Staff gear review by Christian Spencer
When it comes to picking out an approach shoe, there are a lot now on the market. When it comes to the ones we carry, we have 2 categories; traditional, and running shoe platforms. Now why might you want one over the other? Well it depends on what your goals and intentions are.
If you are looking for a shoe that is comfortable to walk and climb in and breathes well, I would highly recommend an approach shoe that is on a running shoe platform. These include the La Sportiva TX2 which is light, breathable, and packs down quite nicely. A shoe like this is awesome for getting laps up the Twin Sisters, hiking on talus, or multi pitch walk offs when you don’t want a full on approach shoe.
Now, let's say you want a shoe that you want to beat up on the rock, maybe mountain bike, maybe aid climb. The Scarpa Crux is a traditional leather approach shoe, flat bottomed, and sports a mesh tongue. They are not especially stiff if you are looking to do a lot of climbing in these but are a good all around shoe. They hike nice and are quite durable. The La Sportiva Boulder X is our heaviest approach shoe weighing in at 17 ounces per pair. They are full leather and are built with durability in mind.That being said they are the stiffest shoes we carry making them great for standing on your toes, long hikes on rocky terrain, or any job that will not be nice to them.
Approach shoes are awesome tools for the mountains. So whatever your objectives, feel free to stop in and try some on!