A light hiker is the best type of shoeforon-footadventures close to home. The right pair can bridge the gap between trail and town, savingyou both money and closet space.Unlike a high-tophiking boot, it offers less structure, more breathability, and a minimalweight. That makesitmuch more comfortable for occasions whenyou aren’t carrying a heavy load or walking for days at a time—i.e., 95 percent of the average user’s hikes.
An increasing number of manufacturers have caught on to this needand, in the past five years,have focused on more functional andbetter-looking designs. Now there are a wealth of options on the market. Since manyof us are staring down months of nearby adventures (thoughthese shoes will alsoserve you farther afieldonce things reopen), it seemedapropos to put five of these do-it-all light hikers in a head-to-head test.
The Test
Comfort: I wore each pair while working at my standing desk for an entire dayand duringan hourlong hikein a green space near my house.
Performance: Besides the hike, Iworeeachto climb and descenda steep scree field three times. I gauged how well each shoegripped the ground and interacted with my feet.
Style: I FaceTimed with fashion journalist and founder of the outerwear site , Alex Rakestraw. We studied each pairand discussed their designs.
The Winner
Danner Trail 2650($160)
Comfort: 5
Performance: 4.5
Style: 5
wasso comfortable and capable during both the hike and scree-slide tests that I wore them ona bonus hikewith my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter in our Deuter Kid Carrierthat same day. Theshoeshandled my adorable 25-pound load with aplomb, and the hours on my feet proved to befull-on enjoyable. Credit the cushy midsole, coupled with an OrthoLite insole, the latter of which hugged the bottomof my feet like an old friend; this helped while standing at my desk as well aswhen slidingdownhill on scree, because my dogsdidn’t movearound in the shoe at all. On the fashion front, Rakestraw sharedmy love of the 2650. “These are my favorite true-to-form light hikers that are out right now,” he says. “A lot of the time,brands keep designs so firmly anchored in the idea that it’sa boot,to the detraction of the sneaker.Thesehit a balance with this that no other pure outdoors light hikers have hit so far.”
Best Value
Salomon Outline($110)
Comfort: 3.5
Performance: 4.5
Style: 4
If you’re on a budget, look no further than the , which was fantastic byall three testing criteriaand costs $50 less than the 2650. Itsaggressive five-millimeter lugs allowed me to arrest a downward slide in less than two feet on the scree field. Meanwhile, itsextremely lightweight and breathable upper feltlike that ofa comfy sneaker, making thisa best-of-both-worlds day hiker. Rakestraw believes that this party-on-top, business-on-bottom approach added to the aesthetic of the shoe as well. “I love that it has a running-shoe upper with a monster-truck bottom. It looks a little sandwiched together, but because it is Salomon, there is a real tastefulness to how it was executed,”hesays. “It’s like one of those Porsche 911 models with big Baja tires: you might say, ‘Wait, that doesn’t go together,’ but it’s very utilitarian because of it.”
Best Performance
Oboz Arete Low($125)
Comfort: 5
Performance: 5
Style: 3.5
If this test had been based solely on performance, the would have won. I made audible oohs and aahswhile navigatingdownhill amid both mud and scree, as the Arete’s fantastic traction and best-in-test fit made itincredibly capable at maintaining control. Thefit—a nice cupping heel to keep my foot in place, with an arched midfootand a wide toebox—married the best of performance and comfort. Though the upper was featherlight and breathed well, I never felt like thisshoewould be undergunnedon a technical day hike. Oboz has not historically been known as a stylishbrand, but it stepped up itsgame with the Arete. “I think this is a great move for the brand,” Rakestraw says. “It’s somewhere between a walking shoe and a really technical sneaker, and it looks completely unlike anything I would associate with Oboz. It has some of that outdoor niche detailing that’s in fashion right now.”
Best Summer Style
Columbia Vitesse Outdry Hiking Shoe($110)
Comfort: 4.5
Performance: 3.5
Style: 4
I don’t think of Columbia as abrand that puts aesthetics first, but theproved me wrong. “I think these would be really fresh with shorts,” Rakestraw says. “I like how big the weave is on top. This is a funky risk-taking shoe that is aggressively summerand retro in color scheme.” On the performance side, thesewerethe most running-shoe-like of the bunch, and I felt extremely comfortable standing in them for hours at my computer. They alsohad lugs that were toughenough to help me maintain control while descending the scree field. My only beef was that my feet got extremely hot because ofthe waterproof upper. I finished my 55-degree, hourlong hike with wet socks and clammy feet.
Best for Mountain Townies
Forsake Cascade($110)
Comfort: 3.5
Performance: 1.5
Style: 3.5
I really liked the way the looked with jeans, but I wasn’t happy with the shoe’s performance. It wasplenty comfortable forwalking on streets and standing at my desk for hours, but the fit felt sloppy during hiking climbs and descents. Onone downhill, both of my big toeshit the front of the shoe for 30 consecutive steps. That’s a one-way ticket to losing a toenail on any longer hiking trip. Their lugs were the least aggressiveof the testand did little to help me control myself on scree. But when I brought these issues up with Rakestraw, he reminded me that they havea place in this market. “They do look like a nice casual sneaker—like a generic seventies-inspired runner—and they have an extra layer of ruggedness to them,” he says. “It is a more mature style.”