A stupid accident has shaken my confidence

Should I give up on the lone peaks or ONLY wear them on dry trails?

Just wear them more and get a feel for how their traction works. Pretty much no shoes handle slick rocks particularly well TBH. On slick parts, just take it slower and try to get your shoes onto rougher parts of the rock.

Very few shoes are good on wet rocks. I broke my arm w Orboz and tore ankle ligaments w 5.11 canyoneering boots (roll less about grip and more about log breaking but illustrates multiple ways to hurt via slips, trips rolls and falls) Where ever I can I use poles now. Saved me 3 weeks ago coming down a trial and a little trip triggered a calf cramp w led to one leg and 2 poles hopping down the trail but didn’t fall.

I do a lot of hikes in Connemara (Ireland) and it's nearly always raining. You just learn to avoid rocks and if you have to go over rocks you take your time and if it's really bad have three point stability, so that if one point goes you can recover. You should never be trusting your entire body on one foot to a slippery rock.

The problem with wet, slick rocks and hiking shoes is similar to the problem with wet, slick roads and AT tires. Tires with super aggressive, knobbly treads are great for dirt roads, but they tend to suck on wet pavement. Meanwhile, road tires that do great in the rain are not what you want on loose dirt and mud. 

There's no tread that can do best in all conditions, because they need different designs for different needs. Wet, slick rocks will also always be inherently dangerous, because they're often covered in a thin layer of algae or some other biofilm. The best option is to avoid them if possible, and treat them carefully at all times.

Just shake it off and get back out there. I was out trail running a decade ago with brand new shoes and had the opposite problem, they gripped too well and I fell down. Landed on my head and gave myself a concussion.

I found my Lone Peaks' traction improved after several wears. I live in Pennsylvania so I'm scrambling on wet rocks all the time and prefer Lone Peaks to Moabs for climbing. Ymmv.

Here are my two cents which largely reflects others:

1. Consider trekking poles, especially around wet rocks and streams. No shoes are slip proof.

2. Falling happens, learn and prepare next time. I have many bruises.

3. Consider boots if there is a lot of wet rock.

Poles, Poles, and more poles. 

Two to be exact make yourself four-legged, then use them. 

Actively use them, keep them out in front of you going downhill at all times, out in front, make them long enough going downhill that you don't have to reach and get off balance while keeping them out in front of you. Basically never let the poles cross your hips on downhills. 

Always maintain 3 points of contact on ANY slippery terrain, go slow if you are uneasy, like take minutes to go a few dozen feet of need be.

Be ACTIVE with the poles, reaching Forward and pushing all the way back like you were cross country skiing on the uphill sections. I know I'm repeating myself but I see people all the time using poles and they're just lazily waving them around barely using their upper body, having them behind them on downhills... That one blows my mind, it is intuitively scary to fall forward get those poles forward! 

Rant over, be safe, be four legged.

I'm of the belief that if you don't make a small mistake here and there, you aren't pushing yourself as hard as you could be. Yes slipping on something simple feels embarrassing but just dust yourself off and keep going. If you fall all the time, that's when you need to reassess things.

Bring hiking poles. They’re a game changer, even on easy terrain.

Every hiker eats it sometimes. Wet rock is precarious. Don't beat yourself up.

Different shoes might help, taking it slow helps, and hiking poles are great, but there's no magic combination of gear and skill level that can reduce your risk of falling to zero. Go easy on yourself.

I don’t know much about the lone peaks but I refuse to buy any footwear unless it has a vibram sole. Vibram is the best and they have great grip on wet and uneven terrain.

For the Lone Peaks a few things could be going on. They’re zero drop and every shoe you’ve worn has probably not been zero drop so there’s a lot of strength that needs to be built up in your ankles and calves. That could be why you got messed up on something simple. It could’ve been your ankles just weren’t used to that kind of angle or were just tired. Also I think Alta uses a proprietary sole for the LP so maybe try out another shoe if you feel the LP was the culprit

I was once standing on a very slight incline watching someone's dogs, and my feet slipped out from me. Slips happen when you're hiking, and I've found it happens when I'm not paying attention for a fraction of a second and/or tired near the end of a hike. Don't beat yourself up, it happens. All you can do is be prepared for it.

Use hiking poles. Unless you’re in like Florida or Texas, there’s no reason not to, and one side benefit is that they will keep your hands from swelling up by preventing blood pooling during longer hikes.

tbh I don't wear my lone peaks anymore because I've slipped and fallen too many times. I like my other Altras but those are just not great. Can you return them?

I have Lone Peaks. They are AWFUL over slippery smooth ground like wet pavement or rocks.

If you don’t use hiking poles I definitely recommend them - as for shoes I swear by Peregrines for grip in all conditions

Been there done that. Wet rocks are so slick. Thought I had good footwear, but boy was I wrong. Don’t let it shake you, get back on the trails, enjoy the views. Speedy recovery.

Lesson learnt on wet rocks. I dont care how good your shoes are. Never trust them. Always test step with support. Some shoes are better on wet rocks than others. These ones arent. Loose smaller rocks/gravel downhill is also something to be weary of. There is a second lesson there for you. Free (well not free cos it cost me some hurt but free to you 😂)

It was wet rock, you’re going to slide more times than not with those kinds of conditions.

Be careful on wet rocks.

My final message.

See you space cowboy.

Every time a person hikes, it's a fresh roll of the dice. You try to protect yourself and put the odds of success in your favor with the right gear, but there are no guarantees. If the shoes are suspect, then don't wear them, but remember that a slip will happen much more due to angled and slippery surface and your balance more than what shoe you wear. Be cautious out there.

Regardless of hiking boots or trail runners, I only trust Vibram Megagrip outsole rubber. I've tried the rubber compounds from Adidas, Nike, Saucony, Merrell, Salomon, Timberland, Altra

It’s hiking— sometimes you fall.

It can happen to anyone no matter how careful you’re being when it’s slippery! I ALWAYS use a hiking pole or two on wet rocks like waterfall trails, it helps me keep my balance when a slip happens

Most shoes and boots aren't great on wet rocks. The best boots I've found for that are Asolo and Scarpa. I don't use trail runners now (lots of bad experiences with those), so I can't speak to any trail runners that might do well on those surfaces.

I can tell you from experience that every shoe and tred can lose traction and make you eat s#!+. Recommend you just adjust your expectations and learn to plan for failure. There are ways to approach wet slopes so that you aren't completely reliant on one point of contact and if you fall you don't slam uncontrolled into things.

Learn the shoe and learn to approach the limits gracefully. Or like the ref says in the ring: protect yourself at all times.

Here I am always on four legs (poles) and sometimes I think a surface/slope is sketchy and scoot along on my butt or hands & knees.

To be honest I have eaten shit since using poles. And I usually wear pretty flat/non-grippy train runners.

Just takes time and use to navigate, you’ll be alright. Don’t quit!

Shit happens. If you don’t slip and fall once and awhile you’re not trying hard enough. Wet rocks are always sketch. Also loose rocks. Sometimes you have to take it really slow and use your hands to hold onto things for stability or scoot/crab walk

I get it. It’s an awful feeling.

A few years ago, after I had hiked like 500 miles in that year, I fractured my elbow on one of the easiest hikes around - the one everyone recommends for people with toddlers, for crying out loud. I wasn’t even hiking at the time, we were just sort of hanging around the cool end point. I slipped when stepping on a dry rock that is water-smoothed but was bone dry at that time of year. Surrounded by people with kids, non-hikers everywhere. At that moment I wasn’t using my poles, because we were just standing around looking at things, but I don’t know if they would have helped me anyway.

I fell onto my butt into the water, like in a frog-sized puddle, then when I tried to get up without using that arm I slid feet-first about 15’ further down the little waterway, toward a tiny waterfall another 30’ away. Scared the crap out of me, because I had no traction at all, even fully lying down and trying to stop myself with my feet and other arm.

Cue a surgery to install a metal plate, and 3 months of physical therapy 3x a week to regain full use of it.

I am now very, very cautious, and as a matter of fact today I changed my mind about the trail I was planning to take and headed off on an easier route because of it. I am not normally an anxious person, and it kind of sucks. I’m grateful that I live in the desert where it’s pretty easy to find beautiful trails that don’t have water features!

I've busted myself up orerry good twice now trail running - it happens. I've even tripped over cracks in sidewalks and hurt myself pretty bad once.

It's going to happen - shake it off. Make sure there are no real damages and get back out there.

Dude, hiking poles. A few good slips and I was finally agreeable to trying poles. I’ve not fallen since and it’s been years but I’ve had lots of times where my poles saved my ass from a lot of falls and near twisted ankles

The only shoes I ever liked on slick rock were my old 5 10s, newer version of which doesn't seem as good.

I have a pair of lone peaks and I hardly ever use them because the terrain I almost always hike on is very rocky. My feet slide around inside the shoe way too much so they feel very unsafe to me. I only use them in non rocky terrain. I use Brooks Cascadias. They are narrow and have excellent traction. Even when the rocks are wet. However, the rocks I hike on I would not consider smooth so there is better grip than a smooth wet rock.

Trekking poles and watching where I step every single step serves me pretty well.

Sounds like a trail in Ohiopyle

Do you have trekking poles?

There are a multitude of different rubber compounds and tread types on shoes. Not all work well, not all work on wet especially. I've been on some wet quartzite in Canada that basically send even my climbing boots flying like an old slapstick movie. Even worse on some rocks on the coast.

So it depends. You might find something better on that wet rock, might not. And it might be worse on something else.

Overall, the climbing approach shoes tend to emphasize the stickiest rubber. Although even that has limits in wet.

This sounds weird, but I bought a pair of knock off Yeezy’s that were super light and flexible by far the best hiking shoes I ever had never lost grip with them even when they smooth out the tread and they are flexible enough for my feet and toes to bend around rocks to get even better grip I bought them at a Payless but couldn’t tell u what brand they were

You’re scared….because you fell?

We fall so we can get back up again. I mean, FFS. What do you want to hear? You can do it?

Own your mistake, laugh if you’re embarrassed, nurse your wounds and get the fuck back out there.

Fuck.