SHOES

[Rozan Gautier]

Hello All,
I wanted to add my two cents worth to the shoe discussion.  My husband
and I have not walked the Camino yet but as of  last summer we have
been doing 15 mile training hikes two or three  times a month with our
packs.  We both bought New Balance Hiking Shoes which are a heavy duty
athletic shoe that are slightly higher around the ankle than normal
with a thick sole.  We also had custom insoles made and are using
Patagonia smart wool socks.  We have been really pleased with the
results...no blisters, hot spots or even sore feet at the end of a 15
mile hike.  I have had foot problems in the past so I am really hopeful
that this may be the right combination for us.

I also found that by ordering them straight from New Balance on line I
cut the price in half.  My first pair was from a walking store and I
paid $150.00.  I just ordered another pair on line and paid around
$75.00 for the very same shoe.  If you are interested it was at
newbalance.com and the shoes we bought were (my husband) MW963bk and me
ww974gr.  The cool thing was that I have really wide feet and my
husband very narrow and we both got a perfect fit.   Do I sound like a
New Balance ad or what?...

Rozan Gautier