Hiking Boot Review

Hiking boot reviews and ratings

When buying footwear to trek through the great outdoors, you have to figure out how often and what type of activity -- day hiking or backpacking-- you'll be doing. Luckily,that's exactly how hiking boot reviews (at least the ones worth consulting) determine a great shoe from a bad one.

Backpacker magazine offers the best boot and shoe reviews, where experienced hikers test dozens of pairs under rugged conditions. Those looking for the more popular day hiking shoes can consult the reviews at Outside magazine, which mostly test lightweight low- and mid-cut hiking shoes. Both publications give annual awards to the best new hiking boots or shoes of the year.

Good Housekeeping, Which? magazine and The Seattle Times also publish useful comparison tests of lightweight hiking boots. We supplemented these professional reviews with detailed (but not comparative) reviews from outdoors-savvy contributors to FitnessTravelGear.com and GearReview.com, and owner-written reviews, which often add more details about fit and durability. The most useful of these sites are retail sites, specifically REI.com and MooseJaw.com, which make it especially easy to find the top-rated hiking boots and shoes for both men and women. A smattering of other publications, including Woodall's Camping Life, Shape, Fitness, Wired and Boys' Life magazines, as well as the Los Angeles Times, offer "best of" lists of hiking boots and shoes, although they are without much detail about why each model was chosen, or they offer reviews that focus only on one style or model of hiking footwear.

In recent years, reviews show a trend away from heavy-duty all-leather hiking boots -- except for off-trail backpacking with heavy loads. In fact, some people prefer not to wear hiking shoes or boots at all, especially when the occasional day hike is their prominent outdoor trail activity. In these cases, trail-running shoes -- covered in a separate ConsumerSearch report -- are a popular choice. Experts agree that this isn't a bad option. In fact, reviews recommend buying the lightest hiking shoes or boots that will serve your needs. In his book "Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail," author and backpacking expert Ronald Mueser refers to several studies -- including one by the U.S. Army -- showing that wearing one extra pound on your feet takes as much energy as carrying five or six pounds in a backpack.

Some hikers take it even further; in a 2011 Los Angeles Times article, author Hilary MacGregor speculates on whether "barefoot shoes" such as Vibram's Five Fingers are just a trend, or possibly an emerging new category of shoes for walking, multi-sports, running and even hiking. Time will tell whether these minimalist shoes stick around, but in the meantime, they haven't cropped up in the expert reviews for hiking boots and shoes. Reviewers still tend toward shoes that are supportive enough to protect your foot against rocks and branches in the trails, and that offer stability you won't find in everyday shoes or even barefoot shoes. For more information those types of shoes, see our report on minimalist running shoes.