Well, I finally did it. I bought a pair of "Red Head" hiking boots at Bass Pro for $38 and some aftermarket insoles at Wal-Mart for $20 and after a few weeks now I like them better than the last few pair of Merrell boots I've bought. They're certainly more comfortable than the Merrells I tried on right out of the box.

I tried on every pair of hiking boots they had there, including some costing $200+ and they all had crappy insoles and were not comfortable at all. Some just flat out sucked.

I've only hiked around my yard but it's as rugged and steep as anyplace around here so I'm pretty happy. I'm sure they'll be fine on the trail for my 2-3 nighters but if these cheapies blow out on me I'll let you all know.

I am lucky that there is a Merrell outlet store a few miles from my house. If I wait for their sales, I get shoes for under $50.

I just bought cheap $20 tennis shoes which fit very well but had the worst insole you could imagine! I just put in my Superfoot insoles and they are perfect. These are my "at home" walking shoes, not for backpacking.

The test of the cheap shoe-new insole concept is longevity. I do not worry if cheap shoes rip apart after one season, but I do not want them ripping apart while I am out on a trip! By the way my Merrell shoes only last one season anyway. But they at least start to show wear gradually and I have never had them "blow out" on a trip to the point where I could not use them.

I usually buy a new pair of boots at the beginning of each summer. The rubber soles soon get soft, and by the end of the summer, I can feel every pebble under my foot. But the boots are comfy until then, and I don't pay more than $25 a pair.

But now I'm thinking...

I suspect that most manufacturers of hiking/running shoes now believe that most buyers will use after-market insoles. I have used green Superfeet since my bout of plantar fasciitis 5 years ago. They work fine for me. Of course feet are so individual that everyone has to work out their own system!

At least this explains the general run of crappy insoles, even in shoes that used to have good ones (such as New Balance).

just in case, you might want to be sure to include duct tape in your "10 Essentials"

On the other hand, Mouse, Keen's new lines of boots has a special design that prohibits the use of custom insoles. It's a shock absorber and sticks up out of the footbed like a little button sort of thing. Their insole has an indentation to fit it, but you can't use custom orthotics like I wear. Maybe I could take a dremmel to it, but I hate to mess up either my boots or my expensive orthotics. Really is stupid design thinking!

A small tube of Shoe Goo might be appropriate. Most of my boot soles have come loose and been reattached with Shoe Goo.

Boboito, I think their workboots incorporate that new "integrated heel cushion" , but the hiking boots like the Targhee (I just bought another pair) don't. I was worried as they are the only boots I can add orange Superfeet to and go double digit miles with a pack and end up with no pain. Superfeet do have a raised ridge around the rim of the heel, I don't know if that would be enough. At least the newest model of the Orange F ones do. After all the failed boots I've bought, I was about to run out and buy a few pairs of the old model of the Targhees! I did go to the Keen site and research this, as I wanted to make sure I hadn't bought a leftover model. I could not find that raised heel cushion in any of the hiking models. Superfeet are super popular, it would seem Keen wouldn't make them useless in their boots, thus eliminating some sales. Hiking and standing on concrete all day are two different animals. My Wolverine work boots are too heavy to hike in, but they are awesome for long periods of walking and standing on hard surfaces. My last pair of Keens never blew out, the soles wore done to nothing and don't grip well anymore and have lost much of their cushion. Plenty of miles on them, I have zero complaints.

I have two pairs of boots in regular use. Both are advertised as Made in USA (a bias of mine).

A pair of New Balance no longer in production. These were designed for the military and have skid arch for fast roping as well as being designed for drainage. I use these when I anticipate hiking in water or even just in and out of water. A month or so ago I spent an hour in and out followed by half an hour non-stop trudging in waist deep water.

My other pair is by Allegiance Footwear. They are actually designed to be work boots but I hike in them. Few seams in the boot and what seams there are, are quadruple stitched. Waterproof, built to last and surprisingly light for a boot like this. I actually talked to the guy who cut the leather to make my boots. These are the most Made in USA of any boots and if you go to their web site they have an interesting story. Long story short, when Timberline moved their operations to China a couple of the cobblers started Allegiance Footwear.

I used to use Superfeet but now I use YourSol heat moldable insoles. A Canadian company with the soles made in Singapore or Taiwan if memory serves. Being heat moldable they are a step away from a truly custom orthotic. Not cheap but worth it for me.

I have a pair of Merrells with the "bump" and non removable insole. I bought them for a trip to Peru and they worked well. I now have also used them on a 40-mile trip and they seem to be as comfortable as as my Superfeet insoles. I think it depends on your feet. These new shoes seem very compatible with my feet. The frustrating thing is that you will not know until you have done 20+ miles on them with a pack on your back. By that time, if they do not work you cannot return them.

I would not try to remove the glued in insoles until you try them on a longer trip. You may actually like them.

These are Keens, not Merrells. It's a feature in the Liberty Ridge and some of their other models. With the Keens, you can take the insole out, but you are left with a very pronounced bump sticking up, fits right under your heel where pain from plantar fascitis (heel spur?) can manifest itself. Because the custom orthotics I have are rigid on the bottom, they tend to have a little rock from side to side if you use them in this boot, I can feel the thing. Very frustrating. With my flat feet and bunion issues, I hate to mess with a formula that works for me by ditching the orthotics, or changing boots, but I'm going to give Merrells a shot, though it sounds like from what you said that perhaps they use a similar design. In any case, it seems like a lot of folks, like you and Brian Le and others, have had good luck with Merrells, so I'm going to see how I like them.

Hey Charlie, yeah the Targhees are still good, as are the Voyageurs. But if you check out the Liberty Ridge, which are their heavier-duty backpacking boots and take out the insole, you'll see the bump (unless this has changed since December). I even talked to customer service and they agreed you can't use customs with them. I registered a complaint. It's a nice looking boot otherwise. But honestly, I do like the Targhees and Voyageurs ok, they are lighter, I wear them all the time (even for typing on the computer I use to use Ketchums, which I liked a lot, but they are discontinued. I wish I has stocked up on them!

I wish I had got to try on those Liberty Ridges before I bought the Vasque boots that have some real flaws. I wanted a pair of boots that were stiffer for crampons and microspikes. This bizarre record setting winter we've had in NE had us on snowshoes hardly ever, but on ice very regularly. Would have been nice to have had better boots than the poorly designed excuses I bought. I'd still use my Danners that I've had re-soled 3 times, but my darn feet have grown and they only fit with liners, or dress socks now. I would have been better off with Bill's bargain boots!!!! 100+ cheaper!

Hiking boots is one of those areas where I try to be real careful in what I select. Too me this is possibly the most important piece of your gear. While I don't spend lots of money for my hiking boots, I have been using Keen Targhees, I do make sure they fit well, feel well and have a good reputation for lasting. If the cheap shoe+insole seem to hold up and feel great then it seems like you may have found a good combination.

I'm always looking for ways to get new gear cheap but I have always shy'ed away from trying new shoes since I know what I have works but for the price you paid for those boots I might just have to give that a try.

I gotta use aftermarket insoles in my Merrels or I'll have major foot pain after just half a dozen miles