I love hiking and trail running, but over the years I’ve had incredible trouble finding shoes that work for me.
I have tons of issues with my feet. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve endured every devastating foot problem Runner’s World magazine warns their readers about. Morton’s neuroma, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, and so on…
And then, there’s my genetic lottery ticket. I was born with my second toes longer than my big toes. So every time I go down steep trails, I have to worry about that longer toe striking the end of my shoe first. Absorbing all this shock means that poor toe gets bruised. In some cases, it’s even enough repetitive force to even make the toenail fall off (sorry for oversharing – but I’ve got to be real).
So, with all these foot problems, I’ve turned into a pretty picky consumer of running and trail shoes.
Unusual places to discover great trail shoes
So where do you go to find trail shoes to address all these crazy foot issues? Most normal people would probably read a bunch of online articles reviewing the pros and cons of trail shoes.
Or maybe they’d go to a REI and try on every brand of trail shoe until the poor sales clerk grew frustrated and refused to go back to the stockroom one more time to grab another box.
But, I gleaned the most helpful material from thru-hikers.
You see, I spend a lot of time reading hiking blogs in my free time. And during that pastime, I noticed some recurring comments about the various trails shoes these thru-hikers loved (or hated) when hiking the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail.
This might seem like an odd place to get shoe recommendations, but hear me out.
The fact that someone was hiking thousands of miles and buying a third, fourth, of fifth pair of the same trail shoe when the old ones wore out, seemed like a pretty solid endorsement.
Hikers…always willing to talk about gear and tell you exactly what they would change about it.
After tons of reading, the top trail shoe picks for many long distance hikers seemed to be:
- Brooks Cascadia
- Altra Lone Peak
- Salomon XA Pro 3D
- Merrell Moab
- La Sportiva Bushido
But, my goal wasn’t just to wear the shoes all the other cool kids are sporting on trail. I needed something that could handle the miles AND accommodate my myriad of feet issues without aggravating them.
Key features I want in a trail shoe
Everyone has their own combination of features for their ideal trail shoe. The key components I looked for to help narrow down my ultimate search were:
1. Versatility
I enjoy trail running and hiking, so having one great pair of shoes for both disciplines was a bonus. Perhaps it goes back to the whole living in a RV thing, where space is limited. But if I can get a high-quality item that serves more than one function, it’s often a far better purchase for me than two separate products designed for their own single purpose.
2. Wide Toe Box
Unfortunately, most manufacturers design their trail shoes to significantly taper in the toes. And that impacts how they fit. I can’t simply go up a size to avoid my second toe from hitting the front of the shoes. If I did, the shoes would flop around and be too loose. To get a shoe that truly fits and avoids unnecessary toe pain, I really need to find something with a nice wide toe box.
3. Comfort and Support
Finding good support for problematic feet like mine can difficult, especially with the lighter models or zero drop trail shoes. After lots of back and forth with my podiatrist, I ultimately decided that no matter which shoe I purchased, I’d be adding custom inserts in them to ensure I had the right support. Thus, I needed to make sure the shoe was still comfortable when I swapped out the standard inserts for more supportive ones.
4. Breathable Fabrics
My bias toward shoes with breathable fabrics is 100% due to my time in the Army. After road marching many, many miles in bulky leather boots during my early years as a Soldier, I grew to detest any footwear that doesn’t breathe. My feet get all sweaty in leather boots or shoes, which just leads to friction and blisters.
The best solution to avoid this problem is wearing shoes made of breathable fabrics. Sure, my feet are more likely to get wet if I’m out in the pouring rain or on muddy trails. But, let’s be honest…I tend to hike and trial run in dry conditions 90% of the time. And when my shoes do get wet, these breathable fabrics dry out significantly faster than leather or water resistant alternatives. So it’s a good trade-off in my book.
5. Traction
I hike and run on a variety of surfaces. Sometimes I find myself out on a dirt path in the woods. Other times, I might be on a hike that involves rock scrambling or steep grades. Having a shoe with a little extra traction is optimal for adventurous souls like me who like rugged trails.
And the winner is…
The Altra Lone Peak was the best shoe to meet all my diverse requirements.
The biggest selling point of the Altra brand is their patented “Footshape” design. It allows your forefoot to spread out more naturally. The Lone Peak’s wide toe box not only keeps my second toe from unnaturally hitting the end of the shoe, it makes for a more comfortable shoe overall.
I climbed to the top of Mt. Katahdin wearing them, and the traction was great on all the boulder scrambles. I wore them through my entire 550-mile hike of the Camino de Santiago, without a single issue. These shoes really can do it all, whether I’m trail running in Quebec or going out for a day hike on a National Scenic Trail. Overall it’s a diverse shoe that works for all my needs.
There’s one final luxury item that pushed these shoes onto my “must have” list. They have gaiter traps on the back of the heels. I love wearing Dirty Girl gaiters when I’m out hiking or trail running. Gaiters keep dirt and small rocks out of my shoes. In the past, I had to add velcro to the back of other brands of trail shoes to wear my gaiters. But, the Lone Peak comes with the velcro already there, and it has a flap to cover it up when you aren’t wearing your gaiters. Genius!
Gaiter traps on the back of the shoe (The top shoe shows the trap open to expose the velcro, the bottom shoe shoes the trap closed)
Looking to try a pair of Altra trail shoes too?
Although Altra has only been around since 2011, there’s lots of places to find their shoes. I love the store locator on their website because it shows what model and sizes are in stock at the local shoe retailers near you.
Or, if you want them delivered to you, there’s always the option of ordering them online. Some of the online retailers I’ve used to order the Altra Lone Peak trail shoes include:
- Amazon (Note: this is an affiliate link and I receive a small commission if you choose to buy via this link)
- Zappos
- REI
- Backcountry
- Roadrunner Sports
Finally, I’d like to say a big thanks to all those thru-hikers who posted photos and blogs about their shoes while on trail. If it hadn’t been for them, I’m might still be asking some poor sales clerk at REI to bring me another model of trail shoe to try on…
Chilling on the beach after walking 550 miles in my Altra Lone Peak shoes (with dirty girl gaiters)
This blog post contains an Amazon affiliate link. If you purchase an item through an affiliate link, I receive a small commission for referring you. However, I never add a link to an item solely for this purpose. Every item I endorse is something I personally purchased, love, and would recommend to a family member.