brought it up, what strategies do you use to manage issues such as the ones described in that article while spring ski touring?