[Gocamino] The weight of boots

[Grant Spangler]

There is an old adage among hikers: "A pound on the foot is worth five on 
the back". Never saw the supporting evidence behind the numbers, but it 
sounds like a reasonable estimate. Perhaps the magazine has some fancy 
empirical research to come up with such an exact figure. Or perhaps some 
wishful estimates. In any case I have always been a fanatic for footwear. 
One of the things I do when selecting footwear is to heft the various 
shoes/boots/sandals for their comparative weights. My current Teva sandals 
weigh in at 688 grams for the pair. Yeah, I love 'em. They’re light and 
cushiony, and put me in the blister-free zone as well. I think it is really 
possible to do the Camino Frances June through August in nothing but 
sandals. I did one Camino this year with only two days in boots. Every day 
the sky didn't dump buckets of the wet stuff I was in sandals. I saw a 
Peregrino doing the entire trip in sandals, and no socks. His feet looked 
healthy, no bandages, and he was wearing a smile on his face. Yeah, I’d say 
go as light on the foot as is practical. Works for me.

Grant

Grant Spangler
GASpangler at hotmail.com
http://groups.msn.com/ElCaminoSantiago
http://community.webshots.com/user/ElCaminoSantiago