Trekking boots (from the English. Trekking boots - "boots for travel") are called special shoes, designed mainly for hiking outside of ordinary roads, but with varying complexity. Most often used by tourists, including climbers, and in recent years, the military.
There were trekking boots in a well-known form, thanks to the Italian mountaineer and mountain guide Vitale Bramani. So, in 1937, he managed to patent rubber soles, which later became known to the whole world under the name of Vibram. Analogs of these soles are currently used in all these trekking boots.
In addition to the soles of special types of rubber and with special patterns of protectors, in the production of the best trekking boots, other super-modern materials are also used. For example, it may be the use of membrane tissue (better known as Gore-Tex) and high-strength aramid fibers (whose leader is the Kevlar trademark from DuPont), etc. But this is not all, because the work on the development of new materials is still underway.
Today the market has winter and summer trekking boots of a wide variety of brands. So the leadership is now for Italian manufacturers, such as Dolomite, Scrapa, Zamberlan, Asolo, La sportive. However, other Swiss, German, Austrian, Slovenian and Polish well-known manufacturers are engaged in trekking boots.
Before you do the choice of trekking boots, it is desirable to get acquainted with their varieties. Despite the fact that no one conducted the official classification, and the “scope of application” of different models for the same manufacturers is not clearly demarcated.
Classification and variations of trekking boots
The main classification of trekking boots is made by subspecies of travel:
- Trekking-like boots for the city. Can be useful for everyday wear and a little difficulty walking. For example, simple and inexpensive Polish Campus may be among the first shoes;
- Trekking sneakers. Many manufacturers, they are recommended for the implementation of campaigns, but this requires rough terrain. For example, you can walk through the mountainous regions of Transcaucasia or other southern regions. However, there are some nuances. Such sneakers, as a rule, are excessively short, for example, for fixing the ankles and protecting the feet from dislocations and penetration of small stones with sand.
Sneakers are more suitable only for hiking on flat surfaces and relative off-road. By some mountain tourists, they are used as a second shoe for trekking greenhouses.
- Tourist trekking boots review. They are, as a rule, light trekking boots for easy travel. Unlike sneakers, they are made high. Actually in such shoes it is good to inspect the rugged terrain and low mountains. Sometimes on the box make a note Tourist shoes;
- Mountain trekking boots. This footwear can be used at mountain campaigns and technically elementary rises. They are powerful, heavy and hard trekking boots. Some such models are equipped with special rands for climbing cats. In their absence, cats that have soft mounts can be used. By some manufacturers, they are designated Mountain boots;
- High mountain trekking boots. Such shoes are also called mountaineering. However, not everyone agrees to designate it as trekking. It is mainly designed for higher altitude. Its modern versions consist of an inner liner of neoprene, as well as of outer plastic shoes. Much more extreme modification can be models of climbing boots. Their purpose is a winter ascent, and at the most breathtaking mountain heights. Sometimes boxes with these shoes mark High mountain.
By gender:
- Unisex;
- For men;
- For women.
It goes without saying that the production of high-mountain boots, above all, is designed for men's feet. Since high-altitude mountaineering and mountain tourism has a small number of women. Nevertheless, women, as a rule, buy the same trekking boots as for men, only with a difference in size. They choose for themselves small sizes of shoes. All other types are available in both male and female versions. Of course, the best trekking shoes for women were created taking into account the features of female legs. Women have a higher lift, a narrower heel, a foot, and an ankle (lower) than men.
By seasonality are:
- Summer;
- Winter;
- All season.
All-season mountain boots can be, at least, the best examples of mountain trekking boots. Due to the use of high-tech materials that use the effect of a thermos, they can maintain a comfortable temperature for the feet during hot and cold weather.
"Weight category" trekking boots
Trekking boots for hiking by some expert travelers are conditionally divided into three categories.
Category of light trekking boots
The category of light trekking boots is the next level after hiking shoes for hiking. Some of them seem to be high-top trekking sneakers covering the ankles. The Moab Ventilator and Targhee II lineup, along with others, also has shortened versions. They can be called the natural development of the lightest shoes that meet all the requirements of tourists.
Ankles closing the ankles are more likely to protect from bruises and scratches than to fix the ankles when walking on uneven surfaces or in the presence of large weights. High tops are better protected from penetrating inside the shoes of small stones, sand and twigs. They can provide a sufficiently high waterproof lining so that travelers' feet are always dry.
It is recommended to use these shoes for a day trip, everyday wear in the cold and wet season, as well as for experienced backpackers and hiking lovers, having backpacks with minimal weight behind them.
The category of moderate hiking boots
It can be said that the category of medium-sized shoes is more in tune with the traditional idea of trekking or hiking shoes. She has, as a rule, reliable soles with powerful protectors, as well as ankle-fixing ankles, which will greatly facilitate walking through harsh landscapes or traveling with heavy backpacks. The upper part is made entirely or partly of leather, and the presence of thick mestopoles and instep supports provides firm support for the feet during the passage of many, many kilometers of roads.
It is recommended to use these shoes for traveling in the presence of backpacks with medium and high level of load, crossings on severe off-road, as well as on blurred or swampy trails.
Heavy trekking boots category
Models from the category of heavy trekking boots are most reminiscent of the traditional heavy tourist shoes. With its help, the maximum ankle fixation and the best support for the feet are provided most of all. The top is entirely made of durable leather, and the midsole is made of dense types of polyurethane.
All this in a complex and is the main differences in the "weight category" relative to shoes with an average weight category. Models of heavy trekking boots are considered the most durable and reliable shoes of all the options considered. In addition, this particular shoe is best suited for year-round hiking.
It is recommended to use this footwear for making trekking hikes through harsh landscapes, having heavy backpacks behind you, as well as for hiking in muddy tracks, or springtime off-road, when building roads in snow.
Authenticity of trekking boots: how to decide
So. On what grounds can you decide on genuine best trekking boots, what to focus on when selecting them.
- Soles. Rigid, checked by twisting. Deep tread patterns;
- Rants are protective. Located on the perimeter of the shoes. They protect feet from side impacts, provide better adhesion to the surface by increasing the area of the soles;
- Intermediate soles. Reduce the shock load on the legs, which can occur in the process of walking;
- Perforated insoles. Also reduce the impact load, remove moisture;
- Tops of boots. Made of durable water-repellent materials;
- Internal lining. Made from membrane fabrics (the most famous of which is Gore-tex) with synthetic insulation. Create a thermos effect, protect from moisture;
- Reeds. Pristrocheny from three sides, asymmetrical, with insulation. Differ in the performance of waterproof functions;
- Shoelace. With a special weave, round in cross section with the presence of Kevlar fiber, which can give them a special strength;
- Eyelet hooks. Are strong, having anticorrosive protection. Their presence gives the process of lacing convenience and density;
- Backs heels. Their presence gives fixation of the ankles.
What can protect your feet from the presence of trekking boots
The presence of these trekking boots will save travelers feet from:
- A wide variety of shock loads, including vertical and lateral;
- Cold and hot weather;
- Moisture Concentration
How to choose trekking boots
So, having a little defined with trekking shoes, you can already start the selection of the most perfect tourist pair.
The first thing to do is, of course, determine the goals and objectives, for which people actually need trekking boots. If for hikes, which routes are assumed and the most important is the level of difficulty of the roads. It happens, of course, that tourists travel through the forest and cross-country.
If, for example, this is exactly the case, then it is better to acquire several pairs of trekking shoes of various categories. It should be noted that mountain trekking shoes can also be used on simple hiking and skiing trips. Experts say that there are tourists, climbers, who are walking in ski trips to the Caucasus and Ural mountains, shod in extreme plastic climbing boots.
Budget definition
The next point will be a definition with a budget component. The price difference for trekking shoes is pretty big. The pricing process may depend on the "authoritativeness" of models, brands, collectible freshness, and especially on discounts and sales (which may be especially attractive in January and February). Often, the difference in the cost of two identical models will not be able to be argued not only by the sellers, but also by the producers themselves, publishing their informational materials. Although it is possible that this may be "translation difficulties".
Thus, one of the most popular trademarks with the “economy version” of genuinely trekking mountain and mountaineering shoes is Quechua. This brand possesses Decathlon, a network of French sporting goods hypermarkets. The network is represented by a wide range of goods, among which there are clothes and shoes, besides they are engaged in the production of trekking shoes and sneakers. And characteristically, the prices of their products are about one and a half times lower than the prices of products of companies that specialize in the production of hiking and climbing boots.
The users have already appreciated this trekking footwear, and many speak about it quite positively. Although, almost everyone notes that in the presence of normal extreme conditions, this shoe falls apart for a couple of trips and may be more suitable for the southern regions (for example, Transcaucasia).
Fitting
Another important point may be a thorough attitude to the fitting process. Even in the case when Internet users are accustomed to make purchases exclusively in online stores, they still have to pay a visit to the offline market to purchase the best trekking shoes. In some specialized stores there are special devices that allow you to simulate mountain climbs and descents.
Well, perhaps the most important thing is the aesthetic component of the process of acquiring trekking boots. Of course, such shoes should please the buyer for their design. And only in that case the joyful traveler will walk about in the steppes, swamps and mountains.
