sofelt

Hey! We are two guys in our mid 20's who are walking the Camino de Santiago (800+ Km distance) this june-july. We have been looking at other blogs for recommendations for proper footwear and still cannot come to a valid decision between boots, shoes or sandals. We do however hear that ECCO provides some of the best products. So..

What footwear (preferable ECCO) can you guys recommend? We run and walk on a daily basis, so do we still need ankle support (boots) or will it be too hot and will our feet cook up?
Walking/running shoes would be desirable as they are light and your feet can breath but are they too rough on your ankles?
Sandals seems comfortable as well but as we haven't walked the camino before, we don't know exactly how rocky the terrain will be and therefore don't know if we will crush our toes constantly when wearing sandals on the hike.

We much appreciate the advice and tips!

adrienne

Eccos are not going to be supportive enough. You'll have a variety of terrain to walk through and some will be easy and some will not. There's lots of ups and downs. Go to REI or some other similar sporting outfit to get the proper boots and pay attention to them when they suggest what you should wear. You need to get a size larger then you normally wear so you do not lose your toenails on the descents.

You'll need shoes to change into in the evening so sandals would be good but they're not going to work when walking in the rain or when it gets cold. Also bring shower shoes (flip flops).

Here's a web site and forum to get you started. You should do some reading before starting the trip.

http://www.csj.org.uk/

There are posters on this board who have done several Caminos so maybe they will see this thread and respond. You can search for trip reports on this board on the camino to give you further information.

Buen Camino!

Jean

I think it's mostly personal preference, but there seems to be few who advocate traditional hiking boots. I walked part of it more than 45 years ago. I know I wasn't wearing hiking boots and probably only had cheap, canvas tennis shoes.

There are several forums about walking the Camino de Santiago. Here's one:

http://www.caminodesantiago.me/what-...o-de-santiago/

One person's opinion:

http://www.bjorngranberg.se/2012/04/...-pack-and-not/

sofelt

Adrienne: Thank you for yours response! REI seems like a great page so I'll definitely check it out more thouroughly! Your tip about bringing extra shoes sounds like a good idea as well, just in case.

Jean: Thank you for the links! I think tennis shoes might be too optimistic for the walk for us But I'll check out the webpages you gave me!

sofelt

Adrienne: BTW in the description of the blog I accidentally wrote ECCO shoes. I of course meant ECCO footwear in general. I found these f.ex. would these be too hot for june-july weather, hense the Gore-tex?

http://shopeu.ecco.com/dk/da/ecco/ec..._932379/932380

adrienne

I don't think you should order boots/shoes over the internet. Get properly fitted and walk around the store. Walk up and down a ramp that REI will have so you get the feel of the boots going up and down. I'm not a hiking nor shoe expert but I've read a lot about long distance hiking and the mistakes people made.

These boots may get hot sometimes. Stop and take them off and air out your feet. You'll be thankful on the rainy, cold days that you have something substantial. Sometimes you can wear sandals when you have hiking days that are easier.

Viajero2

I walked the Camino de Santiago- French Route and LOVED the Merrell hiking boots I used. I bought 1/2 size larger, high tops, and water resistant. All three criteria proved lifesavers for my feet. That said, there is some rain that it really does not matter, your feet will get wet! Bring a pair of sandals to let you feet breathe once in a while and for those days where you would need to dry out your primary hiking shoes.

Agree w/Addrienne-- this shoes will possibly be one of the most important shoes you will ever buy-- do NOT leave none of it to chance.

Footcare is just as critical. I used vaseline and placed band-aid on friction points to PREVENT blisters. I never developed a single one.

The caminodesantiago.me website is super-useful in planning your Camino. I post there regularly.

All the best! I am heading out back again on Mid-May and cannot wait!! Buen Camino!!

WeisserTee

I've had three different pairs of Eccos and had the same problem with all of them -- water got into the sole somehow and when walking around on wet days, they made a loud squeaking/squishing noise. So loud that I got strange looks from people on the street. I won't buy them anymore, no matter how comfortable. Just an FYI.

Viajero2

I walked the Camino de Santiago- French Route and LOVED the Merrell hiking boots I used. I bought 1/2 size larger, high tops, and water resistant. All three criteria proved lifesavers for my feet. That said, there is some rain that it really does not matter, your feet will get wet! Bring a pair of sandals to let you feet breathe once in a while and for those days where you would need to dry out your primary hiking shoes.

Agree w/Addrienne-- this shoes will possibly be one of the most important shoes you will ever buy-- do NOT leave none of it to chance.

Footcare is just as critical. I used vaseline and placed band-aid on friction points to PREVENT blisters. I never developed a single one.

The caminodesantiago.me website is super-useful in planning your Camino. I post there regularly.

All the best! I am heading out back again on Mid-May and cannot wait!! Buen Camino!!

cruiseluv

I second Viajero's endorsement of Merrell hiking shoes. Mine were what they call "mid", which still gives excellent ankle support. We did the last 165 kms into Santiago last June and I just had one small blister which I took care of right away. And as important as picking the right shoe is to break into it before your trip. So hurry and get them so you have a couple of months to get acclimated to them.

Buen Camino!

flanneruk

Having recently done some serious (for me) hill walking in Ecco Bioms, after a month of foot agony in any other kind of shoe, I'm an enormous fan. It's utter (and irresponsibly ill-informed) nonsense to claim that "Eccos are not going to be supportive enough." These most certainly are - at least for a week's moderate 15 miles a day over roughish terrain.

But the poster strongly implies he and his colleagues have no experience at all of real, remorseless, 20-odd miles a day for six weeks, walking.

Brands have nothing to do with the issue: the Ecco last worked for me (I stumbled over it after two weeks' searching every kind of fitting in every walking shoe shop in SE England) - but that's no reason at all to assume it'll suit someone else.

A precise degree of fit matters deeply to me at my age: it didn't 40 or 50 years ago, and with just a little light 50-60 miles a week recreational walking it shouldn't matter to any modestly fit 20-something. But the Compostella walk is serious.

Don't waste time soliciting advice here. Read everything you can on Compostella websites about footwear, and invest days on end at the kind of outdoor shoe shop professional podiatrists recommend. You want to find a trained fitter, with the right equipment, real experience of lengthy challenging walks and the endorsement of proper doctors. I'm fortunate enough to live somewhere where every GP understands the importance, even for callow youths, of properly fitting footwear on a serious walk. If you haven't got such people, find an active retiree in the kind of countryside where they all live to 95 and ask his doctor's advice.

I know people who've ruined the possibility of proper walking for the rest of their lives through bad footwear on a really challenging expedition. And there aren't, as far as I've seen, any reliable serious footwear shops along the Compostella route once you've left Paris.

Lecture over. Start off with the Bioms, then keep on trying till you find something really snug.

cruiseluv

Forgot to add, the right socks are also very important. Stay away from cotton ones that suck in moisture.

adrienne

My orthopedist told me to get rid of my Eccos and get better shoes. After wearing other shoes I see how non-supportive the Eccos are.

Maybe the OP will come back and let us know what shoes he decided upon and how the walk went.