Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof

“The problem with this subreddit in my opinion is that "hiking" is overly broad and you need to know what type of hiker someone is or aspires to be before you can give them any kind of good advice. A typical hike for me is 5 miles, 600 feet of elevation gain, well-marked blazes but poor underfoot conditions, heavy forest with black bears but no grizzlies, always in cell phone range, occasional easy scrambles, complete in about 1:45. My appropriate "load out" is a 2.5L hydration pack, granola bar, small first aid kit, rain jacket, Merrell Moab 3 Mid, and cheap trekking poles from Aldi. I don't need any kind of special clothing, bear spray, GPS navigation, etc. etc. I'm on a trail 2 to 4 times a week. There are people who post here who are WILDLY more experienced and advanced than I am, and there are people who only ever aspire to do a mile or two here and there as a way to get outside and they often tend to talk past each other. A 100% brand new rookie was asking about footwear the other day and some bro started recommending $300 runners that he liked because they were super lightweight which is helpful when climbing mountains. Like, I don't think it's prudent to tell beginners that they need to be worrying about shaving ounces off of their footwear to improve their summit times. If looking cute will motivate OP to get outside, I'm all for it.”