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Going to Tanzania in February-shoe recommendation

Looking for recommendations on good women's walking shoes for ten days. We'll do a lot of walking visiting villages and sites and a day hike at base of Kilimanjaro.

Posted by
380 posts

Could you be a bit more specific as to the type of terrain you will be walking on? Dirt roads but level, rocky roads with risk of ankle sprain, muddy roads. How steep is this day hike at the base of Kilimanjaro? What condition is that trail?
Do you have any lower extremity problems? What is your foot type? Do you have bunions or hammertoes?
Even if someone has a great pair of walking shoes that works for them, it may not work for you. We need more information to make recommendations that are appropriate for you.

Posted by
149 posts

I wore a pair of sports sandals with a closed toe and sturdy sole to protect against thorns from the acacia trees. Mine are by Merrell; my husband has Keens. The ground is very dry and dusty. Your shoes, socks and feet will get filthy so it's nice to be able to hose everything down at the end of the day. I put the sandals through the washing machine when we got home.

Sandals were fine for the day hike we did at Kilimanjaro. If you are going further up the mountain, then you might want the ankle support of hiking boots.

Days are hot but mornings and evenings are cool at that elevation. I wore a pair of merino wool socks with the sandals when my feet got cold.

Posted by
380 posts

I would not recommend sandals. Maggie was lucky that she had a good experience and did not sustain any foot injury, but you may not be as fortunate. Why risk getting thorns into your feet in a 10 day walking tour? Socks are woefully inadequate as protection against puncture wounds. Besides lack of protection, sandals also do not provide enough support.
In general, you should get a mid-height light-weight walking shoes to protect against ankle sprain. Get all leather uppers or leather-mesh combo upper if heat is a problem for you. Wear the socks you plan to wear on the trip when you buy the shoes. Take the shoe liner out and stand on them. There should be a baby finger's - a thumb's width distance from your longest toe to the end to the liner. Look at the widest part of your feet, usually at the level of the met heads, the feet should not overflow the liner. If they do, the shoes are too narrow.
If sweating is a problem for you, you can spray your feet 1-2x/day with an antiperspirant. Change your socks mid-day. I assume you will have quality hiking socks that wick away moisture. At the end of the day, air out your shoes to dry them out. You can sprinkle some antifungal powder into the shoes. You can remove the shoe liner and substitute Spenco liners which provides more cushioning.
Getting a thorn in your foot can develop into a big problem. As the thorn goes in, you are getting inoculated with whatever bacteria is on your skin and whatever dirt and spores are on the thorn. Besides getting the thorn out, which could break off and stay in your foot, the key is to clean the wound to prevent an infection. The best protection against an infection is intact skin. Now you have an open wound in a moist, dark environment (shoes) with constant movement (walking). If you wear sandals now, the road is dusty, more chance of getting the wound dirty. A bad scenario no matter how you look at it. Better to be super cautious and decrease the risk by wearing all leather walking shoes.
Some name brands are New Balance, Merrells, etc depending what fit you best. I'll state the obvious. You plan to wear the shoes and walk in them before the trip.

Posted by
451 posts

I agree with chun. Get hiking boots. You will not go wrong with the extra ankle support.

I went hiking in Guatemala with inappropriate shoes and damaged my feet. We were told the daily distance was 4 miles a day. After getting dropped off in the middle of the forest and walking two hours, our guide turned to us and told us to hurry up or we would arrive in camp after dark. The distance of the hike that day was 12 miles. We picked up the pace and when we arrived in camp my feet were toast. My feet were covered in blisters, I used up what little gauze and neosporin we could come up with. I was on a pack horse the second day for another 12 miles. I could not take my socks off due to the dried blood. The third day, the terrain was too tough for a horse and the trail was not carved high enough through the jungle for me to ride a horse. I walked 14 miles in sandals that day. We we got back to town, my friends went to the pharmacy to get medicine and bandages to put on my feet. I sat down in the shower and soaked them trying to loosen up the blood. I was screaming so loud the hotel staff came rushing into my room thinking I was being attacked. They saw my feet and left. Back in the US, my foot doctor jumped back when he uncovered my feet! He said he had never seen feet so badly damaged.

I cut my trip short by one week due to my feet. At home, I crawled around my house for a week. I had blisters over 70 percent of my foot. I had three levels of blood blisters in places. I had one place that bleed for a week after I returned home.

After this, I am an expert in blisters and always wear boots on hikes.

My feet sweat a lot so I use Darn tough socks with a silk inner liner to help with moisture. I like their mix of wool better than other socks. My wife liked my socks so much that last year she stole my Darn tough socks. They would appear in the laundry but then disappear when they were dry. I bought some more socks this year and she has left mine alone.

When trying on boots, be sure to wear the socks that you will use on the trip otherwise the boot may end up being too tight. To me, it makes no sense to ruin a portion of your trip that is several thousand dollars because you did not want to spend the extra $150 on a good pair of boots. Now, when I get to camp, I switch out of my boots and put on sandals.

You can take boots for the active portions each day, then switch to sandals at the end of the day.

I prefer Merrill boots, my wife prefers North face. I have heard great things about Keen and Lowe. Go to an outdoors store like REI to search for boots. Academy sports and Dicks sales people would not have the knowledge a true outdoor store would have.

Your trip sounds like fun.