I don’t like spending money. It upsets me. I don’t trust anyone selling anything. Basically, I’m cheap. And truth be told Tiffany bought me my new pair of trail shoes, because she thought five or six years was too long to wear my old ones. They were falling apart. I needed a good pair of hiking shoes, but I wondered did I need such an expensive pair? After one hike in my Altra Olympus Hike Low GTX (that’s a mouthful), I ordered her a matching pair. I love them. She loves them.
First, I noticed the feel, which I want to call comfort, but it’s more substantial than that. They feel like what I want my running shoes to feel like, supportive, squishy but firm-squishy, plenty of room for my toes, zero drop. When I put them on I immediately began wagging (walk-jogging, #KevinDriskell, #LiveOutstanding) around my house, in the groove, head high, arms swinging gently at my side.
On the trail, these shoes went beast mode. Tiffany and I had returned to Lake Jenkinson, which is a moderate hike unless you climb up the horse trails . . . we always go up the horse hills (never seen a horse). Right away I was blown away by the grip. I’ve owned full on backpacking boots that don’t have the grip of these trail shoes. I kept stopping on steep inclines and telling Tiffany, “Look at me! Can you even believe this?”
Their web site says Vibram Magagrip. I don’t know what that means. It sounds sort of like an 80’s metal band. Anyway, I’m just gonna say, I never wanted to be Spider-Man, but maybe I was wrong. What else? The GTX = Gore-Tex waterproofing. We haven’t tested that out yet, so will have to report back, but Tiffany noted that her shoes still breath. And with side trails, we stretched the Jenkinson Lake loop to 13 miles, so breathing is important. Altar has less expensive models, but the GTX retails at $210. I’m sure that’s the most I’ve ever spent on a shoe, but my feet thank me every hike . . . or I guess they thank Tiffany.