I am going backpacking in a week. Total new by. I had a pair of old tims that i used for previous, shorter, hikes but they felt a little small on my feet. I bought a cheap pair of never worn vintage dunham boots in a half size up. There was a whole problem with eBay and my old address, so I received the boots on Sunday. Now they are a tad too tight! At first they were unbearable on my feet. I replaced the insoles and they feel a better, but are still feeling tight around the toe. There is a pillowy part by my heel ankle area that when pushed in makes the boots feel fine. What I'm wondering is if I should ditch the old guys and go to rei and get a new pair? Or just try out my old timberlands? Or if I should saddle soap these babies up and see how it goes from there? I'm going to also be in the middle east, so it's going to be hot. And I don't start the actual trail for a month. Ahhhh help!

Get shoes that fit your foot and feel good. If you are putting in long hours on your feet that is not the place to go cheap.

A fairly large proportion of us wear trail runners rather than boots. I was one of the holdouts for years until I finally broke down and got the trailrunners. I'll never go back to boots!

If you already have a comfortable pair of running type shoes that have lug soles, you won't even have to buy anything!

Socks are as important as shoes to me. I first tried Smartwool socks this year and they are great. They are expensive, around $15.95, but they are worth it.

If you can't follow OM's advice on existing trail sneakers, just go to REI and get what is comfortable for your feet. Footgear is not the place to cut corners. That doesn't mean you must buy expensive boots - just concentrate on comfort and fit.

I generally go to the local cheap shoe store that sells running shoes. They will usually have trail runners. Stores like Just for Feet, or Big 5, Academy, etc. Most shoes are in the $50 range. I have weird shaped feet, and New Balance seem to fit very well. I look for the style that seems to dry fast, and have good trail traction.

So you’re going backpacking in a week in the Middle East? Are there ‘trails’ there? Just curious.
Anyway, boots that are slightly tight are going to be hurting when backpacking and especially when it’s hot! Your feet will want to expand.
That’s why I do what a lot of Mid Easterners do: wear sandals.

-Barry
The mountains were made for Tevas