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Choosing the Best Hiking Boots for Any Adventure

When exploring the great outdoors, the importance of wearing high-quality footwear cannot be overstated. The right hiking boots provide comfort, safety, and protection from the elements. A good comfort level allows for extended endurance during your hike and a more pleasurable experience overall. A durable, intelligent design keeps you safe from dangerous wildlife, sharp sticks, rocks, and injury-threatening slips. Quality materials and water-proofing keeps your feet free from excess dampness and irritating plants. To truly enjoy a long hike through the untamed wilderness, you must pick the correct footwear for the job.

So as a hiker or backpacker, how do you choose the perfect pair? There are plenty of manufacturers and suppliers ready to take your money, so make sure you are prepared beforehand. This article will help narrow your decision down by profiling some of our personal favorites. These hiking boots are great options because they offer all the important features noted above. The four brands we chose also take into account style, quality, and options for personalization, and we include one pick for casual hikes and one for extreme adventures. Hopefully the information in this article will help you find the ideal boots for your next outdoor expedition.

Best Hiking Boots for Beginners / Casual Hikers

Timberline Mt. Maddsen MID Waterproof Hiking Boots

Timberland, a Boston-based company, has been making good hiking boots since the 1950s. Their products cater especially to the casual hiker or outdoors person.

We are big fans of the Mt. Maddsen line of boots, available in several stylish color options. They provide a lot of important features at their affordable price starting with the water-proof Timber-Dry™ membrane (eco-friendly and made of 50% recycled plastic bottles) to keep your feet dry. These boots are built for motion efficiency, which provides more comfort in your stride and ensures they will provide a long life. They are a great quality pick for the casual hiker.

As a plus, this boot just looks good! You can wear it around town, at work, or just about anywhere. Outfitted with this boot, a good backpack, and a map, you can have a great day hiking.

You can find them here.

Best Biking Boot for Hot Weather

Oboz Wind River III BDRY Hiking Boots

We love Oboz boots, and have been wearing them ourselves for years. They are made well, wear well, and are extremely long-lasting.

Breathability is key when in comes to hot weather hiking. If your feet get too warm and perspire inside your boot, it’s going to feel like you’re letting rain inside. You look for waterproofing already in a boot — it’s a logical next step to look for one that won’t make you sweat!

If you won’t be on ankle-twister terrain, you may want to consider a trail running shoe like the Altra Lone Peak, which is extremely light and breathable. If you need the stability of a boot, though, the Wind River is our pick.

The Wind River III is a durable pair, great for extended treks and backpacking trips. They are completely waterproof but also feature a breathable membrane that allows excess water vapor to escape, ensuring your feet stay dry and cool even when its hot and humid. They also offer strong support along the chassis to help prevent ankle rolling and are especially designed to provide a comfortable fit that still offers maximum protection and grip.

We are big fans of the Oboz lineup.  You can find it here.

Best Hiking Boot for Wide Feet

Keen Durand MID WP Hiking Boots

Keen has been around since 2003, making it somewhat new on the hiking boot scene but it quickly established itself as a go-to brand for all kinds of active footwear. One thing that people notice about Keen footwear options are their wider footprint and roomier toe box, so they are great for people with wider feet.

The Durand line of boots is a heavier duty option, built for taking on rugged trails. The soles offer a dual-compound grip rubber for traction and include polyurethane cushions on the heel and midsole for increased comfort on long hikes. Their footbeds are dual-density and removable for even more support, and the body of the boot is reinforced with urethane shanks for ankle stability. These boots are also waterproof but include breathable mesh as well.

The toe box provides lots of room, which can be nice even for those who don’t have wide feet.  Constricting any part of your foot is not good for your feet.

If we were doing a lineup of boots for challenging conditions, this one would be on it.  A great option all around, it may be the highest-performance on this list.

You can find it here.

Best Hiking Boot with Gore-tex

Salomon Ultra Trek GTX

The X Ultra Trek GTX are a killer pair of boots built for long hikes or extended backpacking trips, especially though extreme weather and muddy conditions. For the quality of the boot, it is incredibly lightweight, great for people who need a shoe they can really move in, and lined with a material that is highly waterproof. That material, of course, is Gore-Tex.  Gore-Tex is at the base of the best waterproof hiking boots on the market.

Their Gore-Tex® membrane provides the best water-proofing of all the pairs I have covered in this article. However, this feature also creates a lack of breathability as a consequence, so you may want to think before using this on an extreme hot-weather hike. They are very stable, comfortable boots due to their molded shank chassis and OrthoLite® EVA shaped footbed. They are highly recommended for anyone facing the challenge of wet and treacherous ground.

The boot tread has a grip that is perhaps the best on the market. So, if you plan to do some hiking on wet rocks or scrambling where traction is key, this might be the winner for you.  These boots are also heavy enough to be used out in the field, such as for waterfowl hunting.  They aren’t on our list of best hunting boots, but we would have no problem using them for that purpose.

Overall, Salomon makes good footwear overall whether you want trail running shoes or hiking boots, so add them to your list of favored brands.

You can find the boot here.

Best Hiking Boot for Plantar Fasciitis

Keen Targhee II Boot

We wrote above about our admiration for the Keen brand, and that fact that it tends to run wide and with a roomy toe box.  That same feature makes the Keen brand good for plantar fasciitis. Footwear that is of poor quality or fits too tightly can contribute to plantar fasciitis. The great news is that the Keen Targhee is of great quality and gives your feet plenty of room to move.

With plantar fasciitis, the one thing you don’t want is a flimsy boot that does not support your foot. The Targhee II is is an outstanding combination of support and comfort. Of course, if your case is severe, consider seeing an orthopedist and getting insoles to add. The Targhee III is also on the market, but we don’t feel it has the same support as the II.

Find them here.

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