mid top shoes

[pspunch]

After rolling my ankle twice yesterday I've decided to blaim the shoe and do some upgrading. I usually wear Merrell Moab's and don't have any issues, but yesterday i was wearing a different pair and ... :wall:

So now that my ankle is the size of a cantelope, I'm leary about sticking with low top shoes at all. I've never had ANY problems with my Moabs, and am considering the Mid top Moab's for a winter boot. the Gore-tex version.

Has anyone had any experience with these particular shoes or have similar ankle problems? I need some more support but don't want to restrict my movement either. I'm open to other brands, but would prefer to stick with Merrell after the customer service and quality i've gotten from them in the past.

 

[Rescue]

Sorry, not a Merrill fan. If you want a killer high top. Check out Five-Ten AKA 5-10...Impacts (high top). Made for downhill mountain biking so they are a little stiff at 1st due to the padding and rigid sole. However, after a few month they broke in nicely and I've yet to wear through the toe after a year of playing. Best disc golf shoe out there imo. Oh, and their "Stealth" rubber is crazy sticky! Wet teepads are not even an issue.

 

[Oklahyzer]

I used to have really weak ankles and had sprains so bad that a few times I was convinced I'd broken something. Best thing I ever did was to start going barefoot as often as possible. If that's not possible, doing as much walking as you can will really help to build up muscle support from your toes up to your hips. I did try higher shoes and they didn't help a bunch unless they were extremely stiff...not something comfortable or helpful for most activities that I love. After a year or two of ditching shoes as often as I could, I never had another problem, even when carrying 45lb backpacks in the rocks for a week.

I've had five pairs of Merrells and honestly none of them have felt solid beneath me. I don't know what it is, but they've all felt like it was easy to move the ankle and didn't have good fit there even with lacing options. Comfortable, but not multi-position for me. Keen and Vasque have been great for me in every area. I say work on strengthening your feet, calves, and knees, and try a different brand of shoes. 5.10 shoes are good stuff, but I've never worn them off the bike - have the low tops. Not bad to walk in, traction isn't so good on natural terrain unless it involves rocks or concrete...nice shoes overall, awesome on the bike.

 

[steve a]

The ones I use are Vasque breeze gtx. When it comes to dg the vibram soles and goretex are the things I look for. I tried some Vasque boots without the vibrams and the sole was flat in a month and a half. Vasque replaced them with a new pair of breezes immediately though.

 

[pspunch]

I used to have really weak ankles and had sprains so bad that a few times I was convinced I'd broken something. Best thing I ever did was to start going barefoot as often as possible. If that's not possible, doing as much walking as you can will really help to build up muscle support from your toes up to your hips. I did try higher shoes and they didn't help a bunch unless they were extremely stiff...not something comfortable or helpful for most activities that I love. After a year or two of ditching shoes as often as I could, I never had another problem, even when carrying 45lb backpacks in the rocks for a week.

I've had five pairs of Merrells and honestly none of them have felt solid beneath me. I don't know what it is, but they've all felt like it was easy to move the ankle and didn't have good fit there even with lacing options. Comfortable, but not multi-position for me. Keen and Vasque have been great for me in every area. I say work on strengthening your feet, calves, and knees, and try a different brand of shoes. 5.10 shoes are good stuff, but I've never worn them off the bike - have the low tops. Not bad to walk in, traction isn't so good on natural terrain unless it involves rocks or concrete...nice shoes overall, awesome on the bike.

I'm in great shape and walk a ton. I'll try to find some rehab exercises specific to ankle strengthening.

 

[Rocaholic74]

Whatever you do stay away from North Face...I just bought the North Face APX ??? and wore them for one round and the sole started to come a part. I've already contacted the Warranty Division and will be sending them back immediately.

 

[remember2morrow]

one word *KEEN*

 

[chain-addicted]

Whatever you do stay away from North Face...I just bought the North Face APX ??? and wore them for one round and the sole started to come a part. I've already contacted the Warranty Division and will be sending them back immediately.

Thanks for the advice. Got a giftcard from REI and was actually checking out some NorthFace (GoreTex) trailrunners for DG use because my Merrills are about ready to kick the bucket.

 

[SteezeOG]

I'm a Merrell guy myself. Just got a new pair of Moab Goretex. I love them but if you want more ankle support just go with those in the mids. Or the Legacy Goretex or Ventilator mids or Outland mids etc. Tons of their mids are good for DG with more ankle support. Some have toes that wear better than others.

 

[ottawa_adam]

I have a pair of North Face Hedgehog GTX mids. While they are comfortable, provide adequate support and have Vibram soles, they exterior of the shoe fell apart within one year. I keep repairing and gluing them back together so all is not lost.

After this experience, I vowed never to purchase shoes made in China again.

Last fall, I bought a pair of Zamberlan mid-high Goretex hiking boots. They are hand made leather boots made in Italy. I've worn them through all sorts of conditions, during four-round weekend tournaments and man, are they the bomb. I highly recommend them. They provide excellent ankle support and have helped me prevent ankle rolls quite a few times.

 

[jenb]

I've shatterred an ankle before, so I have worn Keen targhee 2 mid tops. They were heavy, but did a good job protecting my ankles, I think.

I got Merrill Ventilators recently and it seems the heel is much more spaded, which seems to help with my habitual underpronation issue. I thought it would help stop ankle turning, but what I found was that when it does catch on the side of a hil or something, my ankle turns a lot faster and harder. As a result, it's more difficult to sacrifice fall in time to save my ankle.

I might go back to the Keens, but I'm done with gortex shoes. I have sealskinz now, and I'd rather go with a lighter shoe and use the sealskinz.

 

[pspunch]

I found was that when it does catch on the side of a hil or something, my ankle turns a lot faster and harder. As a result, it's more difficult to sacrifice fall in time to save my ankle.

Same thing I ran into. I never have the problem with my moab's. Never even a scare of rolling my ankle, walnuts, acorns... Just a weird pair of shoes I guess

 

[MrGlass01]

Strength training will go far also. Mid or high tops won't help rubber band ankles and can actually make it worse. I have weak ankles and have done several miles with a 45 pound pack full hiking boots, done the same with running shoes after training and strengthening. Find some physical therapy type exercises to get the strength up. I find that even though I'm stronger I can react quicker with lower shows. Just my 2 cents.

I use Merrell moabs also, low top goretex all the way for this guy. Solomon makes killer trail running shoes also worth every penny, the Solomon wings have a nice wide base may help with footing.

 

[jenb]

Strength training will go far also. Mid or high tops won't help rubber band ankles and can actually make it worse. I have weak ankles and have done several miles with a 45 pound pack full hiking boots, done the same with running shoes after training and strengthening. Find some physical therapy type exercises to get the strength up. I find that even though I'm stronger I can react quicker with lower shows. Just my 2 cents.

I use Merrell moabs also, low top goretex all the way for this guy. Solomon makes killer trail running shoes also worth every penny, the Solomon wings have a nice wide base may help with footing.

I got Salomons mid top trail runners before the Keens. They were a good fit at first, but they got really loose after awhile and I couldn't tighten the laces any further to compensate. They probably last a good 3 months or so, but that's it. The Keens lasted a good 6 months.