I am 57 (235 lbs) and have begun taking serious interest in my feet. With the beginning of a little loss of feeling, a little more foot pain in the pad behind my big toe, and concern for injury, I am wondering about changing footwear. I presently wear Hi-Tec Altitude IV and am happy with the fit. They are my second pair and they don't "feel" heavy. Maybe it is because I am used to them.

The pain the the pad of my foot had me thinking I might need more substantial boots for foot protection and support, but reading on this forum has me thinking I may need to go the other way.

I carry an Eberlestock Dragonfly pack. I carry it backpacking and for hunting. When backpacking I carry about 25-30 pounds.

Anyone have a similar situation with advice from personal experience?

I'm 61 and, after a Type II diabetes diagnosis about 2 years ago, went from 230 to 195. I've been able to control my diabetes with diet and exercise only, so far. As a result, I haven't had the pain problems you describe, and only some intermittent temporary loss of feeling in my toes, but I do know that my feet feel better in trail shoes than in boots (I use Vasque Breeze, and have both the low-cut and "normal" boot height.) I've also gotten my weekend pack load down to about 20-25 pounds, depending on season and length of trip.

I am working to reduce my body weight, but need to become more serious about it. I'm looking into lightening my load as well. I may have just "broken down" the boots due to increase walking, my weight, and adding the pack (w/weight) to increase my conditioning. Do the the lighter weight trail runners have better foot bed support than regular tennis shoes?

My guess would be yes, but I can't say for sure because I've never made the comparison. I'm guessing yes because the footbed in my Breeze shoes appears to be identical to the one in my Breeze boots.

Thanks Glenn. I'm planning to go to the big city (Nashville) later this week. Perhaps I can find some and try them on.

I have taken the advice of the good people at Cumberland Transit in Nashville, TN, and replaced my insoles. My feet feel better already. I guess inserts wear out. I hope this solves my problem. I really like the way these boots fit. If the problem persists, I'll give new wheels a try.

New inserts have made the difference for me. Yea!

That's great - sorry we overlooked the obvious!