Just want to reiterate, The North Face is not hiking or backpacking gear, it's yuppie gear! The same is true with most of what you see at REI--while claiming to be a store for hikers and backpackers, it's really for yuppie wannabees! That's why it's so expensive and, usually, so heavy.

This is a lightweight backpacking site and most of us shop on the internet for the best bargains. The innovative lightweight gear most of us use is available only from "cottage industries" who sell mostly on the internet. Unlike the mainline gear producers, they're more interested in tinkering and coming up with new ideas than in making an enormous profit.

If you haven't already found them, there are lots of excellent articles for beginners and on gear selection listed in the left-hand column of http://www.backpacking.net/, the home page of this site.

Another good site for gear selection is Mark Verber's website. Lots of ideas for gear, including low-budget alternatives.

You'll also find that most of us on this forum backpack in trail runners rather than boots. I'm a very recent convert, since I tried the trail runners and found that my feet, ankles and knees are far more comfortable and far better supported in trail runners with good anti-pronation control than in boots. No way would I ever go back to boots, except in snow.