Hello,
Anyone interested in discussing or asking for advice for trekking camping even mountaineering and expedition gears . Will be happy to share best of my knowledge here to help you buy a good stuffs.
I have used cheap ones, mediocre ones and Kidney bech ones ( expensive) too in all categories from Clothes, Jackets, Tents, Trekking poles , Shoes etc.
got a message from fellow member for advice so thought why not discuss with all interested people.
Happy Adventure!
Great thought and good initiative!
I am planning the easiest one in next summers!
Will be watching this thread closely.
But in the meantime, where I struggle is even the basic trekking shoes are heavy and my foot pains like anything!
Any suggestion for this?
Start with Khanpari Tibba Trek ( Manali Wildlife Sanctuary) or Bhirgu Lake Trek.
They are not so tough at same time very beautiful views.
We Conduct them often So feel free to ask or if need a guide too.
Anyways coming to the shoes.
Trekking shoes needs to be worn for atleast 50-70 km before your trek starts to break in and get use to them. so maybe before going for trek…train on them do some stairs if one does not have elevated grounds near their home or just plain walks around parks can also help.
Always buy one size larger or half size ( depending on brands) to be able to wear a thick socks also incase it gets cold.
Next a good trekking shoes should also have ankle support so that makes them bit heavy . However, one can start with something like Salomon XA Pro 3d V8
they are light and I have used them even upto 15000 ft/4500mt. approx.
absolutely amazing pair of trekking shoes.
But to be honest those shoes should be used only when weather is favourable and terrains are not too difficult .
for good ankle support boots.
I’d go for La Sportiva Trango GTX. been using them for years when I feel there will be bit of snow patches also needed to cross. They are also pretty light in comparison to other similar ankle support boots.
These have been my companion for 5 treks so far in the past 3 years. They are out of stock everywhere now.
I have different pairs for different seasons and climbs.
I use mostly
Salomon XA 3D V8 for hikes/treks multi day treks in favourable conditions.
For little tough conditions ( snow and bit steeper.
I go for my La Sportiva Trango GTX.( Which had to be glued heavily after many years but still strong)
For more tougher condition and when Crampons are also needed badly..
Scarpa Mountaineering Zodiac GtX.
And then from there is 6000m/7000m boots from La Sportiva.
And 8000m boots from Lowa( which is a dream in waiting )
I also modify my inner soles with extra layers and heat reflecting inner soles
Excellent thought of starting this thread. I wanted to start it before I asked you but had no experience in treking so I didn’t.
49th Anniversary Sale going on Decathlon.
I like Decathlon stuff…they are okay for the price .
About a week ago.
I was having a discussion with a member on Private message about sleeping bag .
So I thought I should try to explain why people should not trust ratings completely for Sleeping Bag ratings.
First thing to understand is the ratings.
Sleeping Bags have 3 temperature ratings usually.
Comfort - Comfort temperature ratings are usually should be most important. As this is the rating that most cold sleeper( people who feel more colder like woman) should be comfortable for usually 6-8 hours of sleep.
Limit - It is a temparture rating that most men( who are usually warmer) should be comfortable in. This is mostly few degrees lower than comfort level but it can still be considered.
Extreme- Now this temperature is where you need to take in lot of factors and most dangerously misunderstood. It can cause freezing and hypothermia.
Most people see -30C extreme level rating and buy it… firstly this will only give you few hours of survival in such low temperature with many factors accounted for like your body heat producing and if you well eaten to produce that heat plus how well you are covered.
and on cheap sleeping bags this ratings should never be even considered.
A high and expensive sleeping bags like PHD, Mountain Hardwear,The North Face, Western mountaineering etc…these companies have very high reputation and that is why you can still consider their ratings as still very close to real feeling.
and Even then they mention some of the factors I mentioned. They sell their sleeping bags for $800-$1400 …so you can imagine how stritcly they follow testing and rating rules.
Rest most companies follow such basic guidelines to rate their sleeping bag.
so Please dont just see a Rs 2000 , -10C sleeping bag and this you will be fine at -10C with it.. You are only risking your life just to save some money.
weather in mountains are usually very unpredictable specially due to high winds and ground tempature .
So be safe on all your adventures and buy a good rating gear from good brand if doing some serious trekking.
Beside all above things…there is lot more like Humidity , wind , goose down or duck down, synthetic insulation …so do your research well .
Getting myself Semi-technical Hiking /Mountaineering boots.
La Sportiva …my favourite brand in shoes along with Garmont ( my first hiking shoes so very fond memories with this brand ) and Salomon.
Columbia is a decent brand but I find the price on higher side than what the quality offers. doesnt mean they are bad quality just not something worth the full price. As other brands like Salomon and Salewa and La Sportiva are solid quality shoes.
For me Salomon and La Sportiva totally worth the price and solid brand.
As you can see from the condition of those shoes. They have been used in very tough conditions, Snow, Mud, rain, and all sort of terrain and lasted me well.
I have even used them on above 5000m peaks ( 16000ft and above).
and knee deep snow. They are pretty breathable too but for a mountain regions .
On plain hot areas they can be bit too warm.
However, I must say muds and monsoon can destroy these shoes and bring down their longevity to almost half.
And they are expensive …Rs 10k and above they start and one will be very luckily to find good sale price on them.
So for your need I will recommend not to spend too much and get something for decathlon Rs 2500-3500 range with Vibram sole that are really good grip but little on the harder side.
They have different versions of vibram soles ( something being more hardened and some semi-flexible)
as for size…since you dont seem to care to use in cold conditions otherwise I would have suggested buying a larger than your normal sizes to accommodate thick woolen socks.
But in this case just buying something that gives you enough room to not put stress on your toe should be good enough.
hope all the info helps.
If any more queries feel free to ask.
Edit- Also must add low ankle shoes are great for further breathibility but for hikes in stony and not so smooth terrains will recommend .high ankles are much better protection and support for ankles.
also it can help protecting against leeches in mud and monsoon treks.
Oh boy! Thanks for this info. I’ll go through these brands when I get some time.
