Best Hiking Shoes & Boots! 6 Hiking Shoes Compared

Our Gearheads get tons of questions about hiking boots and shoes, so we made this guide for your shoe selection process. Gearheads Cat & Kendall go over 6 of their favorite hiking shoes, and talk about why they like each one.

Choosing the right hiking footwear really depends on the type of hiking you're doing. Shoes for day hiking should prioritize efficiency, and can supply some ankle support if desired. Backpacking boots should provide lots of ankle support to help you safely manage the weight of your overnight pack.

Do you prefer hiking boots or shoes? Let us know in the comments!

Learn More:

Check out the products featured here:

Chapter Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro
0:31 – Low-Cuff Hiking Shoes
1:58 – Mid-Top Hiking Shoes
3:43 – Hiking Boots
6:00 – Approach Shoes
6:50 – Sandals
7:52 – Break-In Period
9:16 – GORE-TEX Technology
10:30 – Socks
12:39 – Outro

Connect with a Gearhead: Call 1-800-409-4502 or chat with us online.


What makes Backcountry the go-to destination for hiking and camping gear? Our Gearhead® Experts are passionate outdoor enthusiasts who spend countless hours on trails and in the wilderness, testing the latest tents, backpacks, footwear, and apparel to provide the best recommendations. Browse our extensive selection of hiking and camping gear, and dive into our helpful videos and blogs to find the ideal equipment for you and your family. Backcountry is the place to Venture Beyond.

Follow Along for More Content!

[CharlesHussey]

Big fan of the La Sportiva TX series! 6:06

[fatcat]

Altra Olympus 5 & Oboz sawtooth II Low non Gortex are my two favorites. Pair these with gators & sealskinz socks and you can push through most wet conditions.

I found that Mid Hiking boots offer very little ankle support outside of stiff mountaineering boots which are extremely heavy. Incidentally Wearing heavy boots increases chances of rolling your ankle. The only time I’d personally would wear mid boots is for winter like conditions.

[SLKDOT]

Great video, as someone from FL, the details are helpful

[RoadsideUgli]

Just getting into hiking and stumbled across this video. Great work!

[shaun]

What is a good hiking boot for an extremely hot and wet climate

[vilavg]

What’s a good shoe for summer and coastal hikes? Is anacapa 2 good as a versatile for all purpose shoe… Talking European summers so not that hot maybe

[sherrilynn]

Any thoughts on waterproof boots for Icelan? 2-3 miles per day but a good chance of rain.

[MmeJuliet]

Hard choice between hoka or salomon boot 😢

[andyt]

It’s very aggravating, to me at least, when people mix hiking shoes and hiking boots. Shoes should be compared to shoes and boots to boots.

[edcrean]

This is a joke - no one wears boots any more, and especially not Gore Tex water proofing . AT Trail :: The majority of hikers prefer trail runners over other types of footwear. The number of hikers in trail runners has generally increased slowly every year. Almost 80% of hikers started in trail runners, with only 13% in boots at the beginning of their thru-hikes. By the end, those numbers shifted to over 90% of hikers in trail runners and less than 5% in boots. Another 5% of hikers wore low-top hiking shoes, two hikers wore sandals, and one hiker wore a high-top trail runner for the majority of their hikes.