Choosing a footwear style is your first step toward acquiring your next set of shoes or boots. You're still faced with a decision about fabric types.
Leather has always been a favored choice because it's a natural material that breathes, allowing moisture to pass through and away from your feet. This applies to full grain leathers as well as the variety of suedes and split leathers on the market.
Conventional Lining vs ETC™ Lining
The less friction, the less heat. The less heat, the less sweat. The less sweat, the greater comfort.
This infrared analysis clearly illustrates the advantages of lowering friction with ETC™ lining. Red indicates high heat, yellow is the moisture created by the high heat and purple is the coolest area.
The foot pictured on the left shows an ETC™ lined shoe with much less friction/temperature patterns. The foot on the right shows much higher patterns with a conventional lined shoe.
Synthetic fabrics such as Cordura®, an abrasion-resistant nylon material made by DuPont®, and Gore-Tex®, a water-proof, wind-proof breathable material manufactured by W. L. Gore Company, are also popular footwear materials. These man-made materials allow you to put on shoes and boots and be ready to use them. There's usually no break-in period involved as there sometimes is with leather or suede footwear.
The best of both worlds are the leather/synthetic combos which generally are step-in-and-go styles, requiring no break-in period.