Quality hiking shoes online shopping: With great out-of-the-box comfort, the KEEN Targhee line is an extremely popular boot for day hiking and easy to moderate backpacking trips. The Targhee III has been on the market for a while now—it was released back fall of 2017—but it offers solid bang for your buck. The boot has a surprisingly tough build with a good-sized toe cap and leather upper, moderately wide fit, and a collar height that sits just high enough on the ankle to provide decent rollover protection. Keep in mind that the Targhee III still is a clear step down in stability and ankle support from a boot like the Lowa Renegade above, but it offers sufficient stability and grip for most subalpine adventures. The Targhee’s main competitor is the Merrell Moab 3 above, and both models have been top sellers for years. The Targhee is more durable overall with its leather construction, but the Moab matches it in trail comfort, keeps you cooler with its mesh design, and costs $30 less (note: KEEN recently upped the price of the Targhee from $165 to $175). That price difference gives the edge to the Moab on our list, but the Targhee remains a solid choice, and particularly for those with wide feet. Read extra details on mountain boots.
The Salomon Quest 4 Gore-Tex remains our top choice for many reasons. This boot is ideal for long adventures on the most technical and demanding trails. It is top-notch, offering an excellent blend of stability and comfort, fit for tromping through all kinds of conditions. The beefy lugs bite down on all surfaces, offering traction on slippery steep trails and rocky river crossings. If you’re in the market for a well-rounded boot that’ll offer comfort and stability while shouldering a heavy pack, this top contender is the way to go. While the Quest 4 is stable and protective, it is heavy for a hiker. It also does not breathe or release heat as readily as we’d wish. While it can function as a casual daily hiker, it’s truly built for taking on technical surfaces and tricky conditions. If you’re seeking the best when it comes to a traditional hiking boot, this is our favorite option.
The Vibram® Megagrip outsole is wider than the upper, creating a sturdy base that allowed one tester to easily sidehill during a three-day hunting trip in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. Plus, all that extra width tacks on extra traction. Trade-off: HOKA keeps the weight down by placing the Vibram® rubber in strategic areas of the sole, but the exposed midsole sections take a beating during off-trail journeys. The leather and recycled synthetic upper breathes as well as you could expect for a waterproof boot, and the added ankle height was a boon during bog crossings. But our team struggled to understand the pronounced dip on the back of the ankle cuff: “It makes it easier to slide the boot on and off, but errant foxtails kept sticking to my socks,” gripes one tester.
La Sportiva’s Nucleo High II GTX is a quintessential modern boot: light and nimble but with enough support for day hiking and most backpacking trips. Its most notable features are the Gore-Tex Surround liner and Nano-Cell technology. In short, Gore-Tex Surround breathes not only out of the top of the foot like a traditional waterproof design, but also through the bottom of the footbed and out the sides. La Sportiva’s Nano-Cell tech is the web-like mesh you see along the sides of the foot. While they give the boot a distinctive look, these cutouts only seem to have a modest impact on breathability.
Make like a mountain goat when you throw on La Sportiva Nucleo High II GTX, a super nimble yet super supportive leather hiking boot that excels on rougher trails and above treeline. Its high ankle collar and beefy armor protect tootsies—“no issues wedging my toes between boulders when climbing California’s Mount Ritter,” one tester says—but this is no clunker. The Nucleo High II GTX is trim and snugs the foot more like an approach shoe, allowing for precise steps and edging, which our testers appreciated on alpine hikes that require negotiating the path of least resistance. To that end, the Nucleo High II GTX is available in wide sizes—a welcome addition this year for those of us with broader feet.
The popularity of trail running shoes for hiking and backpacking has spawned a new variation in this lightweight category of over-the-ankle trail runners. The basic concept is to take a popular running shoe like Hoka’s Speedgoat or Altra’s Lone Peak and bring the collar and lacing system up a few inches. This provides a light boost in protection and support from a low-top trail runner but retains the lightweight, cushy, and fast feel of that footwear category. As we’ve found, however, there are a number of compromises, including durability, toe and foot protection from the thin materials, and support in technical terrain or when carrying a heavy load. But those that like to move fast and light and even mix in some running during their adventures may find that the pros of a nimble boot like Altra’s Lone Peak Hiker 2 outweigh the cons. Find additional info at https://www.trekkit.in/.
What will you be using your hiking boot for? There are a variety of different options out there, but narrowing them down by identifying your intended use is the first step. Are you planning on just day hiking, or will you be backpacking as well? What types of terrain will you be hiking? How does your boot need to perform? Does it need to be breathable or waterproof? These are the types of questions to ask before your search begins, which will help to steer you in the right direction. When you’re heading out for a day hike, the type of footwear you choose depends on the intensity of the hike, how technical it is, and how much weight you are carrying. In some cases, a lightweight hiking boot with minimal ankle support may be all you need. The lighter materials used in lightweight boots make them more flexible and breathable. They also have enough comfort and support to carry substantial loads or just a day pack. Most offer more stability than a hiking shoe or trail runner, but they aren’t as heavy as a midweight hiking boot. If you prefer more stability, even for day hikes, you might want to consider a midweight boot.