Commentary by Christy Solo
A few weeks ago, I pulled over (safely!) while driving so I could get a pic of a cheery, orange wildflower. The flower was growing on other side of a small seasonal waterfall/stream as Oregon wildflowers so often are.
I scrambled over the rocks and stream and a bit up an embankment no problem and got a few photos.
When I turned to scramble back, I paused realizing I was unsure if my Skechers sneakers were up to the task of “down.” Scrambling down is always so much trickier than scrambling up.
The sneaks have a nifty soul that seemed grippy enough.
You guessed it, they were not.
Halfway across the creek it became very apparent that “sneakers are not boots” as one foot went out from under me on a scree covered rock and I proceeded to just slide on into a small pool in the creek.
Another dry rock stopped my forward progress (sans any actual injury) and I watched helplessly as my new iPhone – which had fallen out of my unbuttoned cargo pocket – slid by me and stopped just at the edge of the five-foot dropoff on the rock in front of me.
Really, it couldn’t have happened more perfectly if it had been in a cartoon.
As I extracted myself – phone firmly in hand for the duration – and slosh-stepped to my car in my wet sneaks and partially wet (the hind part) cargo capris, I kept repeating “Sneakers are not boots.”
In my defense, that little scramble is something I would not think of attempting while wearing sneakers – normally. That flower was so pretty though!
I may – or may not – have previously mentioned that I have the ankle strength of a three-week-old kitten. A birth quirk which required physical therapy in my wee youth (aged 3). Pre-therapy I’d just be toddling along and WHOP my ankle would just bend – sometimes sideways, sometimes forward – and wee me would faceplant.
These days I can (and have) sprain either ankle while walking on any remotely uneven substrate. Oh and/or stepping down from any “height” i.e. down a bathtub step or into a sunken living room.
As a pretty hard rule (needs hardening, obviously) I don’t go “off road” unless I’m wearing boots. Not even for a brief sojourn down the Rogue River Trail or along the dusty trails between bird blinds.
To be honest, I shouldn’t even go in my own yard without boots – but who needs that hassle?
To that end, I own several pairs of “these will last decades” Zamberlan boots – which I love, but they are serious boots. Even the lightest pair is not “sneaker weight” by a mile.
I’ve gotten into the habit of wearing sneaks for long drives in summer, then changing into the more cumbersome (but still SO comfortable) Zamberlan boots for trekking. Then reverse it all on the drive home.
Back at my soggy drive home from the wildflower scramble; as I kept repeating “sneakers are not boots” I began to wonder if, “but are there sneakers that are boots?”
With this inquiry in mind, I hit the Skechers website when I got home, and there are, in fact, sneakers that are boots. Or boots that are sneakers? High-tops with boot tread? Whatever. They exist.
While the Skechers sneaker-boots are far less expensive than Zamberlan boots (which are worth every penny), they were priced beyond my current means. So I hit the web and found a pair on eBay for a very affordable price.
They were a half-size smaller than my normal boots. But my normal boots are a full size larger than my actual shoe size (gotta make room for big, cushy hiking socks!) so I figured it was safe to split the difference.
Folks, if you want sneaker-boots/boot-sneakers I highly recommend Skechers Trego Trail Destination! Very light, very comfortable right out of the box and nice grippy soles, perfect for scrambling over rocks and creeks without falling into a creek on your butt.
Some caveats: I do need to wear thin non-hiking socks with these, so a half size up (“full size” over my actual) would’ve been better.
While even at full price these are galaxies cheaper than Zamberlans – I am 100% sure they will not last 15 – 20 years like Zamberlans do.
Lastly, the Skechers purport to be “waterproof”, but online reviews say otherwise. I haven’t tested their waterproof-ness (or lack) because for me that’s not important, if I need waterproof boots, I’ll wear my Zamberlans.
Of course as I do seem to fall into creeks and bogs a lot, I’ll probably test the waterproof-ness of the Skechers quite accidentally.
Upshot: for a “wear for light trekking on hot summer days” boot – these are aces!
