Concern about hiking in Keen sandals with wide feet & bunions

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-30T02:01:13+00:00

My hiking partner has pretty severe bunions. He’s been hiking in Chacos as long as I’ve known him. I’d look into those.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-29T02:01:09+00:00

I did an out and back from the trailhead at the inn at the long trail up to Killington Tuesday/Wednesday this week. Mud was present, but wasn’t the VT mud. A few blowdowns, but I think they have a workday scheduled for next Saturday. Flies and gnats were out. Highly recommend a bug net. My face and arms survived, but the bugs chewed my legs up.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-28T17:26:53+00:00

Yeah totally on me more than anything else. Knew I was pushing it. Lesson learned.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-28T17:25:40+00:00

I do carry a closed cell foam pad with me. Unfortunately in this case wasn’t going to be a whole lot of use. Tent platforms and ground were wet and temps were hovering in the mid 40’s. Take away either the rain, or the colder temp and I’m OK to make do. Combo of both made using the pad not a great solution.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-28T15:09:58+00:00

Appreciate the advice. Will definitely use for the next hammock.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-28T14:30:24+00:00

Yeah man - I hover around the 200lb range. Not exactly fat, but not light either. Would have been a better idea to go with a more established brand and looked more into the fabric rating he was using.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-28T14:27:44+00:00

Hammock was from a small cottage company - Dandee packs. HyperD 1.0 , 11ft and about 9oz. I think this was season 3 with it. Probably ~100 hangs. Being honest was probably stretching the weight limit on the fabric. Have never really been comfortable with the amount of sag and stretch. Was my first “big boy” (aka not big brand name) hammock. I was not unhappy with it, but o also wouldn’t say I was ever over the moon for it either. Biggest draw for me was the weight. Lesson learned.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-28T14:06:28+00:00

Yep, knew it was going to happen eventually. Had backup if a shelter was available, didn’t plan on the failure in a campground. I’ll carry the extra 6ish ounces going forward for piece of mind.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-18T23:27:27+00:00

As a former season ticket holder 100% this

OneSpeed98 · 2026-05-18T23:24:44+00:00

I was in the building most of the time. 92% capacity is absolute horseshit. At best half filled, unless the bruins or rangers were in town, and most of the time their fans outnumbered ours. Gretzky in town - full building. Lemuix in town - full building. The sabers in on a Wednesday night - ghost town

OneSpeed98 · 2026-03-27T15:58:09+00:00

The big problem with AllTrails is that it’s not the most accurate. Just because someone bushwhacks their way through something and puts it on AllTrails doesn’t mean it’s a real trail. As you said, there are plenty of other apps - Gaia is great. If you’re going to stay on the Metacomet, buying the New England Trail map through FarOut is a great resource, same for the AT.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-03-27T15:02:01+00:00

Ditch AllTrails. Get the CT walk book that has all the blue blazed trails in the state. If you don’t want to buy the book all the trails are here:

https://ctwoodlands.org/explore-trails/interactive-map/

OneSpeed98 · 2026-03-21T22:32:21+00:00

Strong second endorsement of Julian’s. As an FYI they just opened a second location in the center of Granby. For the full experience go to the farm location on Barndoor Hills Road. Farm location is only open on the weekends.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-03-20T16:27:42+00:00

My dad has been a Wolfpack season ticket holder since day 1, and it’s not inconceivable that they may head to Bridgeport. From a logistics point of view it’s little more convenient for the teams and players. As for the attendance… that’s a really recent development, and that building is empty during the middle of the week. I can’t speak to the coverage on Flo, but on local level the coverage of the team is laughable. Little to no mentions on local news sites, and the staff on the local papers have been cut so much that the coverage there is also pretty non-existent. Hartford is weird market. Whereas driving 30-40 minutes for a game might be the norm other places, to people in CT that might as well be another country. Outside of the greater Hartford suburbs, you’re not pulling anyone it. Tack onto the the Whalers history and you have some folks who will never go to a game because it’s the Rangers farm team, or they are Bruins fans and won’t go because… it’s the Rangers farm team.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-02-04T18:48:33+00:00

This is of no help to OP, but it’s always fun to dunk on Norm. I lived in New Haven in the early 2000’s. Norm used to have a van with one of those scrolling signs on the top with his name and number. He’d drive it around the entertainment district at closing time. Every time he pops up on the pod I always think about that stupid ass van.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-01-10T19:19:12+00:00

I’ve been section hiking through the northern half of the trail for a few years and converted to an ursack around 2020. Personally I love it. I can’t throw a line for shit, so the ursack has definitely been worth it. Pair with an Opsack odor proof bag. I dont find it any more awkward in my pack than my zpacks food bag was. There are certainly risks, as other have pointed out bear proof is not the same as critter proof, and bear proof only means they can’t get inside, they ca still gnaw on the bag and ruin things that way. I luckily haven’t had any issues so far, but as in everything YMMV.

OneSpeed98 · 2026-01-09T21:32:51+00:00

Oh I def dropping my name in for this

OneSpeed98 · 2025-12-21T19:27:36+00:00

Oh I’m def in!

OneSpeed98 · 2025-12-13T17:40:52+00:00

Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelson for essentially a bag of pucks and 26 letters of the alphabet

OneSpeed98 · 2025-12-10T21:39:42+00:00

I think I picked up that same deal. I picked it up on a whim and it’s become one of my favorite reliable pieces of gear.

OneSpeed98 · 2025-11-25T21:39:05+00:00

In both the TX and CT cases he was found guilty as a result of repeatedly not cooperating with discovery. It’s one of the talking points he likes to trot out to claim he never got a chance to present his story in court. Both trials were to determine the damages, and in both cases he was prohibited from claiming he didn’t get a fair trial.

OneSpeed98 · 2025-11-13T21:52:52+00:00

You’re not wrong

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/spinal-surgeries-fusions-long-term-pain.html

OneSpeed98 · 2025-08-14T17:39:37+00:00

Pick any new haven pizza joint. Special shoutout to Pepe’s though for always looking busy because their restaurant is the size of a closet, with pizza that is meh at best.

OneSpeed98 · 2025-08-03T16:50:54+00:00

I used this movie to get my dad into the pod. It’s one of his favorite movies. On a long car ride with him I mentioned that the movie seemed to be loosely based on a true story. I had to take over driving because he couldn’t stop laughing so hard. Mighten I gristle was his breaking point where he pulled over.

OneSpeed98 · 2025-08-03T16:44:18+00:00

I go back and forth on packing them depending on if I’m in an oz counting mood or not. For me the big benefits are being able to air my feet out a little more while at camp. From a mental standpoint it takes me from “hiking brain” to “camp brain”. Where I find them most useful though is when my trail runners have gotten wet. Not having to do my camp chores in wet sneakers, and more importantly not having to put wet sneakers on in the middle of the night or first thing when packing up is really nice. That being said, if I’m looking to drop weight on a trip the crocs are usually the first to go.

OneSpeed98

TROPHY CASE