To let my son wear trainers for his Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition?

[Sparrow7]

I just mentioned to a friend who's son is also doing the expedition this weekend that my son will be wearing strong comfortable trainers and she was shocked and appalled! As a family we do a lot of walking and we all wear trainers as I have always hated walking boots. On the bronze trip all the kids with walking boots ended up with horrendous blisters and tired feet, whereas my son's feet were fine. The weather is going to be dry but I am now second guessing my decision as it does say walking boots are essential on the kit list (as it did on the bronze one).

I think of your son is an experienced walker and has used trainers before it would be fine. I would invest in waterprooof socks and discuss with the doe leader before hand though.

Depends how wild/uneven etc the terrain is I guess. It’s a bit silly to suggest walking boots are less likely to be comfortable - poorly fitted ones maybe, but well fitted walking boots/shoes are literally designed for the purpose.

I've always hated boots after being made to wear borrowed ones for hikes as a child, they are so heavy and I always ended up with terrible blisters.

He’ll need walking boots. If the last ones gave him blisters they either didn’t fit correctly or he didn’t break them in properly before the hike.

Mine all had good walking boots , but they also did the Ten Tors where you won't get away with trainers. We made sure we purchased a properly fitted pair and they wore them a few times before the actual hike to make sure they were OK. Also important to buy the correct socks to wear with them.

I would check with school/organisers, someone on my DD expedition got turned away for turning up on trainers and wasn’t able to take part

Is he used to carrying a pack? If he’s carried his own kit a few times in trainers and the forecast is ok then I’d leave it up to him.

Does he even have boots? Because of the expedition is imminent and he doesn’t have them then they’ll need walking in beforehand….I suspect the blisters were kids who bought boots for the expedition and didn’t do this, rather than boots being fundamentally bad and blister causing!

Blisters, trench foot, skin sloughing from being constantly wet, ankle twists, ticks, the absolute stench in a tent...

It can be considerably different to a family stroll of a Sunday morning.

Trainers wouldn’t have been suitable at all when mine did DofE , but it was up in the Scottish hills so properly fitting walking boots were essential for the rough terrain.

Thanks I will email the leader, I hadn't thought of that as at the Bronze more than half the kids were wearing trainers.

Borrowing boots was never going to work though, they will have moulded to someone else’s feet for a start. Modern boots are much lighter and easier to wear, I’m not a huge walker but I’ve bought some great ones recently which are so comfortable

He hasn't got time to break walking boots in now. If he usually wears them they they are going to be the best option now. Are they normal trainers or are they the more rugged waterproof trainers designed for outdoor activity?

There’s a few things here.

fell runners and other such people do wear trainers. Often very lightweight ones. So it is perfectly doable.

but they usually expect their feet to get wet (streams, bogs, etc) and the trainers are usually very quick drying and some of them have deliberate holes for the water to come out.

your son needs appropriate footwear.

cheap trainers from a random shop are unlikely to be suitable.

if it’s not due to hammer it down with rain and he’s used to wearing the type of trainers that can actually handle proper walking then he’ll be ok.

whether they will allow it is a different question.

Would he compromise with a pair of low rise walking trainers

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/19652130/hi-tec-men-s-fuse-trail-low-trainers-19652130

A lot of it depends on the terrain as well. I regularly run up some fells with trail runners but other routes I wouldn't feel confident without walking boots.

Decent hiking boots that fit won't give you blisters. Cheap, ill-fitting ones will.
If you're hiking on very steep, rocky or boggy terrain then trainers aren't sufficient. If it's mostly good paths and dry you can get away with it I guess.

I also think you and he are being a bit silly. Have you got time to shop for decent walking boots and wear them in?

Trainers don't support the ankle and don't keep water out if you're wading through a stream. If you absolutely insist, send him with support bandage and make sure he knows how to use it. And plenty of spare socks, as he mustn't keep walking in wet ones.

Really depends on the hike and the rules. My son and my husband do a lot of munro climbs and sometimes trainers are fine and sometimes it's a terrible idea for ankles and hours and hours of wet feet. Depending on the hike you might need something sturdier than trainers (assuming they're waterproof trainers?) if it's through a bog or something and the water will be above the shoe lines.

The trainers are leather Nike air max. He walks 30 mins to school and back again in them every day so are very comfortable. He has odd shaped feet with a bit of a heelspur (GP unconcerned) and these are the only trainers he finds comfortable. It's too late to wear in new boots now, I will message the leader. He can't borrow boots as he will wreck them (the back of his heel tends to shred the back of shoes.)

Traditional boots are completely unnecessary. For 30 years I've walked in trainer type shoes usually labelled as fell running or approach shoes, think Inov8 or Altra. This includes multi-day walks with a backpack, JMT, GR20 etc
Depending on conditions I might wear "waterproof socks"
The feeling of freedom, comfort and less tired feet is remarkable.
DoE are living in the past if they insist on boots.

That’s quite a statement 🙄

Walking 30 mins to and from school is incomparable! Unless he walks up hill and down Dale to get to school

I suspect the kids who got blisters from walking boots were wearing newly bought, badly fitting ones or the wrong socks. Wearing socks of the right thickness can make a huge difference.

I don't think Air max would be suitable but walking trainers from Karimoor or similr (Sports direct) might do

YABU!!! I have a pair of walking shoes (not boots) from regatta and after the first wear they were fine, I knew to wear long socks with them.

He needs walking boots, and because you’ve left it so late they will rub him raw.

Which last ones? The OP says he wore trainers for his Bronze DofE.