Walking shoes/clothes advice needed.

gooner99 · 11-09-2020 10:18am #1

Hi. I'm looking for some recommendations for walking shoes and clothes.

My year round 5km daily walk in an exposed west coast area is a combination of grass trails, road, beach and low to medium length grass. No real hills or overly boggy terrain involved, except in the depths of winter. My current shoes ecco with goretex which have served me well have seen better days, so need to replace them. I'd like light comfortable shoes with good grip as I have hip joint degeneration. Am I better with runner type shoes that allow to get wet or shoes with goretex or other waterproofing. My reservation on the runner type is that it takes longer to dry them out in the winter months. How do you get around this, by having two pairs?

At the minute my clothes are just craighopper trousers and t-shirt/fleece. Normal sports socks and jackets. I just dry these out if I get wet. Again this takes longer in winter.

All recommendations and advice most welcome.

Thanks for reading.

jamfer · 11-09-2020 10:51pm

Have you decided to move away from Ecco? I am looking at their outdoor range and seeing many choices from boots to all leather to a mixturs of fabric and leather / suede. Plenty of options, any one would handle a daily walk. Pop some newspaper inside and leave in a well ventillated area and all should be well for the following day.

As regards durablity of fabric types, you could augment the factory water displacement with a spray on type just to be sure.

I golf in Ecco goretex all leather shoes, I sometimes go 3 days in a row and neve have an issue. I might add that I spend alot of time in the rough rather than on the short fairway stuff. I'll be replacing with new Ecco shoes when the grips wear down.

gooner99 · 12-09-2020 12:48am

jamfer wrote: »

Have you decided to move away from Ecco? I am looking at their outdoor range and seeing many choices from boots to all leather to a mixturs of fabric and leather / suede. Plenty of options, any one would handle a daily walk. Pop some newspaper inside and leave in a well ventillated area and all should be well for the following day.

As regards durablity of fabric types, you could augment the factory water displacement with a spray on type just to be sure.

I golf in Ecco goretex all leather shoes, I sometimes go 3 days in a row and neve have an issue. I might add that I spend alot of time in the rough rather than on the short fairway stuff. I'll be replacing with new Ecco shoes when the grips wear down.

Thanks for the reply. I'm open to Ecco again. The ones I had were a mixture of leather/suede and I found them comfortable and a nice wide fit at size 45. They were also pretty good at keeping my feet dry most of the time.What ended up an issue was wear through the sole area just before the toes. What model of ecco do you have?

petronius · 12-09-2020 8:27am

I always used a sturdy pair of hiking boots over the years - but recenly converted to hiking-trekking shoe, I got in Regatta, kinda like a runner but with a sturdier sole and material. While not as waterproof going through puddles etc, (the rough) I found them easier on the legs and feet, breathable, a more natural walking action, especially on the camino or long hikes etc.(the fairways)

jamfer · 13-09-2020 9:47am

gooner99 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'm open to Ecco again. The ones I had were a mixture of leather/suede and I found them comfortable and a nice wide fit at size 45. They were also pretty good at keeping my feet dry most of the time.What ended up an issue was wear through the sole area just before the toes. What model of ecco do you have?

The golf shoes are the Cool2 and Cage. Neither are sold anymore as I have them a couple of years now. The Cool2 are goretex and work perfectly, but the sole is nearing then end - I'll use em as day to day shoes then, just the ridges on the sole are worn and don't provide the grip on wet grass that a golf shoe should. The Cage ones are just plain leather, but they too keep my feet dry on wet grass I wonder why I paid the extra for goretex on the Cool2 ones.

gooner99 · 13-09-2020 9:51am

petronius wrote: »

I always used a sturdy pair of hiking boots over the years - but recenly converted to hiking-trekking shoe, I got in Regatta, kinda like a runner but with a sturdier sole and material. While not as waterproof going through puddles etc, (the rough) I found them easier on the legs and feet, breathable, a more natural walking action, especially on the camino or long hikes etc.(the fairways)

Thanks. Will check those out.

gooner99 · 13-09-2020 9:52am

jamfer wrote: »

The golf shoes are the Cool2 and Cage. Neither are sold anymore as I have them a couple of years now. The Cool2 are goretex and work perfectly, but the sole is nearing then end - I'll use em as day to day shoes then, just the ridges on the sole are worn and don't provide the grip on wet grass that a golf shoe should. The Cage ones are just plain leather, but they too keep my feet dry on wet grass I wonder why I paid the extra for goretex on the Cool2 ones.

Thanks. Funny now that you say this. I wore my leather upper Sketchers a few times and they were pretty good too at keeping my feet dry and no goretex on them.

jamfer · 13-09-2020 2:30pm

I think goretex is a way for (some, not all) manufacturers to skimp on processes or manufacturing quality. If you are going to whack a waterproof membrane inside to keep the foot dry then why worry about the welting or stitching being up to the job. Timberland have been selling a waterproof boot for decades with no need for goretex.

hmmm · 14-09-2020 4:25pm

Some of the hiking boots you can get these days are very light - almost like trail shoes with higher protection around the ankle. Is the water coming in over the top of the shoe, or is this shoe just wetting through from the sides? I don't know what works best for your hip condition unfortunately.

You also can't beat a hiking stick for that bit of extra stability.

Walking shoes/clothes advice needed.

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