Best Hiking Shoes for Men of 2026

Our team of hiking experts has researched 300 pairs of hiking shoes and tested more than 100 over the past 13 years, including shoes from HOKA, Altra, Saucony, Merrell, Brooks, and more.

Editor’s Note: We updated this guide on March 4, 2026 to reflect new product pricing and to ensure that we still stand by our rankings.

How We Test Hiking Shoes

We’ve hiked 100,000 miles — from local day hikes to 3,000-mile thru-hikes — on world-renowned trails, giving us deep footwear expertise.

For more info, check out some of our other most popular gear guides:

Quick Picks for Men’s Hiking Shoes

Check out this list of the best hiking shoes, or continue scrolling to see our full lineup of favorites with in-depth reviews.

1. Best Hiking Shoes Overall: Salomon X Ultra 5 GTX ($175)

2. Best Lightweight Trail Runners for Long Distances: Saucony Peregrine 16 ($150)

3. Best Hiking Shoes for Technical Terrain: La Sportiva Ultra Raptor III ($169)

4. Best Hike Shoes for Fast and Light Missions: La Sportiva Prodigio 2 ($170)

5. Good Balance of Comfort & Traction: HOKA Speedgoat 7 ($165)

6. Best Grippy & Comfy Waterproof Hiking Shoes: HOKA Anacapa 2 Low GTX ($180)

7. Best Hiking Shoes for Cold and Damp Conditions: On Cloudrock Low Waterproof ($200)

8. Best Hiking Shoes for Narrow Feet: Scarpa Ribelle Cross 2 ($159)

9. Best Budget Hiking Shoes: Merrell Moab 3 ($140)

10. Supportive & Comfortable Trail Runners for Long Distances: Brooks Cascadia 19 ($150)

11. Best Shoe-Boot Hybrid: La Sportiva Spire GTX ($219)

12. Best Zero Drop Shoes for Thru-Hiking: Altra Lone Peak 9 ($145)

Analysis & Results

We rate our hiking shoes on five different dimensions: comfort, traction, weight, durability, and weather resistance. Check out how they performed in our real-world, hands-on testing.

What’s the best value hiking shoe?

The Merrell Moab 3 is our favorite budget option, offering exceptional durability, comfort, and traction at one of the lowest prices on this list. The Saucony Peregrine 16 is another great high-value shoe. Its impressive lightweight performance, combined with its attainable price point, makes it a high-performance shoe that punches far above its price point. Similarly priced and built to go the distance, the Brooks Cascadia 19 is a shoe that we’ve trusted for years.

What are the most comfortable hiking shoes?

When it comes to comfort, all of the shoes on our list are excellent options — although a few stand out as super cozy right out of the box. Our top choice for comfort is the Hoka Speedgoat 7, providing exceptional cushioning and a plush feel thanks to its thick midsole and responsive foam. This design reduces impact and offers a smooth ride, even on the roughest trails.

Also near the top are the Saucony Peregrine 16 and the Merrell Moab 3. The Peregrine 16 remains an extremely comfortable shoe for logging high mileage. Its plush midsole, combined with an updated and slightly wider toe box, makes it comfortable no matter your foot shape. The Merrell Moab 3 is one of our favorites for its fit and ample interior padding, which cradles the foot comfortably while offering excellent arch support. Both shoes will keep your feet happy on the trail and ensure you can hike for hours without discomfort.

Which shoes have the best traction?

Getting a grip matters when you’re hiking. While all of the shoes on this list will keep you secure on most terrain, a few are truly the best in our experience. The Salomon X Ultra GTX 5 leads the pack with its Contagrip sole, which provides excellent bite on both wet and dry surfaces. Its multi-directional lugs enhance stability and control while moving, making it an ultra-reliable choice for ascents and descents on all sorts of terrain.

The La Sportiva Prodigio 2 impresses with its sticky lugs and powerful grip. We love the dual-density rubber for both traction and durability on mile after mile of wet, rocky trails. With some of the deepest lugs of any shoe in our lineup, the Scarpa Ribelle Cross 2 is an excellent choice for muddy or steep trails that require extra traction.

What are the lightest hiking shoes?

The lightest in our lineup, all coming with an ounce of each other, are the Saucony Peregrine 16, La Sportiva Prodigio 2, and Hoka Speedgoat 7. The La Sportiva Prodigio 2 in particular is our top choice for those looking to go fast and light on the trail. While all three of these shoes are made for trail running, we have found that they are great for hikes as well. While lightweight may mean they are less durable than heavier shoes, throughout our testing we’ve found that lighter-weight shoes lead to less fatigue and more fun on the trail.

What’s the most durable hiking shoe?

At the top of our list for durability is a tie between the On Cloudrock Low Waterproof, Scarpa Ribelle Cross 2, and the Salomon X Ultra 5 GTX. The On Cloudrock is built to last, featuring a burly upper made of abrasion-resistant materials that offer excellent protection against wear and tear. The rubber rand, highly durable outer, and strong laces all add up to make a shoe that we trust for many miles. With its deep lugs, strong midsole, and strong upper, the Scarpa Ribelle Cross 2 quickly became a favorite for steep mountain adventures, encountering sharp rocks and scree.

The Salomon X Ultra 5 GTX boasts a similarly tough synthetic upper offering exceptional durability on sharp rocks and root-filled trails. We found it held up extremely well, no matter what we threw at it. Its updated chassis and excellent outsole lend serious longevity even during the longest hikes over the most challenging terrain — and they’ll last several seasons.

Which hiking shoes have the best weather protection?

Several hiking shoes on our list are waterproof and do a solid job of keeping feet dry. However, we generally find that GORE-TEX waterproofing outperforms most brands’ proprietary waterproof membranes. The Salomon X Ultra 5 GTX, La Sportiva Spire GTX, and HOKA Anacapa 2 GTX each boast a GORE-TEX Membrane that delivers exceptional waterproofing and breathability. While not built with Gore-Tex, the On Cloudrock Low Waterproof still offers outstanding weather resistance and is a favorite in damp conditions.

How to Choose Hiking Shoes

What is the Difference Between Hiking Boots, Shoes, and trail Runners?

Hiking Boots

Hiking boots are made for stability, durability, and traction. They often come in mid- and high versions, covering the ankle bone and shin. They offer top protection from ankle rolls and reliable grip on slick terrain. The downsides are that they are heavy and not nearly as breathable as shoes or trail runners, which increases the risk of blisters.

Hiking Shoes

Shoes often offer similar traction and durability to boots, but have a lower cut that sits below the ankle bone, so they don’t provide the same stability as boots. Over the past few years, many hiking shoes have drifted more toward a trail-running style (i.e., lighter, more breathable materials).

Trail Runners

Trail runners are the lightest-weight and generally most breathable version of hiking footwear. From the outside, they look like regular running shoes. They typically offer far less stability than hiking boots, but your feet will get much less sweaty and dry much, much faster. Most thru-hikers wear trail runners (including us!).

There are a few differences between trail runners and regular running shoes. Those include a rock plate at the mid-foot to protect the foot while scrambling or walking over uneven terrain. It also includes deeper, more rugged lugs for increased traction. And sometimes, trail runners have a gaiter trap — a piece of Velcro at the back to attach a running gaiter.

What Size Shoe Do You Need?

We recommend purchasing hiking shoes (and boots) a half size bigger than your normal shoes, especially if you’re between sizes or at the edge of one size. This is for two reasons. First, feet tend to swell during long hikes, and second, people tend to wear slightly thicker socks for hiking. You’ll need the extra wiggle room so your toes don’t get crushed inside your toe box.

For a quick guide, use the finger test to figure out if you have enough room. With your foot in the shoe, loosen the laces and press your toes against the tip of the toe box. Your index finger should slide in easily. If there’s enough room, you’ll know your toes won’t jam against the front of the shoe during steep descents, so you’ll reduce the chance of hot spots, pain, and nail damage.

How Long Do Hiking Shoes Take To Break In?

We recommend walking in shoes for around 20 miles before taking them on trail. Some pairs are comfortable right out of the box. This is generally true for models that lean more toward a lightweight trail-runner style. However, shoes with leather uppers or stiffer soles require a break-in period.

Hiking Shoe Traction

If you are hiking off-trail or on uneven terrain, pay special attention to hiking shoe traction. The only way to get a good sense of how grippy the shoes are is to try them on. Walk around the store and go up and down that funny little rock stepper thing (we like to lean forward, facing downhill, and backward, facing uphill, to get a feel for how much bite the shoes actually have).

How Do You Prevent Blisters While Hiking?

You can prevent blisters by reducing friction between your foot and the shoe. The best ways to reduce friction are to wear high-quality socks and keep your feet clean and dry.

There are a couple of reasons people get blisters faster while hiking and backpacking than they do in the frontcountry. One is that feet and socks get wet faster and stay wet longer (through sweat, rain, and water crossings). The second is that uneven terrain twists and turns feet more than a smooth, flat surface like concrete. The push and pull of each step forces layers of skin to move in different directions, eventually separating and irritating those high-friction points.

Check out our article, How to Prevent and Treat Blisters, for all our tips on treating your feet, but in short, keep them as clean and dry as possible.

Do You Need Waterproof Hiking Shoes?

If you’ll be hiking in a damp, wet climate, waterproof hiking shoes are great. However, if your trip involves many water crossings, it may not make a difference. If your feet have a chance to dry out (i.e., you’ll have warm, sunny stretches mixed in with periods of rain), waterproof shoes can limit how wet they get during those wet times.

However, if they’ll be chronically wet, it’s more important to keep your feet warm and wet than to try to keep them dry when that’s not a realistic option. If you’re hiking in an arid climate, go with a non-waterproof option, even if you have to cross through some water.

If you do go waterproof, remember that external treatments become less effective over time, so you’ll need to reapply a treatment to keep your shoes in tip-top shape.

There are waterproof and non-waterproof versions of most shoes on this list. We recommend first finding the hiking shoe that meets your comfort, traction, and stability needs, then determining whether you’ll need a waterproof or non-waterproof option.

What Kind of Socks Should You Wear With Hiking Shoes?

You’ll want to wear a wool or synthetic sock with your hiking shoes. The top of the sock needs to be above the top of the shoe. Wearing no-show or ankle-height socks is asking for trouble.

For hot summer hiking, a lightweight, quarter-length option is your best bet. For cooler weather, consider a mid- or heavyweight option for additional insulation.

We cover our favorites in our best hiking socks guide.

Do You Need Insoles?

If you have a history of foot issues, yes, insoles are a great idea. Specifically, if you have plantar fasciitis, flat feet, or are prone to shin splints or blisters, we recommend them.

If you have generally healthy, resilient feet, you don’t strictly need them. But insoles are a great option for anyone who wants additional cushioning and arch support. They are a solution for rigid shoes or pairs that have little support. They can also help take up a bit more space to achieve that customized fit for folks who are between sizes or want a tighter fit.

Why Trust CleverHiker

We’ve collectively run, hiked, and backpacked over 80,000 miles and 3,000 days in hiking shoes to identify the top-performing models. Lead tester Ian Krammer has climbed all 58 Colorado 14ers (and many of them twice) in hiking shoes from this list. He’s also climbed more than 400 peaks over 13,000 feet over the last eight years, which has given him a deep understanding of where these shoes truly excel or fall short.

Joining him, Gear Analyst Miles Knotek, is a self-proclaimed shoe geek. Miles has been experimenting with footwear ever since making his first pair of sandals out of paracord and a truck’s mud flap as a teenager. He loves exploring the ins and outs of his shoes and is meticulous in finding the right shoes for the right conditions. He firmly believes that the correct number of shoes to own is “N+1.” Based in Alaska, he regularly takes his shoes out in some of the harshest conditions. From rocky ridgelines to muddy trails, Miles can be found testing the limits of all his footwear on his many adventures.

Testing Methodology

We assess hiking shoes in five different dimensions: comfort, traction, weight, durability, and weather resistance. We take each pair out for hundreds of miles on long-distance thru-hikes as well as dozens of day hikes in alpine zones.

How Do We Assess Comfort?

To assess comfort, we look at the amount of room in the toe box — enough for toes to splay naturally but not so much that they feel sloppy — as well as cushioning in the insole and support around the arch. We also consider flexibility at the mid-foot (enough to keep your natural gait) and protection on rocky and rooty trails.

How Do We test Traction?

For traction, we examine the lug pattern and outsole depth, analyzing during real-world trail testing how effectively it grips across multiple surfaces, including regular dirt, loose soil, mud, wet rock, roots, and sand.

We also scrutinize the lug pattern’s design, noting how effectively each model sheds (or cakes) water and debris. Additionally, we consider the type of outsole material, whether it’s a durable rubber or proprietary compound, and its tackiness and flexibility underfoot.

How Do We Measure Weight?

Weight is straightforward. The weight on your feet expends about five times as much energy as the same amount carried on your back. Lighter shoes are always better in this metric, and we put each pair on a scale to make sure they measure up.

How Do We Assess Durability?

For durability, we examine the outsole material, evaluating its resilience to abrasion and wear over extended use. For the upper material, we scrutinize its robustness against blowouts and tears over time in high-wear areas. We note any areas of reinforcement around the toe and ball of the foot, where holes tend to appear first. We also pay close attention to stitched and bonded areas to assess seams. Tread longevity is also a critical factor, and we track the number of miles we make it before we start to notice a decrease in performance.

What Do We Look at for Weather Resistance?

Weather resistance for footwear has a few key elements for us. We look at how effectively each pair keeps water out by hiking through rainstorms, across bogs, and water crossings. We also care about how quickly they dry, assessing how long it takes after the footwear has been saturated to dry out. Relatedly, breathability — how well the shoes release moisture from the inside — is another dimension we hone in on in our on-trail testing.

Conclusion

Selecting the right pair of hiking shoes is essential for a comfy and fun outdoor experience. From rugged trails to unpredictable weather, the durability, comfort, and weather resistance of men’s hiking shoes play a crucial role in your safety and happiness on the trail. With so many options out there, finding the perfect pair for your feet will get you into the great outdoors, and we hope this guide is a step in the right direction.