Palladium boots for hot weather hiking?

[Highbinder]

Anyone had any experience with these? My googlefu isnt turning up very much in the way of relevant information.

My leather booties, which performed great in Scotland, are just too hot and heavy for here in Spain. I've resorted to hiking in running shoes till I can decide what I should buy. They worked well last weekend but took a beating

How are canvas boots for hot weather? Can anyone suggest any alternatives? Light and breathable are the priorities. Ankle support and waterproofness less so.

Can anyone share experience with what works?

 

[Shewie]

I'd go with a lightweight fabric boot I think mate, avoiding goretex lined if you can.

Plenty of good brands to choose from but always try them on first if you can.

I'm using a pair of Salamon Fastpackers at the moment which only weigh half of what my usual leather boots do, they have a goretex lining though so probably not ideal for what you want. Have a look at the "mid" style boot or approach shoes, plenty of those have good ventilation and support systems.

 

[_mark_]

Think palladium boots were made for foreign legion in the desert? (saw it on a poster the other day).

 

[Highbinder]

I had read a couple of comments implying palladium had abandoned it's roots and had turned towards making fashionable footwear. I was hoping someone here would have a pair and could chime in .

One of the big chain stores here, decathalon, have canvas trail shoes for 30eu a pair. Guess im humming and hawwing over whether to go for shoes or ankle height boots. Don't need boots for the support, my pack total weight is 7-10kg, and it is nice to be able to wear short running socks, but boots are so much nicer off trail and for scrambling..

It hit over 30c a few days in a row and it's only spring, wondering how I'm going to handle 30-40s in the summer LOL

 

[Ahjno]

You might want to drop Stuart a line, he has a pair of Palladium Pampa Hi's. They do look like they're fashionable footwear (sort of an upgraded All Star shoes).

 

[sandbender]

"...are just too hot and heavy for here in Spain...Ankle support and waterproofness less so..."

I can't help you with Palladium boots, they sound like something an X-Man would wear.

I have walked back and forth across Spain several times and have worn a pair of all terrain sandals to do so. No socks to wash, no foot rot and no blisters or tendon problems.

They may take some getting used to but you should give it a go.

 

[JAG009]

Why not give something like these ago http://www.merrell.com/UK/en-GB/Product.mvc.aspx/15622M/0/Mens/Chameleon-Cargo?dimensions=0

Jason

 

[mrcharly]

Sandals would be good.

the standard aussie outback footwear is something like a pair of Rossi stock boots. Sounds daft, suggesting leather boots, but these are veg tanned, so sweat passes through them ok. I wouldn't walk in the australian outback in sandals or trainers - the spinifex spines go right through these.

Dunno what the terrain and vegetation in spain is like.

 

[treadlightly]

What about vibram five fingers? Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but they work really well, especially in a dry climate.

 

[John Fenna]

Those paladium boots look pretty useful and light - like a short version of the old Brit jungle boot or the Israeli combat boot from the old days...
Add a custom insole for support and I think they should be fine - and cheap!

I use Magnum hot weather boots for hot weather walking... I especially like the old Amazon boots - but they are no longer available.
I hate sandals as they leave your feet exposed to thorns, dirt, broken glass etc etc etc...

 

[sandbender]

"...I hate sandals as they leave your feet exposed to thorns, dirt, broken glass etc etc etc..."

I am always more concerned about discarded needles when I'm walking into a city or through a port, nettles and thorns no longer bother me, I have the feet of a San bushman.

 

[garethw]

Hi there
I wore these for years, infact I still have an old pair I dig out in the summer. Great boots, hard wearing and comfortable, good soles for walking and outdoors. Don't think they'd replace a good pair of hiking boots on a long walk, but for general bashing around in the summer I love them.
As was pointed out they are the choice of hot climate military ... You'll see soldiers in Senegal or where ever wearign them... Here in lies a tip... I've had the branded Palladiums and there have been very good. But they cost nearly 60€ now... Look for an online French army surplus store and you'll get more choice and they cost less than 20€...
Here for example: http://www.tam-surplus.fr/Chaussure...aussures-et-chaussettes-VETEMENTS/p/4/320/27/
I've ordered from this company and got fast service... They are on offer at the moment too so its 33€ to the UK..
Cheers
Gareth
PS: I've nothing to do with this store, just a customer.
PPS: Otherwise I've found loads in the same price bracket by googling 'Chaussures de brousse'

 

[_mark_]

http://www.palladiumboots.de/about

 

[garethw]

http://www.palladiumboots.de/about

Except Palladium is French..

 

[garethw]

Hi
I'm glad you started this thread as I got my aging Palladium's out of the cupbaird this weekend and they are still great shoes. Don't make my feet sweat too much and are tough old things... Mine are gettign a bit past their best after probably 7 or 8 years... so I may order one of the cheaper non brand army issue pairs to see how they compare. I guess even Palladiums are made in China these days. My first pair, many years ago, were made in France.
cheers
Gareth

 

[coln18]

there is a new type of trail/running shoe that goes under the category of "barefoot running". They basically mimic the true shape of the foot, with thin soles, little or no arch support and wide toe box so your toes can spread, they also have a level sole rather than a higher heal so your foot land on the forefoot first. these shoes are generally wore without socks like the vibram 5 fingers, except they look like normal shoes.

http://www.merrell.com/UK/en-GB/Pro...17/Smoke-Adventure-Yellow/J85521?dimensions=0

http://altrarunning.com/mens/lone-peak/

http://altrarunning.com/mens/lone-peak/

These shoes are truely lightweight and breathable, but they obviously take some getting used to if you have always used big heavy boots, they will require some transition and training in before you use them, but they do what they say on the tin....

 

[Highbinder]

The national parks, from what I've seen so far, range from well maintained (the GR5) to rough going (everything else) the mountains here have lots of rock slides, as well as plenty of thorny things on the ground. 5 fingers are definately out for hiking in these hills.

Im just back from 3 days away with a friend, we did shy of 30km and an ascent of 800m. I wore trail running shoes (the kind with breathable mesh uppers) with stiff insoles. Almost all the walking was on uneven rocky ground, loose under foot from gravel, as well as the deadfall and leaves. My feet survived but only just. I can't imagine doing it again with anything lighter.

So, as an alternate question.. Your favourite breathable boot? Thank you for the suggestions so far guys!

 

[Beardy]

I have recently received Hi Tec Magnum Amazons, both the black leather and tan suede versions, as well as a pair of beat up old British Army desert boots (like the basic combat assault boot but suede and nylon instead of black leather). They are fine cool boots for knocking around in but I didn't wear them on the hill - they just don't seem to offer much ankle support. Others did wear them and seemed okay but I stuck with Lowa Mountains - much too hot but at least I was confident I wasn't going to sprain an ankle. I doubt I would have bought them myself, if that's any help. I believe the Amazons are still available, rebranded Scorpions now.

For what it's worth it seems that hot weather boots and mountain boots don't really go together - ankle support means a thicker less breathable boot. Some guys had Lowa Deserts and Meindl Desert Foxes however and these seemed to be a good compromise between the two ends of the spectrum, although I didnt have any to try out myself.

 

[rik_uk3]

What do local hillwalkers use? Do you really need boots? they seem to be out of fashion with a lot of folk these days. Give the €30 pair a go.

 

[Gagnrad]

I've resorted to hiking in running shoes ... They worked well last weekend but took a beating

That sounds interesting. Couldn't you say more? In what way did they work well? And how did they take a beating and where—soles? uppers?

...Ankle support and waterproofness less so.

I agree with this. I think the more you do to the foot, the worse. Put it in the equivalent of a plaster-cast and it gets weaker, as would happen to a limb in a cast. And sometimes you need the movement that a boot tries to prevent, as a podiatrist says here:

Consider the example of my wife, Shannon: She suffered an ankle sprain while we were walking on a trail in Bend, because the footwear she was wearing would not allow her foot and ankle to pronate, or accommodate the sloping cant of the trail. Instead, the footwear directed her foot and ankle in the direction of supination, which is a rolling to the outside, the same basic direction that causes an inversion ankle sprain.

I have seen this same scenario too often in my practice ...

http://www.walkaboutmag.com/18strengthenyourfeet.html

I don't know Spain, and have wished I did for some time, so I can't comment there.

It's interesting that the Apache seem to have managed with moccasins in the deserts of the southwest of the U.S., though—high-sided to be sure (I guess that's to protect the leg against undergrowth)—but not heavy or inflexible. I remember Paul Newman strapping on his:

LOL.

And the aboriginal Australians went barefoot in some pretty hostile terrain. I'd be tempted to try some "minimalist" shoes. The ones I know are the Terra Plana Vivos, which have a very thin but very hard-wearing 3mm kevlar sole, but there's the Finnish company Feelmax, too, which are now available over here:

http://www.ten-point.co.uk/index.php?page=Feelmax_shoes

Or make some Tarahumara-style sandals:

http://lunasandals.com/instructions