Let the elimination round begin. This is were I take the long list of shoes that were listed in The Great Shoe Hunt Part 2 of 3 and narrow them down. The first shoes to hit the chopping block are the North Face Purgatory, Salomon 3D Fastpacker, and Vasque Aether Tech SS. These shoes were on the shoe company's websites, but no retailers in the area. This proved to be a bad thing if you want to try them on for fit.

The next shoes to be eliminated are the ones that have an outer layering consisting of any type of mesh. I understand most of these shoes are made to be quick drying and for summer weather but for some of us, we enjoy wearing these shoes year round. The next ones to hit the chopping block are the North Face Hedgehog, North Face Rucky Chucky, Salomon XT wing, Salomon XA Pro Ultra, and Vasque Velocity VSD.If you happen to have a wide feet and are a road runner I would highly recommend the North Face Rucky Chucky.

The Montrail Hardrock 08 had great reviews and lots of research was out there to be found. I found that the reviews of the shoe were for the previous model dating pre-2008. Upon trying on the Hardrock 08 I found that it had little to no lateral movement which placed the Hardrock on the elimination list.

The Garmont Eclipse III was bulky and heavy. The shoe appeared to be very durable and supportive. The down side for me was that it was very hot. I just had the shoe on for a few moments to walk around the store and my feet were on FIRE! Due to wanting a trail running shoe and not a stiff day hiker this is what put the Eclipse III on the elimination list. If my Montrail Morianes was to have a bad day, I would love to have the Eclipse III as a back up.

The last three styles of shoes that had similar outside layering were the Salomon XT Wing WP, Salomon XA Pro Ultra GTX, and Vasque Velocity. The ultra got eliminated becuase it only came in Gore-Tex and not having an equal without it. I stated eariler (paragraph 5 of The Great Shoe Hunt Part 2 of 3) that the XT Wing WP and Ultra GTX had similar tread patterns. On closer observation, I found the XT Wing WP to have a weak spot on the soul. I will have two pictures posted to with this article to show the bottom of both shoes and the weak spots are made of soft foam and colored bright orange. The soft foam, in my opinion, would get punctured relatively easily and this confirms the XT Wing WP is not a complete equal to the Ultra GTX. The XT Wing WP picture will be posted above this article and the Ultra GTX picture will be posted after. The only pair that survived the intense elimination process was the Vasque Velocity.The shoe was actually in the researching process and put on the chopping block, but Vasque has a small surprise for me. I originally tried on the Gore-Tex version of this shoe at Outdoors Inc. in Memphis. After researching by word of mouth and the internet, I found out that Vasque made a non-Gore-Tex model of the same exact shoe. BINGO! We have a winner. The Velocity comes with a nice and heavily guarded toe guard, wide toe box, no Gore-Tex, no mesh, and lateral movement. I am so greatful that I am awaiting on my shoes to arrive via mail after ordering them from a online site. I can not wait to hit the trail with them.

Hunting for shoes and gear can be extremely difficult. Some retailers are limiting their inventory to have smaller selections to choose from. This is turn makes us, the consumer, have to search far and wide to find what we are looking for. We the consumer should try to encourage retailers to carry a wider variety, so we can get the right item for our needs. If I chose not to stop at Outdoors Inc. while in Memphis I would have never known about the shoes that I really wanted and meet my needs. Retailers in my area did not carry them. This simple problem grows into a much bigger one. Why should I have to settle for something that I really do not want because I can not find an alternative? Should I settle for a shoe that fits but after a week gets shredded? Better yet, should I buy that shoe that kinda fits and spend twice as much buying moleskin and other items to repair my feet. The point that I am trying to get across is go out, try on, ask questions, research, and do not settle. Our shoes warrant more attention do to the mileage we put on our feet.

-Bentley VentureTree Team