The past year has been full of multi-day hiking trips and long walks across town to get tortas. It was a big decision with a lot of research to pick the footwear I’ve worn on these adventures. My feet are very happy I made the choice I did. Let’s review the Inov-8 Roclite Pro G 400s…
This post includes Amazon affiliate links for the Roclite Pro G400. Because Inov8 is a UK company, ordering from Amazon might be your easiest way to get them.
Waterproof and Vegan
With purchasing decisions, there are so many options and we could spend hours/days/weeks trying to make a decision. So I like to pick a few values to guide my decision making. With hiking boots, to put together my short-list, they’ve got to be waterproof and vegan.
Why vegan hiking boots?
I have no cultural or practical reason for using leather. I don’t even have a leather belt or wallet. And it would be so embarrassing to visit some animals in the forest–uninvited–and show up with their cousins on my feet. We just don’t have that kind of relationship.
How is the waterproofing on the Inov-8 Roclite Pro G 400s?
It’s genuinely been completely, desert-dry, solid. That was especially useful hiking around Cusco because streams typically flow over the trails. But it’s also been useful walking around Oaxaca during the rainy season when the rain can’t get down the street drains fast enough.
An added bonus of the waterproofing is that it makes the Roclite Pros so easy to clean. I can go for a five day hike, give them a bath in my shower at the Antigua Casona, and then wear them over to LOCAL for a pan of bananas.
I needed a boot that could walk through a stream, keep me warm and dry in the snow, and keep my feet comfortable sitting in them for hours on long transits. The Inov-8 Roclite Pro G 400s have delivered. I will replace them right away if anything happens to them.
Price and Fit
I typically need to look for wide shoes and will opt for wide versions of shoe sizes when a company offers them. I’ve never found a comfortable pair of Nikes because they always seem too narrow for me. Adidas are consistently a shoe I can just buy online and they’re almost guaranteed to fit well every time. I’ve had no problems with the G 400 sizing. They’re super comfortable for me BUT I did opt for a half-size larger than I usually wear my shoes.
For price, I paid $310 CAD. That’s around $235 USD. Right now, on Amazon, it looks like you can get them a bit cheaper. For the amount I wear them, that’s cheap. In Cusco, I did 11 days total of overnight hiking, with full days of scrambling up and down mountains. If somebody asked me if I’d like to pay $25 per day to not have blisters on my feet and not fall down those super steep Inka staircases, I’d happily pay it.
As always with buying stuff: let’s be mindful about it! Everything I own fits in three bags. And they are not especially large bags, although they are sleek and pretty. So I’m sharing about these boots because purchasing them meant I’ve been able to reliably spend time comfortably in nature and they seem built to last. I’m literally getting a ton of mileage out of them. I hope you find some footwear that keep your feets sustainably happy.
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