This site is to describe the gear that I have tried that has been useful in my travels.
A promise: I will only list down items that I have tried and is proven good...so yes, there are only a few items here - there are many other items that I have bought and am not too happy with, but that's the fun part - to try stuff until we find out one that is good.
As a frequent traveler, this means there is a lot of mileage in the items I buy. Thus, the 1st question that I always ask myself is whether it makes sense to start with the one listed as budget or to head towards the mid-end or straight away go to the high-end (in terms of price).
The logic: If the low-end is already good enough, then there really is no good reason to go for higher-priced items. And interestingly enough, the budget products are already very good indeed...we shall explore on a case by case basis.
Note: this is primarily for those who intend to add hiking in nature to their travel itinerary...for city travels, pretty much anything will do. You can run between shopping malls to avoid the weather 😁
The first item on the list is the hiking shoe. Typically, a hiking shoes should have the following qualities: mid to high cut to protect the ankles from the various terrain, and waterproof (good for hiking in the snow and wet weather) and with good hiking soles (avoid those with EVA) with appropriate grip. And of course, the prices must not be super high. Here are 3 with these qualities:
I started with the Moab 2 which I used for over 10 years. After discarding due to wear and tear, I moved on to the Moab 3 - the feel is the same esp. since I have wide feet and the fit is great. As for the Targhee, my son has been using this for several hiking trips and he loved them. The price of the Salomon is a little on the higher side but I bought this for the wife because it is probably one of the lightest hiking shoe available. You might wish to consider this if the hikes are longer than than 3-4 hours....
One more important item to have in your gear is the traction cleat for walking on ice. For those residing in places where snowfall is frequent, this is probably the most important gear to avoid falls (and breaking an arm or leg). The rest, especially those living in warm climates...well, this is usually forgotten until it is too late.
Most cleats have spikes to walk on ice. The problem is that storage is difficult, and for clumsy people like me, we end up getting hurt. This one that I am recommending is more expensive and it does not have spikes. Instead, it uses steel wire wrapped around a rubber band...yes, it really works...go check it out.
I have been using this (the original Yaktrax) for several years now - still works great...
More items to be added to the list soon...