XA PRO 3D V9 GORE-TEX

The Salomon XA Pro 3D V9 GTX are my personal favourites

I have the Salomon XA Pro 3D GTX, and have put many miles on them. I have a wide foot and a high arch, they’ve been super comfortable and durable. I’ve completely submerged them in creek water, covered them in mud, scraped them scrambling around rocks, cut the lawn in them, worn them out in winter… for four years and they’re in great condition still. I will buy another pair when these wear out.

Got XA Forces in april and already have a hole on the inside right ball of my foot

My first piece of advice is to avoid going with Altra unless you're already used to 0 drop somehow. It's a recipe for pain. You need to adjust slowly. My second piece of advice, if you like Salomons, is to try some of their trail runners or non-waterproof options from the Forces line. The XA Pro 3D V9 is a good shoe. The XA Forces Mid EN are good non-waterproof mid boots. They have a sturdier sole for better support than most trail runners. They won't dry as quickly as some options because of the thicker materials and padding, but they will dry faster than a drenched GTX boot or shoe. Here are some links: [https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/xa-pro-3d-v9-gore-tex-li3151/L47881800](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/xa-pro-3d-v9-gore-tex-li3151/L47881800) [https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/x-ultra-forces-mid-li5685/L47875300](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/x-ultra-forces-mid-li5685/L47875300) [https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/xa-forces-mid-en-lg3238/L47221000](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/xa-forces-mid-en-lg3238/L47221000) [https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/speed-assault-2-lg8082/L41519600](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/speed-assault-2-lg8082/L41519600) Other good options can be found from La Sportiva, Hoka, Scarpa, and Saucony.

Topo, Salomon (XA Pro 3D V9 is great), La Sportiva, Hoka, Scarpa, and Altra (will require adjustment period) are some of the main brands I'd recommend. I probably wouldn't recommend trail runners for a pack that heavy, though. Trail runners are great, but they generally lack the support you can get from a more traditional boot, keeping in mind that not all boots provide added ankle support. They need to be 6+ inches in shaft height and semi-rigid or rigid for there to be any gains. That said, if your ankles are well-conditioned and strong, it can be doable. Here are two threads, one on footwear information and one on fitment. They should help. >Footwear info thread ... https://www.reddit.com/r/Hiking_Footwear_Info/s/43ZVIV3RN0 >Fitment info thread ... https://www.reddit.com/r/Hiking_Footwear_Info/s/cuNpzfpL7a

It depends on what you were wearing beforehand, as well as your musculoskeletal structure. If you were wearing something like Vans or Converse regularly, the adjustment period could be very short, possibly even unnoticeable. If you come from boots or shoes with a lot of drop, you can run into several injuries by jumping into using zero drop shoes too quickly, such as Achilles tendinitis, calf pain, etc. Some people plainly can't adjust just because of the way their musculoskeletal structure is. For me, I can't use zero drop footwear no matter how much PT I do or how slowly I adjust, though I'm more of an outlier due to some medical issues. Still, it shows that there's a portion of the population who cannot adjust to zero drop. I would tell a lot of people that it's worth a shot but to be careful and allow themselves to have time to adjust before a long trek, especially if they've always worn shoes or boots with substantial drop. Some people really find a lot of relief and comfort with their zero drop shoes, but like with anything footwear related, it's just going to depend on the person.

I hike in [Salomon XA Pro 3D's](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/xa-pro-3d-v9-li3125/L49229900). I started the AT with Bushido's and wore them out. The town I was in had Salomon's and I bought them out of necessity. Did the rest of the triple crown in them. They are not the lightest, but I figured: why mess with what's working. They're also a pretty old model. I like the toe protection they provide. I met a character on the CDT who claimed to work in an outdoors store and to know all about shoes. She said Salomon lasts are for people with narrow feet. Don't know if anything she said was true, but I do have narrow feet. I also sub in [light-blue superfeet insoles](https://www.superfeet.com/products/all-purpose-support-medium-arch).