Choosing the Right Hiking Boots – What to Look for.

Buying new hiking boots, especially for the first time hillwalker, can be a precarious and daunting prospect.

So how do we make sense of the technical jargon and the bewildering array of styles, designs and prices available?

The first thing to consider is the type of terrain are you likely to be using your footwear on. Hiking boots are now produced to suit all types of terrain, from easy graded trails to high, pathless mountainsides.  Understanding this will help you narrow down your choices considerably.

To simplify it down a little let’s look at the five most common styles of hiking boots:

Trail Shoes

Trail shoes are lightweight and comfortable, with a flexible and soft sole, they are cut low around the ankle and offer very little ankle support. They look a lot like runners and perform in a similar fashion.

The sole pattern is not particularly ‘aggressive’ and will not provide a lot of grip on wet slippery ground.  They might also have a waterproof liner which would be effective on wet grass and small, shallow puddles.

These shoes are only really suitable for walking graded paths and trails in dry and warm conditions, and the shallow sole pattern reflects this. They certainly would not be suitable or safe for open mountainsides or rocky terrain.