[at-l] New Balance 805's for a thru-hike?

[mmatga2me99@trail-life.com (Todd "M&M" Ricker)]

Phil,

The 805's are a great shoe.  Plenty of support for All Terrain sneaker.  I
had a pair of 803's that lasted me almost 2 years of lightweight hiking.  NB
held up extremely well, and gave me plenty of grip.  The other big bonus is
you take all that weight off your feet.  Correct me if I am wrong, but an
old rule of thumb was "One pound on your feet was equivalent to 5 pounds on
your back".  Using running shoes will also help in covering more mileage,
and keep your feet more comfortable.  They are much easier on your arches,
especially if you throw some Superfeet in to improve absorption.  Now the
downside.  1. Make sure you have strong ankles.  One good tweak, and there
goes your hike.  Tweaks are inevitable, but if you have strong ankles they
will handle the pressure much better.  2.  Running shoes are not designed to
take large loads, or any loads for that matter other than the pounding of
your feet.  The manufacturers said if I insisted on using a running shoes
for the trail, to try to keep my pack under 30 lbs. or so. But any extra
load will decrease the life expectancy of the shoe and increase the
possibility of an injury.  If you are carrying a full pack I might recommend
some mid ankles shoes, especially to start until your ankles get used to the
daily abuse they take.  As you head into easier terrain and warmer weather
(which is right upon us) you can decrease the weight of your pack and switch
to trail runners.  Also a little bit more about the terrain.  Down south you
won't have to much of a problem getting a good solid footing, but as you
head into area like PA, NH, and ME the trail is smothered with pitfalls like
lots of rocks, mud, steep inclines, and roots.  Did I mention the rocks in
PA?  =)  Only you can really know if your style of hiking permits for trail
runners or not. I wish you the best, hope this all helps.
__

T - "Semper Fidelis" - |O|

Todd "M&M" Ricker
GA>ME AT99

ICQ: 24455973
AOL/AIM: MMATGA2ME99

www.chrysalisnyac.com NYAC "Son Seekers" Chrysalis.  Forums, schedules,
applications, etc
To open soon ... www.trail-life.com  Home of the Long Distance Backpacker.
Discussion groups, articles, stories, trail info, and trail news.  Please
feel free to leave suggestions or comments.