SummitPost.org

I guess it's hard to wrap my head around what you need. Those Raichle nova xcr boots actually look pretty lightweight; it's hard to imagine them costing more than $120 in the US.

Where do you go that you benefit from such boots, especially Gore-Tex lined? The wetness probably makes a huge difference.

For cold snowy stuff, I have insulated waterproof boots, either Kaylands or cheap Columbias, with stiff enough soles to take crampons.

For almost everything else I wear light shoes, typically called "approach shoes". I have full over-the-toe gaiters and neoprene overboots, and have used such light shoes for modest summer snow travel with this gear. I wear out about two or three pairs of approach shoes per year, typically $100 US/pair. I still have over-the-toe gaiters I bought 27 years ago.

Unless boots are very stiff, you really don't get much ankle support. My main ankle support comes from keeping my ankles fairly strong. I've turned my ankles more in stiff boots, than in approach shoes.

I have a friend who wears athletic shoes for almost everything in the outdoors... but we live a generally dry place.

MoapaPk wrote:I guess it's hard to wrap my head around what you need. Those Raichle nova xcr boots actually look pretty lightweight; it's hard to imagine them costing more than $120 in the US.

Where do you go that you benefit from such boots, especially Gore-Tex lined? The wetness probably makes a huge difference.

For cold snowy stuff, I have insulated waterproof boots, either Kaylands or cheap Columbias, with stiff enough soles to take crampons.

For almost everything else I wear light shoes, typically called "approach shoes". I have full over-the-toe gaiters and neoprene overboots, and have used such light shoes for modest summer snow travel with this gear. I wear out about two or three pairs of approach shoes per year, typically $100 US/pair. I still have over-the-toe gaiters I bought 27 years ago.

Unless boots are very stiff, you really don't get much ankle support. My main ankle support comes from keeping my ankles fairly strong. I've turned my ankles more in stiff boots, than in approach shoes.

I have a friend who wears athletic shoes for almost everything in the outdoors... but we live a generally dry place.

Well, for the cost issue first. Take any american price, then multiply it by 2 or 3, you have the danish price. Everything over here is extremely expensive, hence my predicament.

I've used my current boots for daily wear, plus I've used them on Hawaii (hiking across the lava fields), and I brought them to South Africa this summer, although they weren't used much, aside from a very steep ascent up a hill in Golden Gate National Park in the Free State.

For the day-to-day use here in DK, we do get a lot of precip, so I needed something that could handle the rain. In the outdoor shops we have, it's a choice between Goretex and leather, and leather is in the 500+ price range. So go figure what I chose

I don't scale mountains, but I do walk alot on a day to day basis, plus I do treks/hikes/whatever you wanna call walking backcountry in my vacations. So I needed something sturdy, that could carry me through Hawaiian lava fields, South African hill-country, and stand the rain in Denmark. That's what I'm looking for. Probably best matches your description of an approach shoe, since I definitely don't need anything more technical than that.

I've worn these boots for 3 years - they have survived lava fields; snow; rain; rocky trails; and approx 450 hiking miles per year. Comfy, dry, light.

http://www.spgear.org/gear/2038/timberland-cadion-xcr.html

Lothraina wrote:I don't scale mountains, but I do walk alot on a day to day basis, plus I do treks/hikes/whatever you wanna call walking backcountry in my vacations. So I needed something sturdy, that could carry me through Hawaiian lava fields, South African hill-country, and stand the rain in Denmark. That's what I'm looking for. Probably best matches your description of an approach shoe, since I definitely don't need anything more technical than that.

Actually, approach shoes are meant to bridge between hiking and climbing, and often have sticky rubber soles that are not too durable.

Lava fields are quite rough on boots, as I'm sure you know. If you aren't too worried about the weight, maybe you can get thick vibram soles of rubber with a high carbon content. The heavier the boot sole, the better the chance of getting the boot resoled.