Bowling Shoe Considerations
Walter’s musings on Bowling Shoes and why you should probably have a few stored for a rainy day
Do you think it would be easier to find another striker fired 9mm handgun in your neighborhood or a pair of bowling shoes in your size that suit your needs? In Walter's case, a size 13 in a rural area an hour from a large city, the chances of finding a glock or ar15 in a neighbors sock closet is far higher than finding a pair of decent hiking boots that will fit him. How many pairs of socks that work when they're wet do you have? Recently, Walter was in the shower pondering this exact same question and felt inspired to do a little write up on this very topic. Anyone that's done some living out of a backpack knows the importance of having your onlyfan’s money makers well protected and in working order.
Walter likes to break his bowling footwear into 3 must have categories; winter hiking high leather boots, a synthetic, breathable mid height boot that’s waterproof, and a pair of sandals. The brand and model is really up to bowlers preference, but for the sake of today’s conversation, Walter’s chooses a 10 year old Vasque boot with a Vibram sole. This is Walter’s preferred footwear when hiking in the rain or snow. Walter encourages Bowlers to keep leather boots like this treated with Mink Oil or a similar product. Dapper Dan at the very least.
Rubbing in this fine treatment once a year seems to do Walter just fine but avid Bowler’s such as Mike Jones suggest re-upping each big storm if you’re really putting in the miles.
For a three season boot, Walter likes the modern mid/high synthetic hiking boot with Gortex and a traditional lacing system. This La Sportiva is Walter’s current pic having sampled extensively the wears from Merril, Nike and Salomon. This is the style of boot where Walter recommends bowler’s find a shoe that works and stack multiple in the closet. Shoes are an expendable item and have a shelf life of a thousand miles or under in the best conditions. Throw in rough terrain, and carrying a load and this number drops. If the proverbial shit hits the fan, something with a complex supply line like a modern shoe will suffer immediately and be slow to come back online. Keep a pair at least on ice in the closet. Worst comes to worst you won’t have to buy shoes for a year or two, but if the Rojo Dawn does come, you’ll thank Walter.
Walter’s final pick for a bowling shoe is inspired by Walter’s time spent around rural folk in the developing world as they call it today, or the to use the parlance of Walter’s time, the sandals of the third world. In this instance, Walter is a big fan of the Clog by Bedrock Sandals. The Clog is a new offering that gives a bit more protection of the toes, aka the Onlyfans money makers, while still allowing for good ventilation. The reason that Walter recommends a shoe like this over a traditional flip flop or Croc, is that a bowler can dress them up or down with socks to accommodate for more seasons and that with synch of the webbing turn this more casual lounging wear into an all-terrain sandal thats ready for go time. Don’t believe Walter? Bedrock Sandals are a favorite of through hikers of the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails. Ohh well, Walter’s rambling again and before he cuts this short, Walter has a story from decades passed about a time when a friends footwear failed on a backpacking trip and he was forced to make sandals out of a sleeping pad and a guideline from a tent fly. It was late summer of 2006 and Walter and a few friends were backpacking in a remote part of the Cascades in Washington state. Watler’s friend, an avid backpacker’s shoes were on their last leg and during a glissade down a glacier, Walter’s friend lost the soul of his shoe. For for the final 10 mile push on the last day, Walt’s friend opted to make sandals from a sleeping pad. He made it out and the boys were able to laugh about the event over some Sarsaparilla’s at the closest brew pub, but in a more serious situation, something as simple as a shoe wearing out can get you killed in the streets far faster than using an SRO on your carry gun.