Thursday, December 30, 2010 - Blog on a Log

Best Foot Forward - How You Can Travel With One Pair of Shoes

Last week I got talking about multifunction as a space-saving technique. Perhaps nowhere is this more crucial than when living out of a backpack (whether during travel or on trail).

Shoes. Shoes were the bane of my existence on my first backpacking trip. Sure, most pairs don't weigh a lot, but the space they take up is atrocious. On my first trip I carried five - count ‘em, five - pairs of shoes, and the extras I wasn't wearing took up at least a third of my pack.

What were these pedal offenders? I traveled with runners, crocs, athletic sandals, flip-flops and flats. FIVE PAIRS of shoes. Atrocious! I figured I had to cut that down for all future trips.... but how? Each pair was brought for a function, and I wore them all, at one time or another. What gets cut, and why?

There is a way you can backpack with only one pair of shoes. Yes, you heard me: ONE PAIR. The pair you wear on the plane with you will be the only pair you need. Your pack can remain completely shoe-free. I'll just let you imagine that for a moment before I explain. Done? Great.

I got caught up on that first trip because I needed shoes for multiple temperatures, weather conditions and situations. As I said in last week's blog, even the best of us have trouble packing light when a trip is filled with variety. The multiple shoes I carried responded to multiple situations:

Cold weather walking - runners
Warm weather walking - athletic sandals
Wet weather walking - crocs (because they don't retain water)
Hostel showers and beaches - flip-flops

One pair is missing from that list: the flats. That's cause I bought them in Paris part way through, and you know what? Every trip to Paris deserves a pair of shoes. Lets just leave it at that. But beyond my French shopping splurge, there's not a lot going on there that doesn't make sense - which means that the problem isn't in the logic, it's in not finding the right multifunctional footwear to cover my bases.

Want to be a one-pair traveler? Here's what you're going to do: you're going to buy a pair of Keen shoes. Something along the lines of these or these.

Now. Sit back and watch the magic begin:

When you travel you're going to have warm days, and you're going to have cold days. This is pretty much a given for all but the most extreme climes, so you're going to need footwear that can keep you warm or cool. A pair of open-sided shoes such as the Keens shown above scores well in the "keeping cool" department, but it also takes very little to keep your tootsies warm on colder days. A good pair of wool socks (smartwool is a great brand, and we carry lots of options in store) can be layered with your shoes to keep you warm in any situation you'd face on your average backpacking adventure.

So we've narrowed four shoes to three already by choosing a shoe and sock combination to take us from warm to cold weather without a problem. Next we have to consider what to wear when it's wet. Depending on where in the world you travel ("from Kiev to Carolina") rain can be an almost constant companion. When the streets are damp, the last thing you want to be wearing is a full runner. The fabric will soak up and retain water, and before you know it you'll be chilled to the bone. It's incredibly hard to stay warm if your feet get cold, and if you're not careful you may find yourself heading back to the hostel before you've really gotten out the door.

No one has the pack space for a pair of rubber boots, so backpackers have long been forced to come up with alternative options when the weather turns wet. I've seen travelers trudging around with plastic bags taped over their feet, but I far prefer to simply stick with a shoe made of materials that dry quickly. It's hard to stop your feet from getting wet, but the right pair of shoes can at least minimize the time you have to spend feeling damp. When you step out of the rain into a pub or museum you'll find yourself chipper and dry within minutes instead of squishy and damp for hours. And if open-sided shoes sound too chilly for your tastes, that same pair of wool socks will keep your feet warm in the rain, since wool insulates even when wet.

From four down to two - we're doing well, cutting our shoe space in half. All that remains is a pair of flip-flops for the hostel shower or the beach. Now, myself, considering how little space a pair of flip flops takes in a pack, I might take them along for pure convenience sake, but if you're really pushing for less-is-more, the Keens will take you through these situations too. The quick-dry material means stepping in and out of the shower poses no problem, and they'd do you just fine for a day at the beach - a lot better than a flip-flop, truth be told, considering their stability, support and infamous toe protection.

Beyond all this functionality, Keens are just a great pair of shoes. Their Women's ‘Voyageur' style was voted "best hiking shoe" by fitness magazine and Outside Buyer's Guide called them "tough as beef jerky." An acquaintance who's had multiple knee surgeries and works on her feet all day claims they're the only shoes she can wear. Come in and try a pair on, and I think you'll find they're so comfortable you'd be happy to wear them every day.

So the answer to the backpacker shoe woes? A good pair of Keens. We've got a variety of styles and colours in store for you to check out, and we're always happy to special-order if you prefer a style we don't regularly stock. Paired with a set of good wool socks, they'll take you from warm to cold, wet to dry, pavement to beach to pub to showers. What more could a backpacker need? (except maybe a Parisian splurge or two)