Whether you are a military person or just an ordinary person that loves hiking, the boots you choose can determine whether your hike will be enjoyable or torturous. That’s why you need to choose boots are designed for long and rough hiking journeys. To help you make that choice, here are 5 tips to selecting the best hiking boots for your needs.
- Go for light weight boots
Hiking in itself is difficult, and the last thing you want is for your hiking boots to make things even more difficult for you. That’s why Special Forces and tactical hiking boots are made of lightweight materials, to enhance the soldier’s efficiency. You can try out boots before purchasing them to determine whether they are light enough relative to your weight. Other than comfort, lightweight boots can help you avoid injuries that you may incur from wearing heavy shoes in a rough terrain.
- Select those with ankle protection
Hiking involves climbing over rocks, and other extremely difficult terrain. The kind of terrain where you can easily injure your ankles with serious medical implications. To protect yourself from such, choose hiking boots that come with good ankle protection. On top of that, good ankle protection can help you gain traction and hike faster. That’s because your ankles won’t tire as easily as they would if you don’t have ankle protection. Speed can make all the difference especially if you are hiking for military reasons. You don’t want your ankles failing you when trying to move away from the enemy.
- Go for those made of breathable materials
Hiking is tough, and you can rest assured that your legs will heat up especially if you are hiking in hot conditions. This can give you heat blisters, that can incapacitate you and bring the hike to an abrupt stop. That’s why you should go for boots made of breathable materials. This way, the boots can lose excess heat that would otherwise get trapped in the boot as you hike. Besides, hiking boots made of breathable materials will not stink from feet sweat. Smelly feet can be embarrassing especially if you are hiking with friends.
- Select those that drain well
Sometimes when hiking, you will need to go through marshy conditions. For you to successful make it through such, you need hiking boots that can drain easily. When your hiking boots can drain easily, you achieve two critical objectives. The first one is that you will protect yourself from athlete-foot, an infection that comes from keeping your feet in wet conditions for long. The second one is that you get to walk around in comfort. There is nothing as uncomfortable as walking around in wet shoes that won’t drain.
- Test the boot to find one that fits perfectly
The biggest mistake you can do is to go hiking with a pair of boots that don’t fit well. If it’s too big, it can easily give you blisters on your feet. And if it’s too tight, it can hurt your toe bringing your hiking journey to an abrupt stop. That’s why you need to try them, and make sure that they fit well before you go hiking.