by Tom Mangan
Trailspace contributor Mackenzie Lobby pulled together an expansive look at new shoes, boots, and assorted footwear arriving in stores this year. She found so many that we have to divide them up into three parts:
- Boots and climbing shoes -- posted today. Includes over-the-heel boots for hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering, plus a sampling of rock-climbing and bouldering shoes.
- Trail shoes, multi-sport shoes, and miscellaneous footwear -- to be posted next Monday.
- Trail-runners and outdoor socks -- to be posted Jan. 18.
Articles like these always remind me that behind every product there is somebody whose sole obsession in life is to bring it to market with some marketable improvement over last year's model. And they make me thankful it's not my job to make next year's backpacking boots 12.5% more water-resistant while shaving the price by 4.3%.
Mackenzie has penned several Trailspace articles for high-performance outdoor adventures. A sampling:
- If the Shoe Fits: A Buyer's Guide to Trail Running Shoes
- How to Hydrate on the Trail.
- How to Fuel Up on the Trail.
Got something you'd love to see in footwear this year? Let us know with a comment.
