What do you look for in shoes?

[marcsist]

Hey guys, I'm doing my product design 'thesis' project around a good shoe for hiking and biking. I've read most of the discussions on this forum around pedal choices and conversations stemming from specific footwear, but so far these insights aren't pushing me to take the kinds of risks I would like to for my last university project. I posted a few questions on reddit but thought some here might be up for digging into them too.

1. What is your level of experience?
2. How long is your average trip?
3. What footwear do you bring on a bike packing trip?
4. How much time do you spend riding, how much time walking/hiking...on an average day?...at extremes?
5. What sort of issues do you have with footwear?

Any information obtained here will be presented anonymously, for my own analysis and ethnographic research.
I appreciate it and hope to share some bikepacking bags I'm working on when I get some room to breath from this research!

[Vonpotter]

1.) I would say I'm a novice at bikepacking
2.) Most of my trips are less than 50 miles out, 50 miles back
3.) I wear the first generation Giro Rumble for shoes. They've been a great shoe for me. Walkability, plus a recessed cleat bed so you don't get the nasty cleat crunch while walking around
4.)On our longer trips, I'll be in the saddle for 5-6 hours, then hike around camp for an hour. same shoes for both.
4.5) On my day- to day, I wear a breathable set of Merrils during the warm months, and a waterproof set of Tevas when the snow falls
5.) I have pretty decently flat feet, so every pair of shoes I own either has to have decent arch support, or it gets expensive inserts to make life bearable (I'm on my feet most of the day for work)

Hope this helps

[offroute]

1. What is your level of experience?
Fairly experienced; about 10 touring rides totaling about 160 days.

2. How long is your average trip?
Three days to 60+, average probably 2-3 weeks long

3. What footwear do you bring on a bike packing trip?
Wear approach-style shoes, possibly bring flipflops for camp.

4. How much time do you spend riding, how much time walking/hiking...on an average day?...at extremes?
Normally 7-12 hours riding, minimal walking or hiking. Some routes (CT, etc.) require a good deal of hike-a-bike.

5. What sort of issues do you have with footwear?
• Trashed ankle makes clipless difficult – I use flat pedals exclusively.
• Plantar fasciitis requires a support wrap on one foot; in general, arch support of factory inserts is not nearly enough. I don't use orthodics or SuperFeet-type inserts for riding.
• Shoe covers are generally made for cycling shoes, so do not fit approach shoes well (they do work, though). I prefer non-stormproof shoes.

[Sparkyga]

1. What is your level of experience?
- Experienced, maybe highly. 1000+ days of bike touring/bikepacking?

2. How long is your average trip?
- 6 months +

3. What footwear do you bring on a bike packing trip?
- Shimano MT34 SPD shoes in size 10.5. Affordable, easy to find and last a long time... Good on bike, fantastic shoes for off bike/hiking. Usually carry a pair of 3rd world  $1 "market sandals" for camp or town.

4. How much time do you spend riding, how much time walking/hiking...on an average day?...at extremes?
- 6 to 16 hours a day of forward motion.  Should be riding, sometimes pushing, (thankfully) rarely disassembling the bike and carrying it up a mountain....

5. What sort of issues do you have with footwear?
- Durability. I kill (murder? lol) a pair of SPD shoes every 4 to 6 months. Rebuildable shoes would be awesome.
- I have huge arches and require supports.
- Shoes that are not wide enough. I have to go up a size and be in the "wide" size just to make a shoe fit comfortably.

[MartinFarrent]

1. What is your level of experience?

I've been bikepacking for about eight years.

2. How long is your average trip?

3 - 12 days.

3. What footwear do you bring on a bike packing trip?

MTB (summer) boots plus throwaway hotel slippers that weight about 20g a pair and sort of work in the evenings.

4. How much time do you spend riding, how much time walking/hiking...on an average day?...at extremes?

Six hours actual riding time. Eight at the most.

5. What sort of issues do you have with footwear?

My boots aren't waterproof at all. But I wear Sealskinz socks if need be, so I'm not really bothered. The summer shoes are a bit on the cold side in the autumn/spring. Two pairs of socks just about fix it, but I really need an additional pair of boots for the cooler months.

[vikb]

1. What is your level of experience?

Intermediate - several years of bikepacking

2. How long is your average trip?

4 - 5 days

3. What footwear do you bring on a bike packing trip?

5.10 Freeriders usually. Keen waterproof hiking boots in the winter/wet season.

4. How much time do you spend riding, how much time walking/hiking...on an average day?...at extremes?

Best case riding 10-12hrs/day. Worst case hike-a-bike on rough terrain 8 - 10hrs/day with no biking.

5. What sort of issues do you have with footwear?

My only real issue is that for frequent stream crossings it's a PITA to take off my shoes and then put them back on at the other side. However, wearing wet shoes all day due to a stream crossing sucks worse so I do it.

[mikebikesd]

1. Experience level: 30 years of road and off road touring with traditional racks and panniers. Crossed U.S. twice; ride dirt roads, canal routes, rail to trail, fire roads, single track, and pavement.
2. Average trip: 200 to 500 miles, one week normally. Have spent two months on bike tours.
3. Footwear used: These days, one pair of trail running shoes like Brooks Cascadia using Flat Pedals.
4. Time riding each day: 8 hours average.
5. Issues with footwear: None. I choose running shoes with flat pedals because time on and off bike is much easier. Stopping for breaks, bathroom run into the woods, walking in small towns. Touring wear is different than performance race wear I learned over many years. Touring is slower paced, clothes and shoes need to be more comfortable because you are on the bike all day.
Observations: 50 mile carbon road bike ride with friends takes three hours. Lycra shorts, socks, cleated shoes, jersey all get tight and wet during a hard ride. Can't wait to peel them off and jump in the shower. Touring 50 to 80 miles over 8 to 12 hours through hot valleys, and over mountain passes, road cycling apparel gets uncomfortable as each hour passes while the clothes are wet and sweaty. On a fast ride the tight fit helps support muscles against strain, by 2pm that snug fit works against the touring cyclist.

[Salubrious]

1. What is your level of experience?
Noob- my only touring experience is the Tour Divide.

2. How long is your average trip?
So that was 10 days, 800 miles roughly.

3. What footwear do you bring on a bike packing trip?
Usually I ride with sandals even in races. But for the tour divide I chose trial platforms and hiking shoes since there is a lot of HAB on the Tour Divide. However Shimano just re-released their clipless sandals so I have a set of those that I'm trying out.

4. How much time do you spend riding, how much time walking/hiking...on an average day?...at extremes?
I was riding about 9-13 hours a day. At the end of the 10 days one of my big toes was numb and its only just now coming back.

5. What sort of issues do you have with footwear?
Usually its not wide enough and my left foot runs slightly larger than my right. I don't like my feet getting hot so I tend to wear sandals most of the time until it gets really cold or really wet. The nice thing about sandals is they can adjust in case your feet swell, which mine do after a few days.