most popular shoes to wear on the AT ?

[kayak karl]

Good shoes.

Gene Epsy called me the day before i left on my hike and he said "it's all about the shoes. you need good shoes" guess it hasn't changed in over 50 years
oh, he also said KAYAK is a stupid trail name

[Zippy Morocco]

Masochist is a great shoe. I am. Currently using the Inov-8 315 and like it a lot.

[Rasty]

Good shoes.

Gene Epsy called me the day before i left on my hike and he said "it's all about the shoes. you need good shoes" guess it hasn't changed in over 50 years
oh, he also said KAYAK is a stupid trail name

Only stupid if you got trying to kayak down the trail. Imagine trying to do the sitting inside the kayak shuffle for more than ten feet.

[cabbagehead]

I've tried on many shoes and the only ones that fit me perfectly were Merrells. Last year when I did a big hike and needed new shoes along the way, the best ones at the store were the Moabs. They're also popular. My Moabs lasted a few hundred miles, and then broke at the heal. I just bought a pair of Geomorph Maze Stretch shoes. The design is new. It has better heals and treads.

[wornoutboots]

I just pulled the trigger on new Keens Siskiyou's (Shoe version) today, they are a little heavier than the TargheeII's but much better ventilated

[Bucho]

as long as they didn't fail because of feet problems, sure

Or knee problems, shin splints, stress fractures or injuries from a bad fall.

[Saprogenic]

Picking shoes depends on the person. Trail runners are good if you plan to never leave the trail. Even some boots like Asolo TPS, they're made for trail hiking, once off the trail, bushwacking, they get torn up. Basically, if your not much of an outdoorsman, and plan to spen all of your time on the open trail, you can wear what you feel is comfortable. If you actually enjoy being in the bush, I'd consider full leather boots with a rubber rand. My Lowa Tibet Pro's are great, I see them lasting quite a while.

[bflorac]

The most "popular" are ones that fit. Fit is and should be the #1 reason for picking boots. EVERYTHING else is secondary.

For the record, I use New Balance. There are better made boots out there but these fit my wide feet like no other boot.

[YoungMoose]

I do not recommend the moab ventilators. i couldnt even get 75 miles out of them doing backpacking trips this summer. I was really disappointed. Multiple spots on the sole came off. Some of the seams where ripping. They are really comfortable but are built well in my opinion. I may just had a bad pair but i am not going to find out with another pair.

[garlic08]

There was a poll on this a couple of years ago. I can't find it now, but somewhat over half replied that trail runners were their choice.

I also saw an earlier poll, about ten years older, and most replied that boots were their choice. So apparently the trend is changing. Who knows, in ten more years "minimalist" shoes or something else might be highly popular.

But hikers aren't supposed to do what everyone else is doing. That's one reason many hike. It's good to learn from what others are doing, and some learn faster than others. But don't let trends sway you away from something that feels right to you.

[BenLeaman]

I wore 2 pairs of Montrail Mountain Masochists, 2 pairs of Brooks Cascadia 7s and a pair of Asics Gel Kahana on my '12 thru hike. I loved the Brooks and Montrails but severely disliked the sole of the Asics. Wet rocks + Asics Kahana = sore ass

The Merrell Moab Ventilator Lows were very popular but it seemed that they did not last, at all.

[Bucho]

The Merrell Moab Ventilator Lows were very popular but it seemed that they did not last, at all.

Last year Supa Chef had over 1,000 miles on his when I ran into him. A bunch of us picked up our own after that, I hiked 700 miles on mine at which point I'd finished the AT and I haven't heard any bad experiences with them from my friends.

[Bucho]

There was a poll on this a couple of years ago. I can't find it now, but somewhat over half replied that trail runners were their choice.

I also saw an earlier poll, about ten years older, and most replied that boots were their choice. So apparently the trend is changing.

The gear has gotten a lot lighter. I ran into a guy who hiked the AT back in the 80's with an average pack weight of 90 pounds. Trail runners would have been a terrible choice for that kind of weight but for me who would complain bitterly if I hiked out of town with more than 25 pounds they were a much better choice than boots.

[Gillum]

Love my Inov8 Terroc 330....

[Bucho]

I do not recommend the moab ventilators. i couldnt even get 75 miles out of them doing backpacking trips this summer. I was really disappointed. Multiple spots on the sole came off. Some of the seams where ripping. They are really comfortable but are built well in my opinion. I may just had a bad pair but i am not going to find out with another pair.

That's miserable, did you try contacting Merrill?

[Chaco Taco]

remember, Maine is where hiking shoe go to die. My Montrails got shredded pretty quickly in The Whites

[wornoutboots]

I just pulled the trigger on new Keens Siskiyou's (Shoe version) today, they are a little heavier than the TargheeII's but much better ventilated

These shoes did not perform very well at all on my last section! Too hot & too heavy! I'm going to pullt the trigger on some trail runners even though I am concerned about not having protective toe & heal boxes. Hopefully I'll get some decent use out of these (Siskiyou's) locally in the cold weather?

[Bucho]

remember, Maine is where hiking shoe go to die. My Montrails got shredded pretty quickly in The Whites

My girlfriend had absolutely terrible experiences with two pairs of montrails on the trail, I don't think terrain is the issue.

[Drybones]

The question of best shoe would make for an interesting poll. Data from a couple of thousand hikers would be interesting to see.

[rowan]

by the end of this year's nobo season, I would say that nearly 50% of hikers were rocking the brooks cascadia. lots of folks ended up summitting in merrel moab vents, only because the on-trail selection gets really lousy the further you travel north. also saw a lot of folks using the salomons, x3 ultra bla bla whatever... non GTX. The salomons seemed to fall apart really quickly, but they also do a great job of backing their product and it was not unusual to talk to someone who had just received a free replacement pair after a simple phone call.