I did a couple videos on this topic but haven’t yet had a chance to post them. In the meantime let’s talk about what to look for in a pair of hiking shoes and hopefully I’ll get those videos added for you soon so you can see what I’m talking about.

If you’re planning to do a little hiking on your next trip and you’re thinking you’ll just wear a pair of old tennis shoes I’d like to invite you to play a game of pin the tail on the naïve tourist. (wanna guess what part you get to play?)

Here’s the thing. Tennis shoes or running shoes aren’t built for trail conditions. They’re built for running on pavement.

If you don’t believe me go for a 5 mile hike in tennis shoes and let me know how you feel when you get back. After a mile or two you’ll start to feel every pebble and twig you step on and by the time you get back your feet will be in pain and possibly blistered.

If you’d rather skip the blisters, then here what I recommend you do.

Get yourself a dedicated pair of hiking shoes. They have a much firmer sole so that you won’t feel all those pebbles you step on poking into your feet.

I recommend you get something that provides some ankle support since uneven terrain and sometimes slippery conditions make it more likely you’ll roll an ankle.

I also like boots that are either water resistant or waterproof to keep your feet comfortable and dry in soggy conditions.

I remember when my friend Jonathan convinced me to get real hiking shoes. I was planning on doing the naïve tourist thing and wear a pair of tennis shoes for hiking. Fortunately, he talked me out of it. We ended up doing a lot of hiking culminating in a 20 mile hike covering an 8,000 ft elevation change on a trail rated “expert only.” I won’t say my feet felt great at the end of the day but they were blister free and ready to go again the next day. Had I worn tennis shoes I’m certain I wouldn’t have been able to complete the hike. Oh, and don’t forget to wear Smartwool sock underneath these shoes.

This is probably at least the fourth time I’m going to extol the virtues of Smartwool socks in this blog. However, it would seem that many people still haven’t joined me on my quest to do away with cotton socks so here I go again hopping on my pulpit and preaching to my congregation about the virtues of wool socks.

People seem to think that wool socks are only good for winter and that they’re itchy.

Wrong and wrong!

With Smartwool, nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, these are the most comfortable socks you’ll ever wear. I remember the first time I tried a pair on, I didn’t want to take them off – they were seriously that comfortable – three months later I threw away all my cotton socks and stuck exclusively with wool socks (Smartwool are actually a wool blend – 72% wool, 27% nylon, 1% elastic.

They are warm in the winter as I’m sure you expected but they’re also cool in the summer. That’s due to the fact that they wick away moisture (sweat) from your feet which keeps them dryer and more comfortable than if you wear their cotton counterparts.

I’ve tried a few different brands of wool socks and while they’re all more comfortable than cotton, I haven’t found anything better than Smartwool. Give ‘em a try and you’ll never want to go back to cotton. (I will say that cashmere socks are nice but are far more expensive and not nearly as durable – a pair of wool socks will typically last 3 years when worn on a regular basis).

We sure have come a long way since the days of using torches to light our way in the dark. However, with recent advances in luminescence technology, using your old incandescent light bulb flashlight or kerosene lantern is just as barbaric.

If you haven’t taken the time to upgrade your arsenal of portable lights to light emitting diode (LED) technology, then consider this your presidential order to do so.

LED bulbs last thousands of hours (some as much as 11 years if lit continuously) and they stay cool to the touch (i.e. they won’t burn your finger if you touch them), and they use substantially less power to produce light.

Essential Tip: Once you get to the campground, I recommend you carry a pocketknife and flashlight with you at all times. On the last trip I failed to take my own advice on carrying a flashlight with me and went out for a late afternoon hike sans flashlight. I managed to get myself lost (a common event) with light quickly fading. I eventually happened upon a trail map but by that time it was too dark to read it and I was unsure which direction I needed to go so I proceeded to run on a dark trail hoping I was headed in the right direction… I wasn’t.

Fortunately, I eventually remembered that my iPod Nano would kick out a little light if I held it up close to the trail map, but if I would just have taken my own advice and carried a flashlight in the first place, those several minutes of near panic of being lost in the woods for the evening wouldn’t have happened.

[hops off soapbox]

Here are my top picks for LED flashlights and lanterns to upgrade your outdated flashlights and lanterns. (I’ve even got one that straps to your head for hands free lighting).