When shopping for a pair of hiking boots, it is important to know how they are made. No, you don’t need to know how to make your own, but you have to understand what goes into them and how it affects the comfort and durability – the overall quality – of the hiking boots. In this article I will describe the parts of a hiking boot, what they are made of, and how they come together to form the ideal hiking boot for you.

Like any shoe, a hiking boot consists of an upper and a sole joined together by a welt and with an inlet at the front covered by a tongue, and the whole is lined with various pads and cushions. I will discuss each of those parts in detail, in terms of what they are made of and what to look for in various types of hiking boots.

Sole and Welt

Let’s start at the bottom. The soul of the hiking boot is the sole.

Soles are usually made of synthetic rubber in varying degrees of hardness. A harder sole will last longer, but generally will have poorer traction on hard surfaces (such as bare rock) and will provide less cushioning. A softer sole gives you the cushioning you need for long hikes and the traction you need on rough ground, but it will wear out faster.

Manufacturers have made their trade-offs in choosing the materials to make their boots out of. The final choice is up to you when you choose which boot to buy. If you expect to do most of your hiking on soft surfaces, such as desert sand or bare soil, you might lean more toward harder soles. But most of us hike on fairly rugged trails with a good deal of bare rock, and we need the traction of a softer sole.

Inside the sole is a shank. It is a stiffening structure, either fiberglass or steel, that prevents the sole of the boot from twisting and that provides arch support. Shanks may be only three-quarter or half-length. Hiking shoes generally have no shank at all, deriving all their stiffness from the molded rubber sole. Good day-hiking boots may have a full-length fiberglass shank. High-quality backpacking boots will give you the choice of fiberglass or steel. It will depend on how strong you need your hiking boots to be, and how heavy.

Look for deep, knobby tread. Deep cuts in the sole allow water and mud to flow out so you can get traction. “Fake” hiking boots, designed to look like hiking boots but not to perform like them, may have thinner soles and shallow tread. Working boots also may have shallow tread, and they generally have harder soles than hiking boots have.

The welt is the connection between the sole and the upper. Virtually all hiking boots these days are glued together rather than sewn. If you are buying a very expensive pair of backpacking boots, give preference to a sewn welt. Boots with a sewn welt will be easier to resole when the original sole wears out. For hiking shoes or day-hiking boots, when the sole wears out, the upper is not worth salvaging, either, so a glued welt is just fine.

Upper

The upper of the hiking boot provides warmth, protects the sides of your feet from rocks and brush, and repels water. It must also allow your feet to “breathe,” so that moisture from perspiration will not build up inside the boots and cause blisters.

Uppers of hiking boots are usually at least partially made of leather. High-quality backpacking boots are often made of full-grain leather (leather that has not been split). Lighter boots may be made of split-grain leather (leather that has been split or sueded on one side), or a combination of split-grain leather with various fabrics.

Fabrics that are combined with leather are usually some type of nylon. Heavy nylon wears nearly as well as leather, and it is much lighter and cheaper than leather.

In any hiking boot, especially those made of combinations of leather and fabric, there will be seams. Seams are bad. Seams are points of failure. Seams are points of wear, as one panel of the boot rubs against another. Seams are penetrations that are difficult to waterproof.

The uppers of backpacking boots are sometimes made of a single piece of full-grain leather with only one seam at the back. This is good, for all the reasons that seams are bad, but it is expensive.

You’re going to have to deal with seams. But as you shop for hiking boots, look for customer reviews that mention failure or undue wearing of the seams, and avoid those brands.

Inlet and Tongue

There are two things to look for in the inlet and the tongue:

1. How the laces are attached and adjusted

2. How the tongue is attached to the sides of the inlet

The inlet may be provided with eyelets, D-rings, hooks, and webbing, alone or in combination. They each have these advantages and disadvantages:

* Eyelets: Simplest and most durable way to lace a boot. Not so easily adjusted.

* D-rings: Easier to adjust than eyelets, more durable than hooks. More failure-prone than eyelets. (They can break, and they can tear out of the leather.)

* Hooks: Easiest to adjust of all lace attachments. Subject to getting hooked on brush, or bent or broken in impacts with boulders, main cause of breakage of laces.

* Webbing: Cause less chafing of laces, slightly easier to adjust than eyelets, slightly more durable than D-rings. More failure-prone than eyelets.

The most common lace attachment of any hiking boot is eyelets below ankle-level and hooks above. You may see eyelets all the way up, as in classic military-style combat boots, or a combination of either D-rings or webbing with hooks.

The attachment of the tongue is a critical factor in how waterproof the hiking boots are. Provided the leather and/or fabric and seams of the upper are waterproof, water will not get into the boots until it gets higher than the attachment point of the tongue.

Most hiking shoes and day-hiking boots have the tongue attached all the way to the top. If the tongue is not fully attached, consider carefully whether you will need that extra inch or two of waterproofing.

High-rise backpacking boots have the tongue attached only partway up, but that still reaches higher than most day-hiking boots. It’s difficult to get the boot on and off if the tongue is attached very high.

Linings and Pads

There are many pieces that go into the lining and padding of a hiking boot, but two in particular you need to pay attention to:

1. The sole lining

2. The scree collar

The sole lining must be appropriately cushioned. You want a firm, durable surface in immediate contact with your socks, but enough cushioning below that to absorb impact.

The scree collar is a cushion around the top of most hiking boots. It enables you to pull the boots tight enough to keep out loose rocks (“scree”) but without chafing against your ankle and Achilles tendon. This is the thickest and softest cushion in the whole hiking boot. It must be soft enough to conform to your ankle and Achilles tendon as they move, and still keep close enough contact with your leg to keep the rocks out.

Very high hiking boots, such as military-style combat boots, may have no scree collar at all. The height of the boot is what keeps the rocks out.

Throughout, the lining and padding of the hiking boots must be thick enough to provide warmth, durable enough to last, and smooth enough that it will not cause chafing and blisters.

Conclusion

So, these are the things you need to pay attention to when choosing a pair of hiking boots. Be prepared to compromise, and pay attention to which features are really important to the style of hiking you intend to do.

Chuck Bonner is a lifelong hiker and amateur naturalist, and webmaster of http://www.HikingWithChuck.com. For more information about hiking boots and other hiking equipment based on many years on the trail, visit http://www.hikingwithchuck.com/Gear/HikingGear.htm.

The idea of dancing horses may seem both novel and strange to some people. Many animals “dance” especially as part of the courtship ritual. Just like with us there can be a very strong link between dance and sexuality. At shows such events for our canine friends are becoming common place. Dogs while entertaining and enthusiastic performers lack both the grace and sophistication of the dancing horse.

The exponents par excellence of this equestrian art are the horses of Andalusia. Along with the Arab and Thoroughbred they are the aristocrats of the horse world. Roman writers noted the excellent quality of the Spanish native stock. The Moors then cross bred them with their own Arab and Berber breeds which were later to influence most American and European breeds of horse.

The Lippizaners of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna are direct descendants of the Andalusian horse.

This horse is prized for its elegance, proud head carriage, short arched neck, silky flowing mane, compact body and harmonious proportions. It is customary in Spain to clip the mare’s manes. Only the stallions are allowed to keep their long flowing manes. Nearly half of all Andalusian horses are either grey or white. The remainder are bay or black. Chestnuts or piebalds are excluded from the stud book.

These horses are gifted with great intelligence combined with an affectionate and gentle nature.It is considered to be the Dressage and Carriage horse par excellence.

The Andalusian marshes in particular provide the animals with nutritious pastures.This fact and the excellent climate contribute to the successful breeding of this horse.

The dancing horse combines sport with aesthetics. Dance training begins when the horse is still young though physically strong and mature. It is essential that the horse have a certain configuration and the right temperament. The movements they are taught are an extension of the natural playful frolicking of the young horse, and the “showing off” of the stallions as they try to impress a possible mate.

During training the horse must be relaxed at all times. The movements to be learned are broken down into a series of steps. The trainer does not compel the horse to do anything it does not want to do. It’s efforts are always rewarded. One characteristic natural movement of the Andalusian horse is to throw it’s forelegs in an outward arc before putting its hooves to the ground. This movement is very “balletic”. In Spain this action is greatly appreciated whereas in England it is frowned upon.

One of the principle exponents of this art form in Spain is the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez de la Frontera. the school occupies an impressive villa. It is here that the pure breed Andalusian thoroughbreds learn their high precision ballets.

The school regularly holds shows for the general public. “How the Andalusian Horses Dance” combines choreography, classical flamenco and the Andalusian equestrian tradition into a breathtaking show. The equestrian ballet is accompanied by traditional Spanish music with the riders wearing eighteenth century costumes.

There is a demonstration of Doma Vaquera the “cowboy” type of dressage of a practical nature used in the countryside to herd cattle. The show includes a performance of classical dressage with pieces with names such as “The Foals”, “Two Step” and “Three Step”.

Another section includes carriage driving, and hand control where the horse obeys instructions from its rider on the ground. The highlight of the show is the Carousel where a group of horses and their riders, carry out synchronized advanced equitation exercises in the ring.

It really is a beautiful sight to see the young women on foot dancing Flamenco with their horses as their partners. The horse is directed and controlled by his rider who remains on foot. There is a wonderful interaction between horse and humans.

Don’t miss an opportunity to see the dancing horses of Andalusia if you have the chance.

Dzagbe Cudjoe is a Dance and Movement Therapist, Intuitive Counselor, Healer and Ethnologist with a keen interest in promoting Dance as a means of achieving Mind-Body-and-Spirit integration… She is the author of the e-manual “Dance to Health -Help Your Special Needs Child Through Inspirational Dance”. available at Dance to Health