The other week we stopped by REI to pick up some birthday gifts for our daughter and I talked to one of the guys regarding hiking boots. I have a pair of hiking boots, but they're a couple of years old and I'm not certain if they're the right boots for the hike. So I thought I'd ask an expert. Of course, I was aware of a number of the features he indicated, but one of the things he mentioned I hadn't thought of. I later found out it was called Longitudinal Rigidity.
When hiking on uneven terrain, the question you need to ask is how much support you want the boot to provide. I'd always thought of this as stiffness of the sole between the heel and toe (perpendicular to the foot) but never parallel to the foot. For instance if you stepped on a rock on the left side of your foot, how much would the sole flex side to side. The salesman took a shoe, and holding the heel in one hand and the toes in the other, twisted it. A tennis shoe will twist greatly, however, a hiking boot should provide resistance.
I came home and tested my boots, and they were more rigid than I initially thought. However, given my ankles and knees are not the strongest, I may be looking at a stiffer pair of boots. I have to make up my mind soon, for I'll need some time to break them in before the trip.
Here are a couple of links that give you some of the basics. (Full Disclosure: I'm not endorsing products that these links offer, nor am I getting compensated for linking to these pages.)
Links
http://www.abc-of-hiking.com/hiking-boots/hiking-boot-features.asp
http://www.consumersearch.com/hiking-boots/important-features
No comments:
Post a Comment