A good hiking shoe

By CraigC Ranked #659 - Men's Trail Run Shoes October 26, 2004

I'm not a trail-runner, but bought these for hiking, primarily short 2 or 3 day trips. These are in most ways great shoes: they are light weight but very well built; they kept my feet dry in rain and puddles especially using the cool gore-tex gaiters; they have plenty of cushion for a trail runner (I wouldn't use them on talus or truly rugged trails, though); offer good support even when carrying a 30lb pack; and they look great -- could be worn on the street. However, they are sized for elves. I ordered a whole size larger than my usual 10.5 and they were still too small. Backcountry readily exchanged them for the next half size larger (a 12!), and they fit well and didn't need any breaking in. In fact I did a 3-day backpack trip with them straight out of the box with no problem. Two other issues: they are a bit warm, even for a cool fall hike. More problematic: they have poor traction on wet surfaces, especially wood, but also doing stream crossing rock-hopping, they proved to be treacherous. Even on dry rock they don't have the sure-footedness I get with my Vibram soled hiking boots. Even so, under most conditions they are a great alternative to heavy hikers.

View Details: The North Face Ultra Gore-Tex XCR Trail Running Shoe - Men's

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