20 Best Hiking Boots For Beginners (2023 Updated)

Bought my first pair on Amazon. Loved them so much, went back within 2 weeks, to order another pair! Price went up $20 since my first order! Decided to check price on Foxelli site. I am saving $35 on my second pair! So happy! These boots fit me perfectly, and I am no easy fit.

I ALWAYS need my own inserts, but the ones these boots came with are doing the job. I suffer from plantar fasciitis, Morton’s Neuroma, bunions, you name it, and my feet are comfortable to hike in these, just the way they came! The extra pair of laces are appreciated, since one in the boot was already frayed, even before I tried them on.

I think the top lacing eyes are sharp enough to do this very quickly, as I have seen this in several other brands I have worn.

As always Foxelli never disappoints! I tried 3 different hiking shoe companies, and 6 different boot/shoe styles. They all fit poorly and seemed cheaply made and had to be sent back. Continuing my search for a comfortable hiking boot, Foxelli popped up in my search.

Having purchased other fine hiking gear from them, I ordered their hiking boots. Great fit, they have a nice cushy innersole that creates a spring in my step. I love the odd shaped laces they stay tied.

I’ve been gently breaking them in before I hit the trail this weekend. My relationship with Foxelli started with the purchase of trekking poles, then a great oversized poncho, a pair of waist wanders, and now hiking boots.

I’m all about small local business, and Foxelli has a good business ethic and excellent customer service. It’s cool that they provide a tote bag with items they sell and always throw in a little extra gift with each purchase.

Not to mention free product insurance, and 30% off your next purchase. With that, I’m now looking to replace my old head lamp. Thank you Foxelli, keep up the Great Work!.

I ordered a pair of these boots a few months back and never received them. I contacted the customer support and I was answered almost immediately. The communication was excellent and they sent me out another pair hassle free.

I received that pair[size 10] in about 3 days and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of it. So I finally got the chance to use the boots this weekend. We took our annual trip to Vermont and I spent everyday hiking through the mountains and around the lakes.

I was 100% satisfied with their performance! Great tread, never slipped, feet never got wet and the ankle support was superb. I have terrible ankles, broken both of them twice, and not once did I feel like they were going to twist or give out on me.

Great product and excellent quality. I fully recommend and will be a returning customer. My only suggestion is to size down about a 1/2 size. I wear a 9 in women’s boots and went with the 10 as suggested by other reviews and found that a 1/2 size up would have been perfect.

I boight these instead of moabs, and they didnt dissappoint. Just enough support, good outer material to withstand hiking abuse, and water resistant in snow or rain. I guess the only negative I could give is they are heavier than others due to the thickness and rubber used on the outsoles but they arent uncomfortable heavy dont get me wrong.

If you dont want to get the moab series, id recommend trying these out see how you like them. With my custom insoles, the ride is super smooth. Oh one other negative is the original insoles. They are very thin and give no cushion whatsoever.

I guess that would be my only gripe but slap some good insoles in and they feel fantastic.

I recently purchased a pair of these from Merrell’s website. I have wide feet and need a roomy toe box and good support. I bought these to play golf with as most golf shoes are much too narrow in the toe area.

I have played several rounds with them and they as good as any of the expensive golf shoes I have tried over the years. The tread pattern on the Oak Creek almost looks like it was designed to play golf with.

Great shoe for the price. I also own a pair of Moab II that I use for hiking. Have had those over a year and they are holding up great. I would highly recommend the Oak Creek for those of you that need a roomy toe box.

I also like the fact that the medium width Merrell shoes seems to be a bit wider than the other brands on the market.

This isn’t a bad product and the company has a solid name in the outdoor footwear industry. For years the Moab’s have been my Merrell go to for light trail hiking. I found these on sale for a price I thought was too good to pass up.

So I picked them up. I tried to break them in before a trip to Tahoe. So they would be good to go. But they seemed a little tougher to break in than the Moab’s. I used them for a couple days in Tahoe and they blistered my feet.

So I switched to another pair of light hikers I had and they were worn down and well used. But a decent back up pair. Maybe I should give these more time. But I think 50 miles in light trail terrain was enough.

But still not comfortable. I wouldn’t buy these again. But I would give another shoe by Merell a chance.

I was so glad to see that Hi-Tec was continuing this line of hiking boots. It would replace the pair that had served so well for close to three years. (It still serves, actually, but they’re looking a little shabby for wearing into town and will be relegated to walking wet fields and weed whacking a 3-acre property.

) These boots are my everyday shoes and take me everywhere, from hikes to grocery shopping. They fit right out of the box, providing comfort and sturdiness. It’s like they were made for me.

I needed lightweight, waterproof hiking shoes for my trip to Iceland. This pair was perfect. I walked the city streets, up a volcano trail, and on glaciers. My feet stayed warm and dry. Now that I live in a colder climate, they serve me well slushing through rainy, snowy days.

I have plantar fasciitis. This shoe with the use of Dr. Scholls orthodic inserts essentially cured my condition. Last week I bought 2 pairs of these. one pair lasted me a full year, wearing them daily.

Now I have 2 years worth of great footwear. I am very happy with these shoes.

I have always hiked and backpacked in trail runners and thought I would give these a try after having an unexpected surgery on my hip and lost a moderate amount of muscle tissue. I needed a little extra support than shoes and wanted a little ankle support but not the weight of a boot.

I tried several options and these felt great right out of the box. I have now had these over 6 months and tested them in the Southeastern Appalachians and mostly in the AT sections in GA and NC. I’m also a section maintainer and often wear these for light work trips.

I really like the wet traction on logs, roots, and rocks which is is very often the case in my area. I have stayed completely dry with shallow creek crossings and in slushy snow and ice. I would like a little more cushion, but I’ve been pretty comfortable with longer day trips.

I also appreciate the comfort in heat as my feet get hot fast and sweaty. I’ll definitely been looking for sales on these to replace as they wear out. I have low mileage right now, so I can speak to longevity.

I wanted a pair of boots that I could wear for an upcoming Glacier NP trip in July and hiking in general. But I also wanted it to be light, comfortable, and waterproof. I did a lot of checking reviews and this wasn’t even one that I looked at, but when I went to the store, I found that these met my needs and fit the best.

I. As I wore them around my house and on every day dog walks I found that they are far more comfortable than my other running shoes and my feet are happy. I find I wear them the majority of the week (work, church, weekends), they are well broken in for the Glacier trip.

Nice large toe box and insole that comes with the boots are the best. No need to change them out. Been out in a couple of light rain storms and never had an issue. Great boots and will get another pair in the near future.

I got a pair of Oboz hikers in the early summer. The aggressive soles are awesome & have held up very well. The kicks are super comfortable, great fitting 7 supportive. Unfortunately, the toe cap on both boots has opted to detach, & it?s pretty bad on the right one.

The boots don?t have a ton of mileage on them & I would expect greater durability. I emailed the company about them & they suggested gluing them, but didn?t stand behind their product with any kind of warranty repair or replacement option.

I?m disappointed. I was really hoping to get more of their stuff in the future, but I need more durability & product support. Adequate is not good enough.

I’d give Tractor Supply a zero if I could. Boots started falling apart after 3 months. the lace hooks pulled out of the boot and the toe started to delaminate. Contacted Hi Tec Boots for warranty since they state a 1 year warranty and received no reply after three weeks.

Took them back to Tractor Supply to exchange. They would only give a 50% refund for the defective boots. I did notice the brand was being discontinued in the store.

Best shoes I’ve worn in a long time, maybe ever. More comfortable and lighter than Vans skate shoes I’ve sworn by for a long time to work in. I stand all day as a mechanic and have horses at home. These shoes stand up to my day at the shop and are waterproof so my feet stay dry working with the horses in wet grass.

Great grip too. Highly recommend!.

I recently bought a pair of Hi-Tec Raves Vent Low Trail Mens Shoes for myself. Both my husband and I were looking for a pair of waterproof hiking shoes. I gave up looking in the women’s section. I finally found a pair of comfortable shoes in the mens section.

I always have trouble with the shoe being “too high” on my ankle. I ended up buying a pair size 9 in mens, whereas, I usually buy size 10 in womens. They are very comfortable and waterproof. Great for hiking and walks.

Totally recommend these.

Both of my daughters are still growing and I turn to Hi Tec for their hiking shoes. They wear the same size that I do. These are more comfortable than my high end brand hikers that cost double the price.

There is plenty of room for thick hiking socks and an orthotic insole if needed, but they are comfortable the way they are. Both were pleased with the aesthetics. I like them so much, I’m thinking of ordering a pair to put away for when my new hikers finally wear out.

Looking forward to taking these on the trail. My kids have never worn out a pair of Hi Tec boots before they outgrew them. Excellent lug depth. Decent arch support. Comfort right out of the box. Great features for this price point.

I just received them a little over a week ago so I have only worn them a few times, with that being said though even in the snow here in New York at 28 degrees my feet stayed warm and dry. I did notice where most footwear you slip and slide a lot on packed snow and ice.

I can say with these hikers they did grip very well and another point they are really light so it makes it easier to hike further without fatigue.

I didn’t expect alot for $40+, however i’m very pleased with the construction of these shoes. It was a real bonus to get an extra pair of laces also. Those are usually the first to go on my work shoes.

FITS WELL. SEEMS VERY DURABLE. TIME WILL TELL. SENT WITH EXTRA PAIR OF LASES TELLS ME THAT NORTIV CARES ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT.

They have the look of something that would be worth pay such a high price until you put them on and realize walmart hiking boots are of much better quality at a fraction of the price. These fit more like a house slipper and resemble the same material.

Very disappointed I don’t know how anybody could wear these into the hills and mountains as they offer NO support like a decent hiking boot should. First rock theses came across put a gash in the extremely thin leather.

These are not worth the price. Expected alot more being from ROCKY really feel there quality is going down hill.

The materials are probably great. It’s the manufacturing that missed. Even so, the fit is not good. Toe box in the (M) standard width felt bigger than a 2EE. These boots don’t hug your feet like a hiking boot should.

I tried the BOA lace version as well. Same issues. I tried to like these boots because my Rocky Long Range’s are still the best western work boot I’ve ever owned.

I’ve had these for 6 weeks or so, so far so good. I wasn’t sure about the lacing system at first, but as I got used to tightening them I found them very convenient and comfortable. The boots are very light.

I wonder about how the soles will hold up, although no detectable wear as of yet. They didn’t require any break in time, comfortable right out of the box. I’d say they run just a smidge big.

Poorly built boot. This boot may be appropriate for heavy people with thick ankles, but it is badly made for average or slimmer ankles. I bought the boot because of the sizing – I need a wide fit – and the high lacing, which is good.

However it is poorly made and not fit for purpose. When you lace the boot to the top, to achieve the ‘high’ ankle support, the top lace eye cause the boot cuff to roll inward. This common on boots and is usually managed by the manufacturers by padding this area and ensuring the seam connecting the inner and outer is on the outside of the cuff.

In this boot there is negligible padding and the seam is at the top of the cuff. This seam rolls inward – it is hard and has no padding. It causes serious bruising. I have hiked in 3 continents, had more than 20 boots types in my life and none have been designed and built this badly.

Simply put – I cannot recumbent this boot at any price. MacPac is handling my request for a return.

Hiking boots have always hurt my toes or ankles after wearing them for a while, but these boots have been so comfortable. I haven’t had any pain at all while wearing them. I specifically looked at Salomon as I read that they fit wide feet well and I found this to absolutely be the case.

However, I did size down on these boots a half size, as they are known to run a bit large (pro tip, I took out the insole and stood with my foot on them to test the sizing). At first, I looked at the Salomon Quest 4 Boots which are quite popular, but these boots were cheaper and I couldn’t find any major differences in the build of the boots (nor could the sales attendant who helped me).

They do seem a bit lighter than the other boots, but I like that as I can also wear them to walk the dog or just go for a quick hike. As far as waterproofing, so far they have held up amazingly on muddy and rainy hikes.

Overall, I would highly recommend these boots.

I bought these in April, the waterproofing of the boots has already failed. The left boot gets wet, the right boot is completely failed and I’ve poured water out of it despite wearing gortex rain pants so it’s definitely not leaking from the top.

I’ve used them for a campground job where a majority of they’re use is not actually hiking but light walking and the overall wetness of mopping the floor so they haven’t been worn down from extraneous use and haven’t been submerged multiple times.

The first time encountering actual water from a separate incident for work where water proof shoes were required, they soaked my feet completely. Unfortunately using warranty seems to so far only given a voucher of the same price of the boots for their American site without shipping to Canada, and their Canadian site has no options and the only way to get an equivalent is for me to still pay out of pocket for the next level up.

MEC hasn’t done anything wrong in the case as I went straight to the manufacturer and am getting a run around there.

I’ve had a pair of these for about 3 weeks, and wear them on weekends. They were very comfortable out of the box, and appear well built up to this point. I have an achilles issue, and tend to be more comfortable in boots, as the back is higher and not sitting on the sore area.

While these are not real high, they have not caused me the pain that (expensive) running or walking shoes have. Being a diabetic, protecting my feet is important, and these are great, sturdy, and do the job.

I haven’t tried their water resistance up to this point, but I like these shoes.

These boots fit almost perfectly out of the box. I have a malformed toe on my (R) foot so I had to have it stretched a little to conform to that. I have a great cobbler in my town so it was a very minor problem.

$11. 00 worth. These boots are great and when they finally wear out I will buy anther pair. Last pair wore out in a short time, only lasted 11 years. They outlasted 2 wives.

I chose these boots because I had completely worn out a pair of Wolvernine’s purchased about 10 years ago. I like the design, the initial comfort, but having now worn the new boots for three successive yard days, I find that they are narrow in the toe [more like a C-width], and NOT extra wide as they are marketed.

I had expected the boots to be a D-width, or possibly even an E-width which is what I need. I feel like I am now stuck with a great pair of boots that absolutely KILL MY FEET and cause pain.

I bought this product mainly for my bike rides involving adventure at different places and in different weather. 1. This product is not perfectly waterproof. It is able to provide waterproofness but once the shoes comes in contact with the water, the insides of the shoes starts getting cold and your perfectly warmed feet may become cold.

Not a good sign when in Cold terrain. The shoe would catch water even during fog weather due to moisture in the air, again not a good sign. 2. The grip is extremely great for any terrain. These shoes gave me the confidence to walk any track or trek for that matter without worrying about loosing the grip.

(Yet to be tested on a snow trek) 3. Gives perfect look even with other casuals and perfect shoes for a wide feet guy like me for daily use. 4. I just wish if they have provided more warmth inside of the shoe or made the material as such that it would not make insides cool when comes in contact with the water.

Given the price, it could have been achieved easily.

I owned a pair of GTXs for 21 years, not the same pair of course. I wore them daily. I called the GTX’s SUVs for your feet. These shoes carried me around the globe from London to the Mekong Delta, two tours in Afghanistan and three years in Iraq and on every continent except two.

These shoes never failed me once. Out of the box, I could depend on these shoes to go from the box to trail. The Men’s Trail 4s are an unworthy successor, at best they are your grandfather’s shoes for a day at a theme park.

Though priced at nearly the same price point as the GTX, as soon as I opened the box it was obvious that the shoes are not nearly the quality of the GTXs. I almost returned them straight away, But I trusted Bean’s reputation.

This was a mistake. Just wearing these shoes around town I found them to be unsupportive, uncomfortable, and the material is of lesser quality than the GTXs. I then unexpectedly had to spend two months wearing these shoes daily, standing for a 12 hours a day for a little over a week.

If I could have, I would have burned these shoes in a fire. I then spent another month+ wearing these shoes daily but standing and sitting at normal ratio. The only positive about these shoes was that at least I was not barefoot.

Husband LOVES this shoe. He’s got wider feet but not WIDE feet so the medium width is really comfy for all day walkabout or tourist situations and wears to church sometimes. I got them for our trip to Rome/Sicily/Venice-all terrain.

He was so happy he actually commented on the shoes wout me asking. not a typical thing I get from Farmer Jim. He doesn’t think it’s a wide fit, just not confining, so I didn’t rate it as a wide fit. He says it breaths well, feet don’t heat up.

Huge. I’m happy to see they keep this one every year. Unbelievable how they have held up. His are 4 years old, wears often, but not quite ready for a new pair. prob next year. Maybe that new blue color.

I think he’ll be happy to retire these to become his work shop shoes since they’re so comfy on hard surfaces. Thank you. Remarkable shoe that has truly made life more liveable.

I’m shopping Bean’s for replacement of the Merrill hikers they used to carry. I’m a size 11. 5 or 12 D depending on the shoe. I ordered both sizes and sent them both back; here’s why: (1) Even the 11.

5 D was too wide and a bit long. It was likely the correct size but, (2) the design does not allow a good lacing to tighten the shoe to a good fit. Rather than a decent number of eyelets allowing the drawing together of the shoe, there’s only four “eyelets”.

Draw as you might on the laces, the shoe does not close down on the foot to take up excess space. It’s a design I’ve not seen before, and I found it completely ineffective for “lacing up” a shoe; or at least for these shoes.

Otherwise, the shoe is light weight and nicely padded. I was hopeful; but I’ll keep looking.