UKH

Greetings Everyone

I'm looking for advice regarding shoes.

Im looking to replace my existing shoes which I'm finding are not very grippy on wet stones/rock.

Years ago I used to use Peglars in Arundel for all my outdoors footwear, but they have long gone now so I'm limited in the Brighton/Worthing area to to the bigger chains with their limited range or mail order with the risk of having to return if they don't fit.

I'm not particularly interested in waterproof linings. The shoes will be used mainly for hill/mountain walking with a bit of scrambling mainly in Austria and North Wales and maybe the Lakes.

My first thought was approach shoes but I'm worried about the sole being too soft and wearing too quickly.

All the bigger brands Merrel, Salomon etc seem to get poor reviews for quality.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I think 5.10 used to do something that was for canyoneering or somesuch, with a grippy rubber specifically for wet rock. But even if they still make it (if they ever did), it probably wouldn't last very well for scrambling and mountain walking generally - my understanding of rubber is that long-term durability and stickiness are to a great extent mutually exclusive.

Might be worth having a look at some of the fell/mountain running ranges from the like of Inov8, Sportiva etc for various sole options - though they might not be particularly durable compared to a more specific approach shoe

I picked up some Scarpa "Moraine" GTX with shock absorbent heels to do the Great Wall in.  The shock absorbancy was great on the hard surfaced wall and the "proper" vibram soles great on the rocky access paths. The shock absorbancy proved great on the tourist trail too.  The Ming Dynasty loved their steps.  They've since become my shoe of choice.  Good for scrambling too.  The waterproofness may not be a big issue but as September flows into October I am happy when I cross the muddy stuff.

La Sportiva TX series sound like they’ll work for you.  Probably the TX4 or TX guide.  They’re ‘approach’ shoes so good for walking/hiking/scrambling and even low grade rock climbs.  I’ve had a few pairs over the years both with and without Gore-Tex liner which is optional.  The most hard wearing and heaviest is the TX4, the TX2 is more like a very light trainer with a mesh upper.  TX3 is somewhere in between.