I am new to hiking and am interested in purchasing some gear. However, I know it isn't practical but I would enjoy something that is both visual appealing and functional. Any suggestions for a good looking boot and/or pack?

Others may be reluctant to answer, simply because their idea of good looking may be entirely different than yours.

Also, most backpackers soon discover that looks matter very little when you are in a wilderness and must rely on your gear for basic survival and comfort. How something looks isn't wholly irrelevant, but it falls so low on the scale of importance that it rarely influences one's decisions about what to buy or bring.

OTOH, if you want good looking gear and clothes, your own sense of taste will be a surer guide than anything we could tell you.

If you have the legs, who is going to be looking at your boots? If you are just going for boots that look good, you are a car camper and not getting out on a real trail where fit and function take precedence.

Go to REI and tell thenm you need "stuff" that looks good. I am sure they will hook you up.

When boots are covered with mud they all look about the same.

Sweethiker, don't be put-off by the responses you've received.
I agree with these guys but I can empathize with you.

I've looked at replacing my mid-height boots with some trail runners but cannot get past the ugly yellow and/or orange accent colors they put on them.

Maybe as TrailRunner says, "Once they're covered in mud it just doesn't matter."

It's all about comfort, not looks! It's the pack that fits YOU (and carries your gear comfortably) and the shoes that fit YOU that are important. Fashion has no place on the trail! It's bad enough that many of us ruin our feet in the workplace and on social occasions without doing it out on the trail!

Before you go any further, If you haven't already found them, read the excellent articles on lightening your pack and on gear selection listed in the left-hand column of http://www.backpacking.net/, the home page of this site. Please note especially the advice about purchasing your pack last so it fits the rest of your gear!

Another good site for gear selection is Mark Verber's website. Lots of ideas for gear, from the latest technology to ultra-low-budget alternatives. Also tons of links to reviews and other sites.

Most of us wear trail runners instead of boots these days. I made the switch from boots to trail runners a little over a year ago and would never go back (well, I still wear the boots when hiking in snow, but not otherwise). Yes, the colors are awful (most women's trail runners feature my two least favorite colors, what I call "bink and burple"). Fortunately, a half an hour on a dusty trail (even if it isn't muddy) takes care of that problem!

Take the Trail Runner Mafia with a grain of salt. Some of us that do frequently use trailrunners, also frequently use boots, depending on what conditions we anticipate seeing.

Basically for me I would boil it down to:

1) If I expect rough off trail conditions or severe weather and/or snow, I take boots.

2) If I'm on an established trail most of the time, without snow, I take trailrunners.


But I'm the wrong guy to ask about how it looks. My darling wife is appalled at some of the colors, especially those that I tell her I got on sale because it was this hideous colour.. To me it's all about function and comfort, with a few exceptions (I don't like dark black or blue tents / tarps because they make me wanna get all depressed, etc.)

What shoes will you wear on the West Coast Trail?

I also have a collection of colors that nobody wanted that I bought on deep discount.

I absolutely agree with the idea that I am in the woods not to look good but to be safe. I understand that they all look the same when covered in mud. However, why can't they be something that I want to visually enjoy as well?

Well, when I got my Crocs, I had to get a color that blended in so as not to be obvious.

With the massive selection available now, there's really no reason something can't be visually appealing. It's usually a matter of how much you can afford (or are willing) to pay. Choosing the what-was-the-manufacturer-thinking colors that are being closed out is a great way to save money; back when I was still paying for a house and kids' college, I ended up making some bold and spectacular fashion statements, to put it mildly. Now that I have a bit of disposable income, I tend to be a little less reluctant to pay full price and can usually find something in more muted tones.

However, I don't let appearance completely drive selection. The first, second, and third things I look at in a piece of gear is function. (Example: I had a nice grey pack that looked great, but didn't fit quite right. I replaced it with a pack that had fairly bright blue side panels, and a glow-in-the-dark set of silver load lifter straps. I liked the looks of the grey pack better, but the blue pack fits better. Not my first color choice, but acceptable. If it had been purple or orange/chartreuse, I'd still be looking.)

Usually, if you specify the functional features that are important to you, you can find a piece of gear with those features that is a color you can live with. I liked the Hubba tent so well that I even learned to live with the godawful blaze orange fly they insisted on using. The mustard yellow of my Carbon Reflex 1 is an improvement - barely - but I'll put up with it because of the weight and feature set.

sweethiker
Hi,
I always wear matching rain suits camping and fancy goretex ski gear when down hilling. Some countess climbed the Matterhorn in high heels (with a lot of guides helping her) just to show "that does not have to give up one's femininity to be sports oriented."
There is a lot of pretty gear out there, indulge yourself because you might be wearing it for a very long time. I have an original model original goretex TNF mountain light jacket that has been a "goto" rain shell for my wife and I for over 30 years without showing any wear. Many people bad mouth TNF, but they do make extremely durable gear. However my fav comes from Marmot.
Jim

Last time I did it I used a pair of Trailrunners (Montrail Hardrocks) and mini-gaters just to keep the stones out:





This time I'm leaning to boots. I may be doing a couple slightly more epic routes on it and think I might want them this time. So this time the footwear may be the Hanwag Boots and Gaiters - which already did me just fine on South Coast Trek in Tasmania - (which has a lot of sections about like west coast trail..)



(although nothing on WCT is anything like as high as the above picture).

Sweethiker is a very feminine lady with feminine tastes that should not be judged. I take many photograhphs and I also take pride in looking nice in the pictures. Saftey is very important to me while trying to reach various locations. I don't need to be patornized for wanting something fashionable and safe. I certainly understand that everyone has a different asthetic, but please try to understand my point of view. I was just looking for some advice/help, not judgement for the type of gear I am interested in looking for.

I'm not looking for crocs jerk! I was being serious! I already have three pairs of those. I'm looking for information about hiking not how to ride a donkey Duane!

Hey Phat! Nice boots for a dude! I can post pics of my feet too not really a talent! Thanks for the help, you have been a super moderator. This is my first experience and it sucks.

Thanks for the advice. Safety is most important. I am a firm believer that you should enjoy the gear you put on your body as well.

Thanks Tango. I definately agree, once they are dirty, who cares. However, I take great care of my things and try to keep them very clean even after the fact.

With all due respect, there is simply no way that we can help you. The type of gear you are interested in needs to be safe and pretty-- most common brand names provide the former and the latter is subjective. Hence a solid conclusion cannot be reached.

So how about you help us, and define what type of gear is aesthetically pleasing to you and what kind of function are you looking for? Beyond this, where will you be hiking, what are the conditions, terrain and how big of a pack do you need?

FWIW I have various packs including: Gossamer Gear G4 (3-season pack), Golite's Pinnacle (winter pack) and a MLD Burn (day hiking/fishing/overnighter/weekender pack).

For footwear I mainly use the Inov-8 Roclite 315. In winter/snow I will switch to a boot.

My wife, who I would say also chooses items mainly on how they look, rather than functions uses a Deuter ACT-Lite pack and wears Merrell's Moab Ventilators.

Is any of this gear visually pleasing to you?

I am sorry that your first experience here has been less than pleasant for you, however what you need to understand is that the vast majority of us here do suffer from the Y-Chromosome syndrome; and the way that an item looks is often secondary to its fuction, fit and cost. Case in point, I purchased (and wear) a pair of Dirty Girl Gaitors because they are light weight and cheap-- my wife on the otherhand would not be seen dead wearing lime gaiterade hurl.

So when you ask for gear which looks cute, you need to have some patience with us. We are a very experienced bunch of people who are more than happy to help and assist you, but we males lack serious fashion sense on the trails.

Well, after all the snarky comments, I do wish I could be of some use to you. I feel a bit offput on your behalf... I know a few hikers who do focus on being clean and do tend to have a very put-together look. They are men, however. I wish things were simple for me as they seem to be for men - they can shave off all their hair, for example. Mine gets pretty gunky after a couple of days out even tho it's very short. I'm going to try some powder shampoo in a little bottle next time I go out a few days.

I tend to look like I have been dressed by a blind person, thanks to my complete dislike for the outrageous price tags on the synthetic t shirts and pants - I get clothes off the clearance racks at local outfitters, and have only a care for the right size and the best price. Hence my stylish olive green pant/navy blue shirt look. It gets a little better when I am able to find a tan or slate nylon long sleeve on sale - tans and browns are easy to pair up. I personally do not care about the looks as I prioritize budget and comfort over appearance every time and save my money for more critical items like sleeping bags and correctly fitted packs.

You probably have a better budget than I do, however, so for what it's worth... I would suggest to you that you hunt down tans, browns, grays and whites in hats, clothing and shoes, and look at packs like the Osprey, Gregory, Deuter or REI branded packs, the latest models are in a wide range of colors. If your clothes are neutral as you can get them, the greens and rusts and grays of the packs would work with them. Tans and neutral browns will show the inevitable trail dirt less than pastels or blues/greens. My clean freak friends tend to dress this way on purpose for that reason. Prioritize pack fit over appearance - do not try to tolerate a pack that doesn't quite fit comfortably with all your gear in - and you will do fine. Some trying on of various brands of shoes/boots should inform you better as to what sorts of hiking shoes will work for your feet. Brands like Saloman are probably not going to work for you as they all seem to be neon colored these days, but there are some decently neutral grays and browns in other brand lines like Vasque and Montrail and Merrel.

Other than this generic advice, knowing nothing about your taste and what you find appealing, I am at a loss for how to help you, thanks to the constraints of internet communication. Good luck in your quest for fashionable trail gear.

I too have this problem - My wife had a serious dislike for the sky blue hiking pants, red fleece, and baby puke green windshirt that is worn in many of my hiking pictures from a few years ago. Again - it was the colors that went on sale

And again, without any knowledge of your tastes, it's difficult to offer anything constructive - I can certainly offer advice about what has been comfortable and good for me
(Montrail, Vasque, and Hanwag) in footwear, but as you've seen, guy boots tend to be pretty utilitarian, for me the beauty is in the function.

My better half likes the sage green in the ladies vasque breeze XCR's, but we haven't been able to get a good fit in them yet.

I went back and re-read your original post. I think I missed the fact that you may already be acquainted with HOW to pick gear for function, and were merely asking our opinions on what brands seemed to be least visually offensive. I apologize.

I've noticed that, as the trend toward lighter gear set in, everyone started calling their gear "light and fast" - though I'm not exactly sure why you have to go fast just because your gear's lighter; I know I don't. Anyhow, "fast" somehow seems to demand neon color schemes - I assume for the same reason no one wants a tan Corvette.

But I digress.

For packs, Granite Gear usually has more muted colors - their basic packs are mostly black, with cordura highlights in various shades of blue, "lime" green (which really isn't as bright as it sounds), gray, and darker ("brick") red - of course, the Escape I just ordered has a lot of bright red on it. (I've read that one splash of bright color, like a red shirt or pack, adds to the visual appeal of a picture - is that true?) Deuter also offers packs in the same range of colors, including a fair number of all-grey packs; the colored panels tend to be larger than on Granite Gear. The biggest limiting factor for both brands is that each model comes in only one color, so you may find a really nice pack in a color you don't like, and there's no way to get around that.

Some makers, like Gregory and Osprey, offer each model in a choice of two or three colors. Their packs just don't function well for me, for fairly idiosyncratic reasons, so I tend to stay with Granite Gear.

For boots, I've always used Vasque (after my Air Force combat boots wore out.) They've always had sufficient color choices: I went for brown or grey, and always found something I liked. I can't speak to other brands, because Vasque always fits me so well I don't need to shop around much.

For clothing, I've always been able to find muted colors at Patagonia; again, not a lot of experience with other brands because Patagonia always fits well. I tend to go toward grey, tan, darker blues, deeper reds, and blacks (long johns), though I do have a "lime" green rain jacket and windbreaker that I've become partial to. Patagonia does have all the colors of the rainbow, but they've always been pretty good at keeping some of the more neutral colors available in their line.

Hope this is more on point with your original question.

My wife considers the Y-Chromosome a genetic defect.

My wife and daughter made me change clothes to go to Red Robin with them this week. My taste is all in my mouth.

I am happy that my spouse chooses her clothes based on appearance but not her husband.

Guys tend to choose spouses based on appearance but not their clothes.

I know a really nice guy (well, mostly nice) who is quite open about his preference for a well presented woman. He wants someone who camps and hikes. I told him to find a camping, hiking woman on the trail, ask her out on a date, and see what she looks like in an urban environment before making a judgment call. I go backpacking every month and hiking every week barring unusual circumstances. I just stopped caring once I hit the trailhead. Maintaining a level of femininity is just too much work on the trail - the most I can manage is a wash every other day to keep my hair from matting on my head and making me uncomfortable, and clean underwear. I thrash through brush and drop stuff on the ground. I sit on rocks and logs. My clothes are cheap and comfortable because I am hard on them and they need to be easily replaced.

No one who hikes with me recognizes me on the street, at all, because I'm not wearing my huge brimmed hat and oddly colored clothing. I'm literally two different people. And thanks to all the hiking, I have a figure.

I am very grateful that women tend not to be as shallow as men.

There is a big difference between a "well presented" vs. attractive woman. An attrative woman looks good coming out of the shower. A "well presented" woman may indicate high maintenance.

I tend to gravitate toward men who know the difference.

I had always thought not being "high maintenance" (by some standards, I bet you I'm gear geekier than some men would appreciate ) might be a good thing in the eyes of some... I don't expect guys to schlep my gear, for example.

Tho it's always nice when a guy pops a bottle of wine out to surprise you...

Your first experience sucks because you asked a bad question. Your question was "Any suggestions for a good looking boot and/or pack?" That is very subjective, as a lot of other people have said so. We can't read your mind and see what your preferences are. We don't know what you think is stylish or looks good. You never said what colors you like, or what style features you are looking for. Your profile tells us nothing to even allow us to venture a guess. So, before you get all upset that no one is answering your poorly thought out question, take some time to thoughtfully construct a question that can actually be answered. There are a lot of people that can and will help you, if you ever give them something to work with. Otherwise, go to an outdoor store and find something that you like. REI is a very trendy store that has very fashion conscious boots and packs.

I would add that an attractive woman looks good waking up in the morning.

I am way too old to care about fashion, but I do like to be neat and clean on the trail- even after 30 days. What looks good in the store may not look good after 30 days on the trail. There is just so much that can be cleaned out by rinsing in a stream. Keep this in mind when choosing clothing.

A low-profile smaller pack looks nice - and here is where you will get good advise from this forum. Ultra-light hiking packs are small. Learn to be Ultra-light and you will not have to lug an ugly big pack bag. A painful grimace on your face when lugging a big heavy pack also looks very unappealing. With a 20-pound pack you can actually smile!

The first thing about looking good is to have something that fits - and this is also high priority in function. Do not settle for something that is fashionable but fits poorly. Do not settle for something on sale that does not fit properly.

If there are bugs (mosquitoes) function out-weighs looks. Capris are usless unless you want to live in DEET every day. Long pants or zip-offs are preferable. But you do not need tons of cargo pockets. Walking with a lot of junk in pockets is very uncomfortable- not very functional. Also, mosquitoes can bite through skin-tight pants or tops.

Choose colors that wash well in cold water and hide dirt. This means white is not a good choice. Choose fabrics that do not become excessively wrinlky when hand washed. (you probabaly will have to test this at home) And be aware that some polyester stinks after a few days use. I use Shoeller climbing pants - really tough and never wrinkles. Shoeller is a material - comes in lighter weights and heavier (ski pants).

A very light-weight fun colorful scarf (maybe silk) can also be useful. Tie a colorful scarf around your head - keeps hair out of the face too. I once met a PCT hiker who wore a tie-dye stretchy mini-skirt over tights! No mosquiotes got thrugh her dreadlock hair either!

Shoes - now here function always trumps fashion. If you can find a good shoe that fits and is pleasing to you, great, otherwise get the shoe that fits and just live with this. You really need toe room - I actually think Keens look really good and are great if you can tolerate the wide heel - I cannot. For me the only shoe that fits are Merrells. Serious hikers also usually wear wool socks - Smartwool are best in my opinion. Also get shoes that fit even after feet swell at the end of the day. I use trail-runner type shoes - quit wearing boots 10 years ago. I take Crocks for camp and stream crossing shoes. Cannot beat the light weight. And lots of toe room at the end of day is heaven. And they come in a variety of colors.

I find ArcTerex clothing very well fitting and functional. Very pricy. Clouldveil is another brand that has high quality but what I think is good looking clothes. Also very pricy. Patagonia also has good gear and if something looks good you can usually count on it also being functional.

And one thing that can add lots of fashion is a classy pair of sunglasses! I personally also love baseball caps - so my pony-tail can stick out.

I guess my bottom line is that stick with the very high-end reputable gear and then pick out what they have that you like. Be very leery of no-name brand fashionable gear.

Nothing wrong with wanting fashion IF you can also meet function criteria. If not, then choose function.

And then, with what ever you wear, there is little reason you cannot stay clean and neat. I take a jump in a lake or stream every day I hike - no matter how cold. I wash my hiking shirt every day (therefore it must dry quickly). My mood is just so much better when I pay attention to personal hygiene. Even when I am out 10 days and never see another person. I stay clean to please myself, not anyone else. And if you want to do makeup - go for it -just get the stuff with sunscreen in it. I personally do not do the makeup but use the dry foaming cleaning make-up remover squares (Dove)- very light and useful.

As she so often does, WD pretty well nailed it...

Many of us have had to deal with sloppy, poorly designed clothing that tried to achieve the "outdoor look" at the expense of function. The results can be very bad, even life endangering in extreme circumstances. Thus we tend to regard fashion as The Dark Side.

The companies that WD cited have achieved a good marriage between function and fashion, in particular Patagonia, the brand with which I am most familiar. I would add that the so-called."expensive" clothing is actually pretty cheap when you consider that you can wear it for many, many years. I have Patagonia items more than twenty years old that are still useful.

Even when I am out 10 days and never see another person. I stay clean to please myself, not anyone else.

I, too, find cleanliness to be "functional" in this way. My mood is much better when I do not feel like I have been wallowing in sweat and dust for a week straight.

My daily dip or spitz bath is something I rarely do without. Bugs are never enough excuse to miss out; cold rain with wind is about the only weather that can bump me out of my cleanup ritual.

I now promise to stay nearer to the OP questions and concerns: nice-looking clothes and gear.

Recently I got a boot for a local store with a 20% off over July 4th. The brand is Asolo TPS 535. This is a full-grain leather boot. This looks nice and has a snug fit like a pair of gloves. If you never wore a boot before, it's taking time to get use to. I am in my braking in period and getting use to now. If you decide to get a boot, you have to coming a store to try them out. You might get lucky for an online store, but boot size are not true size compare to regular shoes.