Hiking Boots 2010

Here are our top 5 hiking boots to meet all needs and budgets.

But before we begin, you’re probably wondering what the difference is between a walking boot and hiking boot. Simply put, hiking boots typically offer greater rigidity in the sole, additional cushioning and greater ankle support for carrying larger ruck sacks and heavier equipment.

The line between walking boots and hiking boots as blurred over time as outdoor footwear has become more technical and manufacturers have become more carefree with their terminology.

But generally, the more technical features an outdoors boot has, the better it is for hiking rather than walking. Of course, many hiking boots are excellent for walking as well, if a bit heavy due to all the Gore-Tex XCR and other technologies.

We’ve selected 5 hiking boots that we recommend. To provide as diverse a selection as possible, we’ve chosen one hiking boot from each manufacturer and targetted different price points typically associated with those brands. So for Salomon, we picked one of the most popular technical hiking boots, while for Hi-Tec we chose one of the most affordable. You get the idea.

We’re going to run through the top 5 hiking boots,explaining why we’ve chosen them, why you would want and them and if they offer sufficient value for money.

Most importantly, are they waterproof? The weather isn’t fantastic at this time of year and if you’re hiking far and wide across open fields and up mountain trails, you’re going to get caught in the rain sooner or later.

Lightweight comfort and breathability are also important. It may not be summer, but this doesn’t mean that your feet can’t become hot and sweaty or heavy from all that walking -especially if you have a ruck sac across your shoulders. Hiking is a much more intense form of walking, so extra points will be awarded to products that are light and breathable with moisture wicking linings to help prevent blisters and even anti-bacterial treatments to reduce the build up of unpleasant odours.

On the trail, rocks and other sharp surfaces are common, so underfoot protection is paramount to comfort. As a result hiking boots feature thick and chunky treads to offer excellent grip on all manner of outdoor surfaces.

Our Top 5 Hiking Boots

Salomon Elios Mid GTX- Autobahn and Asphalt

Salomon describe their best selling Elios Mid GTX as the ultimate mid-cut all weather hiking boot and quite rightly so. Featuring waterproof uppers, Gore-Tex lining and 3D padding, it combines protection, comfort and fit with a breathable ‘mesh sandwich’ to ventilate the sides of the foot. The Contagrip outsole offers excellent grip and each boot comes with an Ortholite sockliner for additional cushioning. Salomon’s reputation for quality in their outdoor footwear is next to none while retaining a style all of their own. So if you’re ever in doubt over which boots to buy, Salomon are always a safe bet.

Buy the Salomon Elios Moid GTX Walking Boots >>

Hi-Tec V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi – Chocolate and Light Taupe

Hi-Tec’s latest hiking boots have been selling like hot cakes and it’s clear to see why. The Hi-Tec V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi is their most technical boot to date, utilising all of their technologies from a lightweight V-Lite build to Ion mask waterproofing combined with traditional waterproof full grain leather uppers and an exclusive Vibram outsole. What you get is a fully featured hiking boot with classic good looks, chunky treads and full waterproof protection. The WPi has been receiving rave reviews and for only a tenner more than the Salomon hiking boot, it’s certainly a good time to ‘buy British’ once again.

Womens Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof

A fantastic hiking boot from Merrell. It’s a pity they don’t make a similar model in mens colours.

The Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof is clearly the most breathable of the hiking boots in our top 5 with plenty of breathable mesh ports along the side as well as a mesh padded tongue and cuff. There’s a long list of injection moulded TPU supports, protective rubber areas, footbeds and advanced cushioning technologies.

Buy tthe Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof Walking Boots >>

Merrell are an American brand renown for the comfort of their products and these Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof hiking boots are no exception. Their grip is exceptional too with suitably chunky treads as part of their unique Chameleon Arc outsole made by Vibram.

These boots look fantastic and are suitable for all-year usage, but we wouldn’t recommend them for trekking in torrential rain, otherwise they’re surprisingly waterproof for a boot with so much breathable mesh.

Carn Storm Chaser eV Mid

Despite the french looking name and design of their footwear, Carn are a new British footwear manufacturer who have launched into the outdoors market with a range of technical walking shoes, hiking boots and trail running shoes. The Carn Storm Chaser eV Mid is the top of the range product, built on their Carn Storm Chaser eV walking shoes, but with an extended collar design to provide extra ankle support and additional protection against the elements.

What you get is a simple, but great looking hiking boot with eVent waterproofing, a Carn exclusive uTRX sole unit that’s very versatile and offers excellent grip over all terrain as well as AEGIS and Trek-DRY anti-bacterial and moisture wicking linings. While these Carn hiking boots have a lot of great things going for them, the Carn brand seems very expensive on the whole when compared to Salomon and Merrell products of a similar price point. It probably doesn’t help that from the side, the Carn Storm Chaser eV Mid looks like the considerably cheaper Hi-Tec Eurotrek.

Buy the Carn Storm Chaser eV Mid Walking Boots >>

Brasher Supalite GTX

Designed to be traditionally styled with super-lightweight comfort and a host of modern features, the Brasher Supalite GTX is a very popular hiking boot, if on the expensive side. However, weighing just 1122 grams, this is the lightest, waterproof, breathable leather hiking boot in existence. So you certainly shouldn’t be as tired as a whole day of hiking. The Supalite GTX is made with full grain leather, a waterproof Gore-Tex lining and a supalite sole unit, making the boot appear very modest considering its cost.

Brasher are always modest about their technical features, which makes their boots difficult to compare against other brands. However, the quality and comfort of their products certainly speak for themselves.

Conclusion

Because all of these hiking boots are essentially top of the range walking boots, it’s quite close to call for our three awards. But while our top 5 are around the £100 price mark, they are all very different and each have their own areas of specialisation. The Merrel Chameleon for example is the most breathable, the Brasher Supalite is by far the lightest and the offers the greatest level of waterproof protection.

So to keep things simple, here are our three awards to help you prioritise what’s important to you in a hiking boot.

Best Value: Salomon Elios Mid GTX

It was a tough battle between the Elios and the WPi for the Best Value and Best Performance awards, but when the Elios is a good deal cheaper, it’s certainly worth the price. Salomon has an excellent reputation for the comfort, performance and good looks of their products and when measured up to the best selling Merrell or Hi-Tec, their value for money is very apparent.

Best Performance: Hi-Tec V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi

While the Salomon Elios came close to winning this award, it was the all-round appeal of the Hi-Tec V-Lite Altitude Ultra WPi that won. With its traditional looks, full grain leather uppers and full range of features it’s an excellent hiking boot from a British brand that dedicates itself to offering the leading technologies for less than their competitors.

Best Looks: Womens Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof

If there’s one thing Merrell always do well, it’s creating great looking footwear with an emphasis on comfort. The Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof is a fine example of Merrell’s unique styling with makes their huge range of outdoor shoes so appealing. Costing roughly the same as the Salomon Elios, it couldn’t compete on performance and value for money, but when it comes to comfort, Merrell products will always be the winner.

We hope that our hiking boots guide has been helpful and provided something for everyone, whether it’s value for money, performance enhancing features or just goodness to honest comfort.

If you’re interested in buying any of these or would like to browse a wider range of hiking boots, then visit www.fitnessfootwear.com who offer the web’s widest choice of sports and outdoor shoes with Free delivery.