Hiking in Trail Runners: The One True Way

Is it really necessary to wear high-cut, stiff, waterproof boots when you venture out into the wilderness for a day (or week, or month, or whatever) of hiking? I would submit that: No. It is not. "But, I'm scared!" you may say. "What if my feet get wet? What if my ankle snaps so violently that it exits my body and kills my hiking partner?" Goodness, calm down. How would that even hap--nevermind. Read on, and consider.

Thoughts on Ankle Stability

That ancient chestnut that dictates a "high ankle cuff prevents rolled ankles"? Not wholly untrue, but definitely overemphasized as a hard and fast rule within the outdoor industry. A high ankle cuff is truthfully only secondary to proper fit and torsional stiffness, as those are  the attributes of footwear that provide a stable platform for your feet, and they can be found in spades in most any trail running shoe. Like I said above, having a bulky backpacking boot for ankle stability is an axiom that is definitely overstated, and I would posit that having an extra 4 pounds on your feet is actually one of the more detrimental things you could do in terms of keeping your ankles stable anyway--after all, every extra pound on your feet increases your leg fatigue, which in turn makes your steps more clumsy, which is what really makes for an ankle injury. Keeping your steps light and nimble will go leagues beyond an ankle cuff, trust me.

Waterproof, "Breathable"

And waterproofing? I would personally rather hike 27 miles in a pair of old-timey diving boots then wear a waterproofed boot (or shoe!) Waterproofing is hot, stifling, and counter-intuitive above all. What do I mean by counter-intuitive? Well, remember when I said that waterproofing was hot and stifling 23 words ago? When your feet are hot, they sweat; and despite every footwear company's dogged insistence on how "breathable" their waterproof-breathable membrane is, they are about as breathable as a pair of trash bags around your feet. So, your feet are going to be wet anyway. From your own sweat. Which, seems to me, to be worse. Wet feet beget soft feet, and soft feet beget blisters--certainly the least favorite aspect of backpacking for nearly everyone who does it. Wearing a pair of free-and-easy, well-ventilated, agile trail runners on a hike is something that has to be felt to be believed. If you're coming from an experience of having only worn boots, then the difference is night and day. Your steps are light, your legs less fatigued, and even if your feet get soaking wet, they will dry as you walk! Try that with a waterproofed boot; horror stories abound on the Appalachian Trail from folks who forded a stream the first week they were out, and whose boots never got dry again. Trench foot is the real deal, and it is painful. Breathability is the word, and trail runners are nothing if not breathable.

But, My Arches!

Then there is the question of arch support; it is the conventional wisdom that the heavier your pack is, the more support you need, ipso facto, you need a boot when your are carrying a pack that weighs over, say, 50 pounds. Now, if you are carrying a pack that heavy, then I hope you're doing some trail work. If you're doing trail work, then sure, you should probably be wearing a full-grain leather boot, for durability's sake. Trail work is brutal. If you're not doing trail work, and your pack weighs that much, well, I don't know what to tell you. You're carrying too much stuff. At any rate, as far as arch support is concerned, there isn't really any difference between a trail runner with a an aftermarket insole in it and a boot with an aftermarket insole in it--all of your arch support is coming from the hard plastic cap on that insole either way. You should be using an aftermarket insole in either case, just to make that clear.

Tread, Grip, and Traction

One needn't be concerned about any lack of tread on a trail runner's outsole; since they are manufactured to stand up to whatever the trail can throw at you while you're running, the lugs and rubber on the outsoles prove to be more than adequate for mud, scree, talus, and sheer rock. In fact, since the outsole of a boot is typically manufactured with a harder rubber (for durability's sake), I find that on more technical, rocky hikes that their grip is rather lacking. The softer rubber outsole of a trail runner affords high amounts of "stick", allowing me to climb and descend steep boulder fields without feeling like I've put on a pair of ice skates.

Are there drawbacks? Well, Sure.

A spot where boots shine over trail runners, admittedly, is in durability. A full-grain leather boot with a TPU midsole will last years, whereas a mesh-upper, EVA foam-midsoled trail runner will get you probably 500-600 miles down the trail before that midsole compresses into nothingness or the mesh blows out. This is certainly something to consider. Buying multiple pairs of trail runners for a thru-hike may seem like a bad investment when compared to buying just one or two pairs of boots, after all. By the same token, however, is the caveat that boots need to be broken in before they are even remotely comfortable. All of that durability comes at the cost of flexibility. One joke among long-time, old-school backpackers is that their feet broke in to their boots, and not the other way around.

Hike your own hike.

In the end, my opinion is just that, an opinion. I happen to really like to hike in trail runners, and I think I can make a case for why they're the best option. That doesn't mean that the myriad of people that hike in boots are wrong! Like all things, it comes down to personal preference in the end. Boots are durable, rugged, comfortable (once they're broken in) and above all, timeless. Personally though, their weight on my feet and their hindrance to agility lead to my wholehearted preference of comfortable-right-out-of-the-box, light, and nimble trail runners. Choose your own adventure!

Trail Runner Recommendations:

The La Sportiva Ultra Raptor and Wildcat: Nearly the same shoe, the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor and Wildcat feature a highly stable platform and lots of cushion. The aggressive tread on these shoes bite into mud and loose earth, while the highly-pronounced heel brake makes technical downhills a breeze. Look to the Ultraraptor for a more durable upper material and a stickier outsole, and to the Wildcat for a more breathable upper. The Altra Lone Peak 2.5: Increasingly a common sight on the continental trails, the Altra Lone Peaks offer an aggressive outsole, a highly breathable mesh upper, 25 mm of ultra-cushioning EVA foam, and a extra-wide toebox to accommodate the feet's natural, toes-splayed ergonomics. The Salomon XA Pro 3D: An iconic trail runner, the XA Pro 3D became so popular among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers that it has been a perennial bestseller in Salomon's line for years, unchanged. Salomon's 3D chassis makes it an extremely stable platform over varying terrain, and its sticky Contagrip™ outsole provides excellent grip on mud, to smooth rock, and everything in between.

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