Best Hiking Shoes of the Year
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- Опубликовано: 15 мар 2023
- I test five of the best hiking shoes available and rate them against each other to pick the best hiking shoe.
Purchase the shoes with my affiliate links to support my channel:
Salomon X Ultra 4: amzn.to/3YMUZw5
Adidas Terrex Swift R3: amzn.to/3Jk4sp1
Salewa Mountain Trainer Lite GTX: amzn.to/3leTSYv
The North Face Vectiv Exploris Futurelight: amzn.to/3YPXDRK
Merrell Moab 3: amzn.to/42gReSC
Check out the reviews of these shoes on my website: www.dustyhikers.com
Dusty Hikers is a channel dedicated to those who enjoy the outdoors and hiking. 
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My left ear loved this video!
Hahahaaa! I know! I fixed that problem after this video. 🤩
Terrible audio 😢
As of May 7th, 2024, this video of yours is UNIQUE because of the following 2 reasons. 1. You tested 5 shoe brands. 2. The way you’re testing them is very THOROUGH. You hiked in them for 2 months and approximately 25 to 35 miles in each shoe. You tested them against 4 criteria: Comfort, stability, protection, and traction. Thank you for bringing the Salomon X Ultra 4 to my attention. I will try it out together with Brooks Cascadia 16 as recommended in another video by you.
First-time visitor, liked and subscribed. I'm looking for a good quality, affordable hiking shoes that are offered in a wide width; which, has led me to the Merrell line thus far. I'd be just a recreational hiker, not traversing too challenging of terrain. Thanks for your reviews - I'll have to check them out!
I bought a pair of Salomon boots last year and they are the bomb. Guess I'm up for the shoes now too.
Great video, I wonder if on future reviews you could do a section on how waterproof some of these are. Here in the UK that is very important most of the year. Thanks again.
Thank you for this comprehensive comparison! I recently acquired the Teva Low GTX Grandview Hiking Shoes, mainly because of their Vibram "Megagrip" outsole, and their interesting heel locking/lacing system. I was wondering what your opinion is of the Vibram "Megagrip" outsole, especially since you feel that the Vibram outsole on the Merrill Moab wasn't very good in terms of traction. Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Great content! 👍👍👍
thanks for the info! liked and subbed!
I ended up with Northface vector low cuts ... They were absolutely amazing they probably didn't last as long as they should but I do Photography and essentially my backpack is quite heavy with gear and I'm really hard on my shoes. Stepping on rocks a lot. I'm not doing long distance hiking what I'm doing is walking across some pretty sharp rocks and uneven surfaces in out of salt water so I'm really happy to get one year out of them considering how often I wear them. I may professional landscape photographer so I'm probably wearing them three times a week for a good two hours so to get that many hikes out of them I'm really happy and I'm gonna get the same pair. I've probably got another two or three months worth of wear out of them and then I'm going to get the very same pair in yellow for the next one. I was really happy with them. I found the north face grip really well on uneven surfaces and on rocks that were slippery. I'm doing a lot of ocean photography as well some often, stepping through puddles, saltwater, and even grimy black stuff and I found these shoes actually gripped really well. I never slipped over never fell over and I'm really happy with the north face shoes that is just my summary and everyone will be different
thanks for the confirmation of what i thought about the ultra 4 gtx
Glad I could help.
Thanks for sharing, I must buy new one for my next 800 kms hiking
Let us know what shoe you buy.
Salomon quality has plunged off a cliff. I'm tired of publications and reviewers continuing to praise them as if they're amazing. If you actually put substantial use in them, you'll find that they almost certainly will tear, rip, lose shoelace loops, come apart, etc within a couple months. I owned the XA Pro 3D v7, the X Ultra 3 mid GTX, and the X Ultra 4 mid GTX. Every one of them had a major mechanical failure within two months max of normal outdoor use. Their durability is some of the worst I've seen in the price range, truly unacceptable. And yeah, the Gore-Tex on the Ultra mid 3 and 4 GTX is definitely not really waterproof. Maybe for a short period of breaking them in, but before long you'll find they get saturated. I hope people STOP giving Salomon money for making a worse and worse product every time. I kept trying their shoes and boots because they were comfortable and light. But on every pair, I got burned by extremely substandard quality and durability. For around the same price, get the Oboz Bridger Bdry mid for a far superior quality product that's actually waterproof and will last.
Thank you for sharing. I will review these again after a few more months to see how well they hold up.
I don't buy Salomon anymore for a similar reason. Broken lace eyelets, uppers separating from soles and unreliable waterproofing. It's a shame because they aren't cheap but I'd pay a bit more for a better built shoe or boot. The Quest is a particular disappointment that seems to become less durable with each iteration.
Lowa and Scarpa are much better in my experience. I agree with you that reviewers should call Salomon out on their quality issues or there's no incentive to improve things.
Absolutely true man. The salomon predict hike Gore tex version was my 6th pair of salomons and they were super useless. This is coming after just 70kms of heavy hiking at high altitude terrain. Kind of disappointed honestly.
I’ve found this to be true. I use hiking shoes for a HVAC work shoe. At about 9 months the soles started to separate. Same thing for Keen except at about 10 months. But definitely not as bad as the Salomon. Surprisingly the cheaper Merrel are holding up coming up to 2 years. They definitely need to be replaced because the inner heel area is worn out. But besides that everything else is still good considering two years of hard work.
What shoes u recommend instead?
Thanks for content 🔥
Thanks, you've just saved me lots of time, I was thinking of the Salomans and your review has just confirmed it.
Glad I could help!
Good luck. Salomon durability is truly terrible. The quality of their boots and shoes now is so far below the price tag. Trust me, I've tried 3 different models from them, including the most highly praised and they all fell apart at an extremely quick rate. It's not a fluke, the positive reviews you see are from people who never actually put substantial use into them. Wait and see.
@@WinterReflections Nothing wrong with the five-year-old Salomon X ULTRA 2 GTX. Do you think the newer version is worse in this respect?
@@zalanv9490 Up !
Thx for the information
No problem!
Hey just found your channel and subbed. All the time in woods have you had any Supernatural/Sasquatch/Dogman/Missing 411 type of encounters?❤❤❤
Good review with just one issue regarding the sound track. Only the left speaker has sound. This should be a easy fix for the future videos.
Recorded/ uploaded in Mono
I liked salewa and merrel over adidas and salomon. The natural feel against salomon and adidas and orice against salewa made me buy moab 3 today. I am so happy! 😊
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it. I have a lot of fun putting them together.
I wear out the soles on such shoes well before I wear out their overall structure. The Merrell Moab is the only one that comes close.
I would like to have seen Keen included. So far, I'm really liking the fit of my Zionics.
I have been considering new shoes recently and found your video as a result. Nice job with the comparison. I've been wearing Altra Olympus 4s. I love them, but the new Olympus 5 is really expensive. However, I'm now addicted to the big toe box and the wider feel of the shoe. It's so comfortable. And the big stack height also is nice. What other shoe can I try that has a comparable toe box and feel?
Hoka have nice wide toe box
Salomon OutPulse has not let me down. I only wish the shoe strings gripped better.
You should consider doing a test with Keen Targhee. I have both the shoes and the boots. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. I have used the shoes for over 15 years. Multiple pairs. I prefer them to my Merrels.
In the past 8 years of hiking. I've had the luxury of buying all these top of the line branded hiking boots. From sportiva, merrel, northface ON Cloud and etc. I've worn 17 shoes in total with good miles in it. By far the best I had has been the salomon Ultra X4. Never buy Northface, ON cloud or over hyped athletes brand at all They all suck. Go merrel instead and its more than enough. But lately I have been rocking a Forclaz MT 100. I'm on my 13th Mountain with this boots. Not bad for a mere $150 CAD shoes! It's my new favorite now over Ultra X 4.
Great information. Thank you.
I cant disagree its all about the user, I am on my 2nd pair of Lowa 2008 2022 and 4th pair of North face 2001 2008 2022 and added 2023 and 1 pair of Merrill 2022 and 1 pair of Solomon trail runners 2022 and 1 pair of Berghaus 2008. In the dirt wet snow hiking winter Lowa. In all weather light rain hot to mild cold North face definitely as no fatigue comfy and they propel you on. The other brands will never buy again. Berghaus sole fell off, Solomon Round laces rubbish for ever coming undone or loose. Lowa and North face no problems still have the one dating back to 2001 and 2008. Still fine just a bit funky.
Coming in last in this lineup is still a win.
True.
Great insight, thanks for the video!
I'd be interested to hear what you think of the x ultra 4's against the merrell moab speed's from the previous comparison video?
The Merrel Moab speed is closer to a trail runner than the Salomon X ultra 4. If you need a higher performance shoe or are carrying a backpack I would suggest the X Ultra 4. The Merrell Moab Speed is arguably more comfortable but it is not as stable.
I’ve been looking for someone to review hiking shoes… thx
Glad to help!
nice content. What are your thoughts on the la sportiva ultra raptor 2? I'm stuck between the Salomon x ultra 4.
Thank you! I really enjoy doing this. Alas, I have not tested any La Sportiva shoes yet. I moved to Italy so I must get a pair soon. I just finished a five-day thru-hike and a number of hikers were wearing the raptor 2.
Good solid vid, now your at 1.94k subs
Grazie! I do about 300 subs per month. I need better intros and more storytelling to pull viewers through the content. I will get there!
@@Dusty_Hikers Well you have a clear and concise way of speaking and that defintely helps when reviewing products I'm sure the stories will come in time from all your different experiences, keep up the good work.
How would the Salomon X Ultra (in mid top) compare to the Danner Mountain 600 GTX for backpacking? I know you really liked the Danner. I’m torn between these two strikingly different boots for my next pair. Thanks for the video, good work!
I think the Salomon X Ultra 4 mid would be better than the Danner Mountain 600 gtx. I love those Danners. I walked five days at 16,000 to 18,000 feet in Peru in those. Though the Salomon’s are a better hiking shoe.
The Salomons will fall apart on you way faster than should be acceptable for the price. Trust me. Go search through lower star product reviews for them online, from people who actually put miles on them. I've owned multiple different models and some of them had more than one pair of, including the X ultra 3 and 4 mid GTX. All of them had the same failures within two months of owning them
I would go to the Quest line before those X Ultra mids.
I too, have the Danner Mountain 600 GTX boots, and find them almost as comfortable as sneakers only with an excellent, rugged and grippy outsole, though I'm only a recreational hiker.
Has anyone tried Lems? In particular the boulder summit waterproof boot?
What is a good shoe for travelling to Europe as a tourist? I am not a hiker, just doing popular tourist spots in places like Poland, Czech Reppublic, Austria, Germany (Munich, Berlin), Amsterdam, Stratford-upon-Avon, London city, Scotland, France, Milan, Florence, Rome, Santorini and Athens.
Keeping your feet dry is a MUST for walkers .
On a sunny morning in the British country side, its often you will need to walk though wet grass.
Wet grass even with waterproof/Gortex lined shoes often means damp feet.
In 6 months i have returned, 1 pair of Karimor, and 2 pairs of Merells , all gortex , all took 24 hours or more to dry.
Tiday i picked up some Adidas terrex East trails.
Will they pass the wet grass test ?
I hope so , thought i doubt it !
Yes, Adidas Terrex East Trails mid will keep your feet nice and dry on wet grass. I found out their waterproofness lasted longer than a pair of Salomon and two pairs of North Face I own. The North Face shoes were more comfortable on longer hikes.
But the East Trails still have a Goretex membrane. That means it will degrade quickly and the shoes will leak, there is no way around this, unless you get some quality leather shoes and keep them well waxed.
I make you right , for damp wet conditions, it has to be leather .
My ex German army Meindls 100% waterproof, but heavy , 2350 grams on the scales .
I keep hearing good things about the Italian made Grisport leather walking boots ,with the vibram soles .
I will probably buy a pair as some they are competitive to brashers, but half the price at £60
Just picked up the best brand ever for outdoor adventure. The Alverstone 2 granite by Merrell Flipping great. I should get 5 to 6 years wroth of wear. Why pay more?
I am interested in your experience with AKU's Rocket Dfs GTX Hiking Shoe, particularly as it compares to the Salomon X Ultra 4? I have read your review and others on the Salomon X Ultra -- but not much on the AKU -- particularly in comparison to other hiking shoes. I am debating which to get.
Hey! I don’t know that other shoe yet.
Lovely boot with an odd fit. Definitely a try before you buy boot but well made. My brother hikes in Aku boors and he would be the first to complain if the quality or design was off.
Every type of Salewa approach shoe I've tried, at least as sold to the U.S., run QUITE narrow in the toe box. I think that's intentional - think of them as climbing shoes, with a much thicker sole. They seem to be designed to prevent movement around your feet, so that you can almost smear with them. I love the engineering, love the design, but if you have wider feet you might be very careful about sizing.
nice shoeses
Hi Dusty, Great video's, I have question I'd really like to get your opinion on due to your vast knowledge and experience using these shoes. I'm looking for a good quality shoe for lawn mowing, something that will be used a lot, comfort and light weight would be most important, followed by traction durability and waterproof. Any suggestions on which one you think I should look into. Thank you
The Adidas Terrex Swift R3 have incredible traction but they are not super light. Based on your criteria, you should look at the Merrell Moab 3 goretex version. They are less than $100 and you will be hard pressed to find a hiking shoe with a better value to price ratio.
@@Dusty_Hikers Thank you very much for the suggestions, I ended up going with the Merrell Moab 3 wide. very nice shoe lots of traction and nice on the feet.
I was able to but a pair of the Terrex R3 for 50% off as a high alpine hiking and off trail hunting shoe. I went with a full size up but saw several reviews saying they run big but I was curious how the sizing fit for you compared to street shoes.
They fit true to size for me. For thicker winter socks you may have to go up a size. The taper at the toe and pinch a little when going down a steep gradient. I do not have wide feet so I can imagine that they might be too tight in the toe for folks with wide feet.
What would you recommend for someone that also needs water resistance/waterproof shoes? Thanks!
Hike where it does not rain. Just kidding. Of the shoes I tested I believe they all have goretex variants. Honestly, the X Ultra 4 is a great show and I know it has. Goretex version.
salamon x ultra 4 good but as i see on your video the adiddas have strong outsole ?
Yes, but as I tried to convey in the video the super rigid outsole on the Adidas shoe does not make it better overall than the Salomon shoe. In my estimation the Salomon X Ultra 4 is much better than the Adidas Terrex Swift R3.
What about scarpa, la sportiva and oboz? These premium shoes and boots are missing!
what was the story with the hoka? I was hoping to see it on this list. thanks for doing a comparison of the others though
The Hoka were too narrow. They hurt my feet. They were the Hoka Anacap low goretex.
I want more videos Man ❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊
Testing three shoes now on a thru hike in Italy. Those will drop soonish.
Are Hokas in contention with these? Considering the speedgoat 5s?
Checkout my review of the Speedgoat 5. They are good. I did a five day hike with them and they performed well. I found them to be a little unstable on more technical terrain because they have a thick stack and no stability feature.
Thanks for the video, the Merrell Moab 3 has wrong link
Fixed. Thank you.
So I have poor blood circulation in my feet which causes them to go numb when hiking. I bought Merrels a year or so ago and they were a horrible experience... any recommendations?
Hey! You could try Hoka. They have a massive stack of fluff. I have tue Speedgoat 5 and they are working well so far.
@Dusty Hikers Thankyou! I'll definitely check them out
If I go for Salomon then I can't buy ultraboost 😢. Please suggest something affordable as compared to Salomon
By the way salomon cross hike 2... is ot ortholite? What do you think about that shoe?
Hey! I have not worn the cross hike 2. Maybe in the future.
great vid!!
but there is only left side audio.
I have to figure that out. I switched editing software.
What happens if the laces of the shoes are cut? Can these be bought somewhere or does salomon fix it for free???
Great question. Maybe someone from Salomon could comment.
Hi can u tell hows cascadia 14 trail runners by brooks for hicking
I have not used them but I know many people do use them for hiking.
Which one of these performed the best at regular walking in the city?
I really like walking around town in the Salewa Mountain Trainer Lite or the North Face Vectiv Exploris.
Absolutetly hated the Salomon X Ultra 4...tried the normal and wide versions size 47 2/3 and 48...all where just way to tight at the midfoot at the lace...it was so bad that I couldnt even walk for an hour. My feet are quite wide but not extreme....its just has weird dimensions
I need some shoes for spanish summer , what do you think about it ? About 5 shoes you show? Thanks from Barcelona !
Maybe Moab 3 ?
Salomon X Ultra 4 non goretex version. The uppers are well ventilated. I can feel breezes through them.
@@Dusty_Hikers thank you so much ! I,ll try it ,and come back to coment my sensations , I,m subscriber now
@oscarguiraogarcia3471 what do you think?
@@Hema115 I got moab 2 vent at least...my wife hahaha , so good , for the moment , i don,t know how about August
But I feel not like a glove too , sorry my English , i didn,t like school haha
@@oscarguiraogarcia3471 I ordered the Salomon x Ultra 4 online it's really good I tested it at a store
hello can you please set the audio in stereo via headset i hear only in my left ear.
I made a mistake in exporting the audio. Sorry, I don’t think I can fix it.
I bought a pair of Salomon hiking shoes at the recommendation of another hiking gear reviewer. The toe box was so narrow that it actually caused a blood blister under my big toe that my doctor first thought might be a type of melanoma (black toe nail). Sorry, but I will never buy another Solomon shoe.
Great video! Where do you come from? You don’t sound Italian!
Sono degli USA. Have two passports and I love ITALY. I grew up hunting, hiking, and fishing in Washington State.
Go try them on. Everyone's feet are different and comfort is number 1.
Anything above 10 celcius and my feet get too hot so gortex is no good for me.
Considering that the Moab Speed beat the Adidas R3 last year and the R3 was number two again this year, it would've been nice to see how the Speed competes with this year's Salomon... a champ deserves a chance to defend its title but was ignored instead. Disappointing.
Thanks for your considerations. I shipped some shoes to Italy via ship container and some of them shrank. The Moab Speed were among these. It was slight but perceptible. I guess weeks in a hot container caused parts of the shoe to condense and get smaller. I could not wear them. My intention every year is to give the champ a chance to defend the title.
please god spare my left ear
Columbia not even in the list 😢?
maybe best value? Thanks.
Chapters would make me see the full video.
Thanks for the feedback.
Exactly how would chapters save you time on watching the whole video
@@racdude01Conclusion. Just like this conversation.
@@carstenhansen5757 you want him to put chapters in his video but you can’t even make an intelligent sentence 🙄
@@racdude01LOL, little boy. Did I bruise your fragile ego by saying, you'rte a waste of time. :LOOOOL. 🤣🤣
Why is the audio in the left ear only. Please it is irritating for headphone users. Thankyou.
Recently wasted £120 on a pair of Salomon trail shoes. They don't fit. Toe box is too tight.They are my size. I have very regular shaped feet. What is this company doing?
There seem to be lots of people with your experience.
I was concerned About the negative comments regarding Salomon and the crease in the toe box. I can see that the crease definitely is there from these videos. Yuck
Hoka take a lot of beating.
I keep reading online that the Salomon X Ultra has really poor durability
That is good information. I only spent two months and about 30 miles in them. I found zero issues with durability in that time.
Your audio is only in the left speaker (head phone). Please check your recording settings or fix it in post.
Good job otherwise.
Not sure I can fix it. I think it occurred when I exported the file from the video editor.
Funny that in another video, where you compare Terrex to MOAN, you complain about the traction of Terrex, while here you praise it.
Good lord sir, boost your mic by like 20 db
Thank you. The video exported in mono and I did not realize it until it was already uploaded.
You buy 5 shoes a year but only walk in them 25-35 miles? I walk that in a week to break in a pair of shoes...
my left ear is deaf now
Hahahahaa. I know. I did not realize the audio was messed up.
you should fix your sound. mono sucks
I have had a bad experience with the Salomon X4... is not what it used to be... X3 were pretty decent but the X4 is just a piece of garbage, not durable at all.
Others have provided similar comments. I think the X4 benefitted from a big boost from content creators.
The Salomon X Ultra 4 are distinctly average as a hiking shoe. Walk through a wet field and you'll wish you had saved your money. They're are advertised as waterproof which is laughable.
They are great hiking shoes for stability, protection, and traction. The shoes I tested were non Gore-Tex.
YES. Salomon quality has plunged off a cliff. I'm tired of publications and reviewers continuing to praise them as if they're amazing. If you actually put substantial use in them, you'll find that they almost certainly will tear, rip, lose shoelace loops, come apart, etc within a couple months. I owned the XA Pro 3D v7, the X Ultra 3 mid GTX, and the X Ultra 4 mid GTX. Every one of them had a major mechanical failure within two months max of normal outdoor use. Their durability is some of the worst I've seen in the price range, truly unacceptable. And yeah, the Gore-Tex on the Ultra mid 3 and 4 GTX is definitely not really waterproof. Maybe for a short period of breaking them in, but before long you'll find they get saturated. I hope people STOP giving Salomon money for making a worse and worse product every time. I kept trying their shoes and boots because they were comfortable and light. But on every pair, I got burned by extremely substandard quality and durability. For around the same price, get the Oboz Bridger Bdry mid for a far superior quality product that's actually waterproof and will last.
I specifically search for some waterproof shoes for certain hikes and search for non waterproof for other hikes
Salomon soles don't last they wear down fast.
You “scamper” for less than 30 miles per pair of shoes and talk about our seriousness with hiking?
New video dropping soon. I hiked 85 miles in five days from Bologna to Florence. Best trailer runners for hiking. I wore the Brooks Cascadia 16, Hoka Speedgoat 5, and the Altra Lone Peak 7.
Hiking shoes are so damn UGLY.
Salomon’s quality & reliability is HORRIBLE.