Oddly, I have found just about all my MTB cycling shoes about the most comfortable I have ever had -- even with the metal insert. They cover Shimano, Specialized and Diadora varieties.

One suggestion I have is to remove the cleats by unscrewing them and fill the slots and holes with silicon sealer, the same as you would around baths or windows.

I know that the problem you then would have is the depression left in the shoes. You would have to experiment to see if this is an impediment to hiking over the sort of ground you anticipate.

You may be lucky and find your local bike shop has the rubber inserts that often are screwed to the sole of the shoes when they are new. I've removed countless ones of them from new shoes before fitting cleats. Again, there might be issues, depending on the amount of wear your shoes have sustained -- the insert might protrude below the surrounding moulding.

I would suggest strongly that you trial the shoes on wet rocks. All the shoes I have had tended to be somewhat more slippery on wet rock compared with standard hiking boots or shoes.

If the metal insert worries you -- and it shouldn't -- you might slip an expired credit card in its place. The card is stiff enough to "fill" the depression, and is normally an option I use if the shoes produce Morton's neuroma or hotfoot, and are the ideal size.