Lightweight Boots
As the terrain gets wetter and rougher and you begin carrying an overnight-size load, you'll probably want footwear that provides more support. Fortunately, running-shoe technology has invaded the lightweight boot market. Today, store shelves groan beneath boots whose uppers are constructed of panels of Cordura nylon and thin, lightweight pieces of leather. The upper is glued to the midsole and outsole using the same techniques that are used in running-shoe construction. The result is an inexpensive, reasonably durable boot that offers some degree of ankle protection and support. Best of all, fabric/leather hiking boots require almost no break-in time. Low-cut models whose uppers end below the ankle bone weigh less and give you greater ankle flexibility than higher-cut models, but don't provide enough protection and support, in my opinion, for backpacking with heavy loads.

Lightweight boots have another advantage: they help reduce trail erosion. The heavily lugged soles that were always a part of the massive waffle-stompers of the 1970s did an effective job of chewing up soft trail surfaces, particularly trails crossing loamy soils back East. When the next rainstorm arrived, the trails were primed to erode. Most of the new generation of lightweight boots have smaller lugs which make a shallower imprint in the trail. That means less dirt that's primed to head downhill with the first rain drops. It also means that trailside vegetation gets a break. On many trails, it's hard to argue that a hefty boot is really necessary. Legendary Grandma Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail three times, starting at age 67, wearing Keds sneakers. For the sake of your leg muscles, and the sake of the trail, buy the lightest boot you feel you can get away with. Or, if you feel you must have a heavy boot for carrying a heavy load or to protect weak ankles, consider bringing a pair of running shoes or sandals to wear around camp, where the impact of hikers on vegetation is often highest.

The failure points of fabric/leather hiking boots, at least in the boots I've worn out, are the seams and the lining fabric. As veteran boot repairman Steve Komito puts it, "Every place where you've got a seam, you've got a place where the boot can come apart." Fabric/leather hiking boots have a lot of seams. To ameliorate this problem, you can apply some kind of liquid sealant or boot-patching compound to the seams to make them more abrasion resistant. No brand I've tried seems to resist peeling for more than a month or two, so I'll leave you on your own to explore the boot shop's shelves for the latest and greatest. A boot repairman may be able to re-stitch a boot that's obeying the laws of entropy and returning to its component pieces. Although you can resole a fabric/leather boot, it’s rarely worth the expense. By the time the sole needs replacing, the uppers are usually shot. More durable all-leather boots may well be worth resoling.

Don’t worry about the pattern of the lugs on the sole. Out of nearly 100 patterns I’ve tested for magazine articles over the years, none stood out as exceptionally better or worse than the others. Do, however, consider the materials making up the insole and midsole.

To a boot maker, the insole is the stiff, structural part of the sole that gives you support underfoot. It’s not the soft, removable layer of foam that actually touches your sock, which is properly called the footbed or sockliner. Inexpensive boots use an insole made of bonded wood fibers, reinforced with a three-quarter-length steel shank that starts at your heel and terminates just past your arch. Over time, that fiberboard insole softens and breaks down, reducing the torsional stiffness at the toe you need when traversing a slope. Better boots use full-length molded nylon or polypropylene insoles which retain their stiffness much longer, giving you durable support.

Price also determines the quality of midsole you get. To a bootmaker, the midsole is the layer in between the insole and outsole that provides cushioning and shock absorption. Inexpensive boots often use EVA, the same spongy material found in running shoe midsoles. EVA absorbs shock well when new, but tends to compress permanently after awhile, which is why you commonly read the recommendation that regular runners should replace their running shoes every three to six months. Better boots use polyurethane midsoles, which retain their ability to absorb shock much longer.

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