Walking footwear

I recently bought a pair of pretty expensive hiking boots and it is interesting to contrast the wearing characteristics of this kind of footwear with regular good quality shoes.

Naturally these boots are more robust than regular shoes and they are weatherproof and breathable. However, they are also much more structural in their construction and this means that there is, e.g. very little flexing of the sole.

Initially this seems almost at odds with sneakers or trainers, but the value of this soon becomes evident when you wear them on rough or rocky terrain.

Very little of the harshness of the surface actually reaches the foot and the combination of a tough and comparatively inflexible sole along with a higher upper makes them very supportive.

So far my experience of this kind of boot is limited to a couple of walks, the longest being eight or nine miles up hill in one direction and down in the other. But the walking surface was variable, a bit of road, a bit of rough bridle path, and fields, so there was a good mix of things to experience.

The other feature of this kind of footwear (that I touched on) is the high upper that extends to the point just below the ankle. This takes away a lot of unnecessary muscular and balancing work from the muscles in the feet and lower leg and consequently makes walking less stressful. Put simply you can walk for longer without tiring, strain, or injury.

To obtain more information about this and other kinds of shoes and boots, do a search on hiking boots or walking shoes, or check out an outdoor activity retailer.

If you are thinking about buying some serious walking footwear, inform yourself first before you spend your hard earned money.