Even though I should of got a size bigger, these Inov 8 trail running shoes have got me 600 odd miles across the entire state of New Mexico. It’s been pretty harsh terrain, but they’re just about still in one piece (although the soles are mainly shoe goo!). So with a slight lump in the throat I’ve tossed them in the bin and put on my new boots from our re-supply box.
My shoes (Asolo Moab XCR) are in nowhere near as bad condition as Cookies but mine too are being ditched. I’d say they have another hundred miles or so left in them but I’m not willing to carry them while I’m wearing boots. Its going to be hard to lug around 1.5kg of boot when we have been carrying no more than a few hundred grams on our feet but the support will be appreciated when we hit the San Juan mountains. Once we pass the high snow capped mountains of Colorado I’ll be sending the boots home and will be buying another pair of lightweight shoes! Any Recommendations?? Paul
melanie – the next town we’ll be going through is lake city, the address is: simon cook, c/o general delivery, us post office, 803 gunnison ave, lake city, colorado, 81235. Please hold for cdt hiker, eta 21st june. I take a size 11, paul is a 9 :)
No worries cookie, I’m grovelling wherever I see the chance :D
Love following your progress and your entries are fueling my walking bug – I’m planning to start in my backyard with Te Araroa a network of tracks the length of NZ.
Safe travels on your walk.
Cookie, might need to send this one again. I didn’t see it. Happy trails, Mel
Woo hoo free shoes :) Yeah we’ll be going through plenty of them so would love to give these END shoes a try. I’ve sent you an email with our details Melanie! I love the sustainability philosophy of the company, really looking forward to trying out the shoes.
Cheers for tip about Vasque shoes Jim, sadly I don’t have any FFFFOUND invites to give out in return, I only had one and I gave that to my girlfriend long ago… Surely they’ll open it up to everyone soon?
Can’t offer you a pair for free but you should check out this range from a good boot manufacturer: http://www.vasque.com/mens-trailrunning.cfm
Also beware of too spiky a sole if you’re heading anywhere muddy – they’ll pick it up and hang onto it and then your weight saving (and traction) will be OTA.
If you’ve got the time I’d love to trade this advice for a fffound invite ;D
Paul and Cookie,
If you need a lightweight trail running shoe, let me send you a couple of pairs of END shoes. They are (if I did my calculations correctly :), about .34 kg. The treads also mimic a track spike and will help with climbing and walking down the trails with stability. Another plus, the shoes are good for the environment. Let me know where I can send them.
-Mel