Not all trail runners are built for 2,000+ mile hikes — and I’ve learned that the hard way. In this video, I break down the common problems I’ve experienced with HOKA, Altra, Topo, and La Sportiva shoes while thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and Continental Divide Trail.
I’ll show you exactly how these shoes wear down, the injuries they can cause, and how to spot early warning signs before they ruin your hike. If you’re planning a long-distance hike or dialing in your ultralight gear, this is essential viewing.
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Damn, you have a look a like in Belgium, Thomas De Graeve, journalist.
La sportiva works right out of the box for me. I put in a custom sole in and at the end of day my feet don’t hurt or do I get blisters. BOA lacing system is a game changer on them also.
Altra Lone Peaks felt great for the wide toe box, but the zero drop gave me a lot of pain in my Achilles and especially in my metatarsals. After seeing my ortho I switched to the topo ultraventure 4 with a slight rocker and more cushion and felt relief almost instantly. The Altra Timp 6 seemed to be a better fit for my higher arches, too. Swapping out the cheap inserts with Treadwell inserts and wearing good oofo recovery slides at home helped too. Thanks for the honest review.
So if I wear Xeroshoes and Vivobarefoot in everyday use (4 years now) and even up to 5k runs, bying Altras would be a good idea? Especially for longer distance running/hiking?
The Hoka or really any of those shoes you mentioned can be improved by replacing the factory insoles with something like Superfeet insole (particularly the Green or Blue). They will help you avoid the collapsing arch problem. Also a lot of shoes now come in wide versions (e.g. Brooks Cascadia) and they might be more comfortable for hiking, especially if like me you wear Injinji liners under Darn Toughs. Size EE sounds like a lot but the actual difference between it and a normal D is really not a lot.