Whether you’re on a day hike with friends or tackling an ambitious backpacking route, you need a good pair of hiking boots to protect your feet and stabilize your ankles. After trekking over 1,200 miles and taking more than 2 million steps across all types of terrain in 43 pairs of hiking boots over the course of three years, we’ve chosen the Salomon Quest 4 Gore-Tex Hiking Boots (men’s and women’s) as the best hiking boots because of their solid traction and support, breathable and waterproof materials, and a mix of features that let us hike comfortably for miles, including a wide toe box, sturdy heel protection, and a gusseted tongue.
Our pick
Salomon Quest 4 Gore-Tex Hiking Boots (men’s sizes)
These versatile boots offer trustworthy traction, top-notch cushioning, and the widest toe box of any boots we tested. They’re best suited for longer treks with heavier packs but can be worn comfortably on hikes of any length.
Salomon Quest 4 Gore-Tex Hiking Boots (women’s sizes)
These versatile boots offer trustworthy traction, top-notch cushioning, and the widest toe box of any boots we tested. They’re best suited for longer treks with heavier packs but can be worn comfortably on hikes of any length.
Salomon recently updated its popular Quest boots from 3D to 4 (which comes in men’s and women’s sizes). Thankfully, the Quest 4 Gore-Tex boots still have many essential features we loved on the previous edition, including ample toe and heel protection, solid traction and support, breathable and waterproof materials, and a gusseted tongue. The updates are fairly small, however we appreciated the two minor upgrades over the old model: increased ankle and heel support for people carrying heavy loads, as well as a more flexible midfoot plate, which makes flexing your foot a bit easier. Though they did have a slightly longer break-in time than the previous model, the new Quests also had the widest toe box of any of the boots we tested, which means the boot is likely to fit most foot shapes right out of the box. That said, the Quests are fairly bulky, so they’re best suited for folks carrying heavy packs or heavy kids on their back. Despite their clunkiness, they’re surprisingly comfortable on shorter hikes, too.
Budget pick
The Merrell Moab 2 Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots (which come in men’s and women’s sizes) are a no-frills, trustworthy option for hikers on a budget. Despite the fact that they’re less expensive than our other picks, we found them to be a good fit in all the ways that counted: They were waterproof (although not for an extended period of time), they provided decent ankle support for moderate-length hikes, they offered an easy-to-use lacing system, and they were fairly breathable. We found them to be passably comfortable, too. But we don’t think they’re the best choice for longer hikes on rocky, steep, or wet terrain, since the traction is lacking compared with that of our other picks. If you have wide feet, you may appreciate that the Moab 2 boots come in both regular and wide widths.
Also great
La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX (men’s sizes)
For hikers who prefer the fit of trail running shoes, the Ultra Raptor II offers solid underfoot support without added weight. Plus, it’s easier to walk (and drive) to the trailhead in these boots than in our other picks.
La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX (women’s sizes)
For hikers who prefer the fit of trail running shoes, the Ultra Raptor II’s unique build offers solid underfoot support without added weight. Plus, it’s easier to walk (and drive) to the trailhead in these boots than in our other picks.
La Sportiva’s Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX (men’s and women’s) replaces our discontinued former top pick, La Sportiva Saber, offering the same lightweight, flexible setup but with added toe protection and a slightly longer break-in time. If you’re a hiker who prefers trail running shoes but needs ankle support (to carry a heavy pack or child, for example), you’ll appreciate that the Ultra Raptor is built on the mid and outsole of a trail running shoe. Because of this, it’s easier to flex your foot (which makes driving and walking a breeze, compared with our other picks), and you’ll also notice that it’s easier to put the boots on and take them off. We appreciated the Raptor’s solid underfoot support, ideal traction on wet trails, and excellent waterproofing. But the Raptors do run a bit small (even compared with the Sabers), so you’ll want to order a half to a full size up from your street shoe size. All La Sportiva boots are generally narrow but, like the Merrells, the Raptors come in medium-width and wide options to accommodate more foot shapes, too.