Steady Sr.<br><br>Thank you for a second opinion on the Hi-Tecs........and a good review at that! I am always amazed when hikers spend more $ than necessary on "high end" boots that don't deliver anything more (and often less) than the cheaper boots. Besides, I like to support gear that is well made. I have used Hi-Tecs for years and will continue to do so unless their product is somehow corrupted or quality lessened.<br><br>I felt the same way about my old Eureka tent. In 1991 (thru on the AT) I carried a "Rising Sun" I think it was called. At 3 lbs it was the lightest free-standing tent on the market. I loved it! But "Eureka" wasn't then (or now) a "cool" name, so I didn't see another single one on the trail. The North Face and Sierra Designs were big.......but they weighed as much or more, and/ or weren't free-standing. (I'll carry the extra weight for a free-standing tent). Anyway, that tent never leaked or
failed in any way! It was only destroyed when my daughter's dog attacked it while we were gone, thinking someone was inside probably. Here's my point: now I find 16 years later, that Eureka doesn't make a single tent as good or as light as they did back then. Bad marketing move. In the meantime, I bought a 2 man The North Face tent, which is only a couple years old, and the poles need to be re-shock-corded already. Crappy materials IMO. That shouldn't happen, and never happened with my Eureka, in about 5000 miles of hiking. (AT and many other jaunts).<br><br>I'm just sayin'.............<br><br>Wheeew<br><br><b><i>Rod <rbelshee@hotmail.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16587" name="GENERATOR"> <style></style>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">I've used eight pairs of trail runners (five pairs of New Balance, three Montrail Hardrock) and two lightweight goretex boots (one Hi-Tec and one Vasque) on various long distance hikes. With my wide feet, I have fewer choices than folks with average feet.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">I like the trail runners for desert conditions, but prefer a lightweight goretex boot in the wet Washington conditions. The tread of the boots also gave better traction than NB.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>On the PCT I developed plantar fascitis, which I blame on inadequate support in the New Balance. On the CDT I added custom orthotics and avoided that problem.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">The Montrail Hardrocks wore out quickest,
followed closely by the NB. The goretex in the both boots failed after 500-600 miles. The cheap Hi-Tecs were just as good as the expensive Vasques.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">I might try the Inov-8 Mudclaw next, since it combines a lightweight upper with a heavy rubber sole. </font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">I tried sandals but they don't work for me --too much fussing with sand and dirt and too much sock washing.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Steady Sr.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>_______________________________________________<br>Pct-l mailing list<br>Pct-l@backcountry.net<br>To unsubscribe or change list options (digest, etc):<br>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l<br></blockquote><br><p> 
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