shoes,boots,that sort of stuff.on a canoe tripping site it was suggested that any spare foot wear you might have for loafing around a camp should also have enough strength to be used on the portages carrying packs and canoes.a pair of sneakers would be better than flip flops,so on.i was also reading a book about the German breakout of a Russian encirclement and among the gear that was desperately needed was boots.so the point..i don't see some sort of back up foot ware in most/all of the BOB's i see here.i see enough first aid and odd hardware to fill a store but thinking about it i would rather have a second set of hiking type sneakers,stuffed with soxs than glow sticks and several types of knives.you get my drift i hope.

My BOB includes a pair of the sneaker-type hiking boots in a head -to-toe change of layered clothing from the skin out. I reasoned that I could not predict how I would be dressed when I needed to bug out.

Edit: [Forgot] I also include a pair of low-cut, lightweight water shoes for my in camp, middle of the night, and change of pace needs. They take up little space and are perfect for storing an extra pair of socks.

I've been thinking about this a lot, Canoedogs. Our family bob, and my trunk bob, include footwear for everyone. I need a pair for my office bob. The office is very small and gets cluttered easily so it's imperative that I keep things compact. I also want the pack to remain discreet, so I don't want a pair of boots dangling off the outside. I've thrown in a pair of canoe shoes with great treads for now, but they don't seem sturdy enough for a long trek - even with socks.

One of the advantages of bicycle commuting is that I wear sturdy sneakers and change into "grown-up" shoes at work, if necessary. Permanent equipment in my vehicle is a pair of light weight hiking boots, plus other apparel.

Unless I am wearing footwear that I know I can handle at least a ten mile walk, I make sure a pair is available. Someday I may have to make it home through really busted up communities.

It helps that I usually don't have to consider snow and ice as a factor.

I have both a pair of sneakers and a pair of good, broken-in boots with my car kit. Cotton and wool socks, too.

A good pair of sensible walking shoes can be surprisingly effective even where mountain walking boots are preferred. If carrying a Bug out Bag, as long as the bag is between the 20 and 30lb mark then heavier boots might not be required, but the terrain you cover will ultimately be the deciding factor. Stiff Vibram soled heavy duty are preferred for heavier loads and rocky bouldering terrain. Gaiters or Wool Putties can be very useful even when wearing shoes.

I personally prefer the range of Active air flow Goretex lined shoes from Clarks. These are nice and comfortable and pretty durable.

http://www.clarks.co.uk/find/department-...es-is-gore2dtex

What really matters is the strength and flexibility of the feet inside the boots. Practiced hikers routinely wear lighter footgear that would be inadequate for novices. Whatever you wear, it does need a nonslip textured surface that will behave predictably.

Over the years, my hiking footwear has become lighter and lighter. I do often wear gaiters to keep crud out of my low cut shoes.

I got two pairs of Converse Allstar high tops in black for just this purpose. Maybe not the most durable but weight is a consideration for me. Coupled with good mid-weight wool socks they work well for low weight/ low miles use. Anything more intense and you may suffer from the lack of arch support. Adding the right insert would help in that regard. I agree that foot conditioning is as important as foot wear. I do a little "bare-footin" around the yard to help strengthen and toughen my feet.
leo

lots of good answers here, i was also thinking of them in terms of replacements after your main ones were torn up from walking for days/weeks in earthquake/whatever rubble.i saw a shot in the canoe trip blogs where a guy had some really hard core looking boots and the front of the sole came off the bottom.he patched them up with small zip ties thru the sole and into the edge of the boot that were pulled tight.the photo before he trimmed the zips was almost humor....

An interesting answer to get more utility out of a small package might be suggested by the footwear worn in WW2. For most of the war most infantrymen wore leather shoes and canvas leggings instead of boots.

http://www.olive-drab.com/od_soldiers_clothing_combat_ww2_serviceshoes.php

A good pair of leather walking shoes and leggings, or improvised leggings, might be as simple as a long strip of cloth or Ace bandage wrapped like WWI puttees, might serve.

For short term use and around camp swim booties are light and handy. Water shoes are the modern equivalent.

The Vietnam war era NVA ran pretty much their whole army on glorified high-tops and sandals manufactured from truck tires, commonly called "Uncle Ho Sandals":

http://onfinite.com/libraries/591865/7f6.jpg

A bit primitive perhaps but it didn't seem to slow them down.

Don't have any advice on footwear selection but even in a small office storage may be possible. Where I work, all of the offices and cubes have small file cabinets. Usually the lower drawer becomes the "I don't want to sort or decide" storage area. By avoiding that trap, I have managed to store various just in case items in the lower drawer of my file cabinet. Not sure I could get boots in there now but if I moved a few things to a briefcase or small backpack I could probably file some away for an emergency.

- Eric

Every cubicle or office that I have ever used always seemed to have a dark corner where a spare pair of shoes or boots could hang out very nicely, along with a few other emergency supplies.