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?
Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3293
Loc: Portland, OR
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.
Registered: 02/23/03
Posts: 2124
Loc: Meadow Valley, CA
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.
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6800
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
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!
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
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.)
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.
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.
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"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not." Yogi Berra
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?
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
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
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 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.
I certainly understand that everyone has a different aesthetic, but please try to understand my point of view. I was just looking for some advice/help, not judgment for the type of gear I am interested in looking for.
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.
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.
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.
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"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki
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.
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.
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