As you should already know backpacking footwear is one of the most important pieces of equipment along with your backpack that you any European backpacker will need. Make sure you spend a considerable amount of time researching and selecting the correct footwear so you don’t end up with blisters and can walk around the streets of Europe with ease. Today I will be discussing backpacking boots which are more heavy duty than the trail running type backpacking shoes that I advocated in an earlier post.
The first thing you want to do is ask yourself “What type of terrain will I be covering on my trip?”. For most people backpacking in Europe, the majority of their time will be spent in cities and towns, rarely going ‘cross country’. For more adventurous souls, trekking through forests and up mountains will be on the itinerary and therefore a more robust type of footwear is required.
Make sure you get enough ankle support with a robust backpacking shoe.
The purpose of a backpacking boot is to give support to the ankle and protect the foot. This results in a boot that is very robust but quite heavy. Unless you are actually doing a lot of cross country trekking then I would suggest that you go for a lighter trail running shoe as discussed in the backpacking shoes article. Walking large distances every day the extra few pounds on each foot that a boot weighs can really make a significant difference.
Make sure you do thorough online research before you purchase your boots. Read reviews to gain a basic knowledge and so you can make an informed decision, a great website to look at reviews is Amazon. When it comes to buying your boots make sure you get your foot properly sized, to find out more about this have a look at this video.
When purchasing your backpacking boot you will have to decide what kind of cut you want. The cut determines how high the boot comes up your ankles and therefore the amount of support they give. Most backpacking boots have a medium to high cut. Lastly make sure that the boots have lace hooks, deep treads and soft soles – all indicators of a superior quality boot.
I hope that this article will help you to make a wise decision about your backpacking boots. Just remember, if they are uncomfortable when you try them on in the shop this will be magnified when you use them for real so choose carefully!
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