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Best Place To Buy Hiking Boots


Old Bet

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Can anyone recommend a good place to buy mid-priced hiking boots

in NYC or the northern suburbs?

 

One half of the Brigade (not me) has trouble finding boots that are

comfortable for her shortish-but-wide feet. So we need someplace with a

good selection and where the sales people have some expertise in fitting boots to feet.

 

Thanks.

Edited by The Old Bet Brigade
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Can anyone recommend a good place to buy mid-priced hiking boots

in NYC or the northern suburbs?

 

One half of the Brigade (not me) has trouble finding boots that are

comfortable for her shortish-but-wide feet. So we need someplace with a

good selection and where the sales people have some expertise in fitting boots to feet.

 

Thanks.

Campmor & EasternMountainSports

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Ditto on Campmor. Good selection, knowledgable staff and decent prices. Also try Ramsey Outdoors. Both Campmor and Ramsey are on Route 17 in Paramus so you can go to one and if you don't find what you like, drive over to the other.

 

EMS is also there (right next to Campmor), but I have to wonder about their staff. I asked the person in the shoe dept. about Superfeet insoles and she never heard of them.

Edited by briansnat
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EMS is also there (right next to Campmor), but I have to wonder about their staff. I asked the person in the shoe dept. about Superfeet insoles and she never heard of them.

 

I only mentioned EMS because of their selection if Campmor doesn't have something in stock. (i should have mentioned that in the first place.) :rolleyes:

 

btw, Campmor has the Superfeet insoles on the back wall. :ph34r:

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Campmor, in my opinion is the best. The prices beat EMS and Gander Mountain and the staff there are all avid sportsmen and really help you out. Great service, great prices, and you can't get me out of there.

Yeah, Campmor is one of the few places you can go where the gal fitting your boots actually thru hiked the Appalachian Trail and the guy fitting your backpack moonlights as an Outward Bound instructor.

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For those who have the extremely wide feet, there is a specialty marketer, Hitchcok Shoes of Hingham Mass.

 

Check out Backpacker Magazine for bootfitters, there are several around who will custom fit the boots to the feet, as opposed to stock shoes. And the current issue is rating a variety of equipment.

 

LLBean--usually the best price, best return policy and best quality consistantly.

 

It is a myth that the store makes a difference, they all carry the same goods. The maker is what differs. For instance I can not wear a Timberland shoe, the heal cup is almost always to wide, so my foot moves around in their shoes, others swear by they. Find your brand, forget the retailer. Years back, I had a pair of NIKE lightweight mid hikers, they were the best, never saw them again. Now NIKE is back with a line, so I will look for them. In warm weather, I like New Balance Trail Runners, but they are good for about 6 to 9 months and then ready for discard, but they can be acquired for $45 on sale. I say look for the brand that makes your feet happy.

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REI-OUTLET.com

 

Deals and bargains on outdoor gear.  Except for LL Bean's, this has great selection  of gear.

Bean does have great hiking boots (I love my Cresta Hikers) and for really good prices on boots Sierra Trading Post is an excellent place to check out.

 

But buying online has its pitfalls. You may save a good bit of money and wind up with boots that give you nasty blisters because of a poor fit. So unless you know exactly what you're looking for (e.g. prior experience with a model), or know what you are doing and are willing to keep sending boots back, you're better off paying full price and working with a competent boot fitter. No boot is a bargain if it sits in your closet because it hurts your feet.

Edited by briansnat
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Thanks for all who responded. Looks like Campmor is the place.

 

Especially since there are 29 caches within 5 miles of the store. (You gotta love any shoppe

that posts its coordinates on its Web sits.)

 

I'm happy with my LL Beans. My wife probably could find boots at Beans, but it

would mean a lot of trial-and-error shipping back and forth, we think.

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I'm happy with my LL Beans. My wife probably could find boots at Beans, but it

would mean a lot of trial-and-error shipping back and forth, we think.

Are you aware that LL Bean has two stores in New Jersey. There is a retail store in Marlton and a factory outlet store in Flemington.

 

It would require some luck to find what you need in Flemington, but the Marlton store will probably be good.

 

I would not recommend buying boots by mail. Both the wife and I have bought boots from Bean but we always purchased them in the Freeport, Maine store.

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[A little out of the way but it makes a great day trip! ]

 

It is now the top tourist attraction in the State of Pa. over 1 mil visitor per annum, they are to put one in the Xanadu project in the meadowlands.

 

While noodling around looking for answer to this query, I came across Catskill Hiking Store, Wurtsboro, NY -they were specifically mentioned as being a place for hard to fit people. http://www.catskillhikes.com/ Check out their links page.

 

Clearly, we are all gear junkies, based upon comments. I sometimes spend a lunch hour walking around campmor/ems/ramsey.

Edited by Packanack
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