 I fell in love with the Hedgehog based solely on how they felt when I slipped them on in the store. I wasn't even looking for trail shoes at the time, but a year later I remembered them and ordered them. I have hiked several times in them (day hikes up to 13 miles) and love the way they respond and feel on my feet. I have no problem with them feeling too hot. I haven't been in any big puddles or streams yet. I have run two off-road 10K's in them, and they felt as good as my regular running shoes.
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 That's odd because I have had a pair for over a year and I hate them, I would only use them for walking round town. I find the sole unstable and not well suited to the upper. It is overly stiff and the upper offers little or no support. Hence it is like walking with a piece of plywood for the sole. I have lost count of the number of times I have gone over on my ankle on them. Horses for courses.
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just got the mids. After a short walk of about 5 miles in the rain I found small amount of water inside both. Stuck them in a bowl of water nearly up to the laceholes for approx five minutes and nothing got in. Maybe if I'd flexed them (afterthought) they might have leaked. Best fit, grip etc i've had for ages so i'll probably keep them whatever. Informed shop and they told me to take them back and they would test them in water. I've bought these for the Tirol next month.
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These are the shoes that weened me off boots.
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 Just a public service announcement in case anyone is bemoaning the recent apparent dropping of unlined hedgehogs from the project range. In fact this isn't just TNF giving up on unlined trail shoes - the new purgatory shoes/mids seems to basically be hedgehogs but with a soft shell upper like the Salomon fusions and - joy - no waterproof liner. Only light blue and bright red by way of bright colours. Actually the prophecies look exactly like normal unlined hedgehogs. Clearly it's too simple to call a spade a spade in that case but who on earth thought that purgatory was a good name?!!? Having bashed a pair round the peak today I can confirm (lucky for me!) that it's really not an apt name.
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 Aye hedgehogs are great but they've gone and ruined my fave TNF shoes by sticking a liner in. Coopers Hill If you're reading this TNF here's a customer you've just lost
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 Thankfully I didn't buy mine (an extended test pair), but they are really useful as a dog walking shoe in wet weather. Mind you the vibram sole is hilarious on wet cobbles and smooth tarmac - it does get the adrenaline going though!
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I dunno fort, I think it may be a matter of fit. The hedgehogs are great for me and so were the coopers hill until they put the stupid liner in.
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These shoes are NOT made for walking or running. Initially very satisfied with the comfort but after about 8 months of use the synthetic material started to crack and the lining around the ankle started to wear. Emailed North Face using their website but received no reply. After a further 3 months I tried again, as by this time the defects were getting really bad. More serious was the rubber moulding, connecting the sole and the upper, was coming away and my feet were getting soaked. Eventually took them back to retailer who sent them off for ‘investigation. Seven weeks later I have been told that the ‘faults’ are normal wear and tear. Fortunately there are enough suppliers of quality footwear out there so I won’t have to buy from North face again.
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Hummm. It's not so much the time that matters as how many miles you've got out of them  If you've been wearing them a lot it might be quite a good wear rate, esp if lots of tarmac or hard surfaces involved. Not designed to last forever. I've got reasonable if not extra special grip from the purgatories. Sadly they seem to have a bit of a design fault - relying on a thin sewn seam to hold the rand onto the stretchy soft shell upper was a bit optimistic at the flex point. They were very happy to replace one pair and would have done with the second. However just too all round nice to give up on totally so I'm seeing how long I can hold the second pair together for.....
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I'd be well pleased if a got a pair of trail shoes to last me a year.
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 I picked up a pair of the TNF GTX XCR Hedgehog ( black/grey ): http://www.fitnessfootwear.com/p-2739-north-face-hedgehog-gtx-xcr-black-and-foil-grey.aspx 48hr delivery. These are the lined ones and so far have been great. Usually go for Boots, but went for the more casual 'Trainer' look.
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 Fitness Footwear recently sent me a pair of TNF Hedgehog GTX XCR shoes to try out in exchange for a review. So far so good. They are a comfortable fit and don't veer to the left. Or right. You can find my initial review here.
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| Edited: 29/10/09 09:31 |
LotC... I got mine from FitnessFootwear.Com I found that the GoreTex liner isn't 100% waterproof.. Get wet toes. But, as you say a very comfy fit.
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Goretex is the Devil's Toilet Paper. Might be ok for replacing heart valves but should incur a tax when used anywhere else.
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Its not that bad for clothing you know In general though liners really are a bad idea in this sort of trial shoe for use off trail/streams etc. Much more so than in leather boots really as unlined trail shoes do, through drying very fast, at least stay comfortable when wet and recover quickly. Lined ones don't.
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 I've got the TNF terranius shoes, built a similar way but a bit more suede so more durable and a bit heavier but not that bad. Cracked out many miles in them although a couple of weeks ago was working really hard in the wet and my feet did sweat a lot. So ended up wet inside, though mainly due to wearing the wrong socks. Tried an old pair and should have stuck with my smartwool I've used Inov'8 and these and found both to be great. Find it really hard to have to put boots on and usually after walking to car I go back and get trainers. And my boots are Meindl's so they're really good as well. Kept these reserved for snow but may even try TNF this year.
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 Â Hi everyone; Ive not been around for a while, but thought I'd add something to this thread. As part of the same promotion Fitness Footwear very kindly supplied me with some TNF Vindicator boots, in exchange for a review. I was just about to replace my Keen Targhee Mids, and the Vindicators have turned out to be a good replacement, considering I was unable to try them out. The Vibram sole certainly seems up to the job, and I fancy it will last a lot longer than the rubber on the Keens. I've been something of a Keen addict over the last 4 yrs, and have gone through around 6 pairs of Targhees mid and low as well as sandals, so maybe its time to re-consider some of the rest of the stuff on the market.Â
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| Edited: 31/10/09 13:41 |
