The days are slowly (very slowly) starting to get longer, and what better way to ring in the new year than with an outdoor exercise routine?
For hikers, this is the time to swap your heavy hiking boots for comfortable and lightweight walking shoes.
Lower-cut, summer-friendly trail shoes tend to be more breathable than high-cut boots, and while they don’t offer ankle support they still pack a technical punch for outdoor adventures, usually featuring rugged, bouncy soles for good grip and often including a waterproof membrane so that you can tackle bad weather.
Walking shoes are versatile, too, and are easy to wear everywhere from peak to pub to morning dog walk.
How to get the right fit
When trying on walking shoes, check that they don’t feel tight anywhere around your heels, and that you have plenty of room to wiggle your toes. Try lacing the shoes up tight and checking they stay snugly in place without any tightness or rubbing around your ankles. If you have especially wide or narrow feet or suffer from bunions, look out for shoes designed specifically to fit your needs.
What features to look for
Comfort
A quality walking shoe differs from a casual trainer in two key areas – good grip and good comfort over long distances. Look for a pair of shoes with chunky rubber soles with deep ‘lugs’ (these are the indentations in the bottom of your shoe that grip the ground).
Support
Your new trainers should also have supportive, solid heel and toe boxes, offer decent arch support and feature cushioned insoles to keep you comfortable as you hike.
If you want to wear your new walking shoes in hot summer weather, a lighter, breathable mesh fabric is a good pick – if you want a style to use in all weathers, leather and suede shoes are heavier and less breathable but warmer, sturdier and naturally water-resistant.
Freedom of movement
Though good support is integral to a solid walking shoe, it’s equally important that the shoe has some flexibility.
You can ensure your freedom of movement by picking up a pair of walking shoes that aren’t too narrow. They should instead follow the natural lines and shape of your foot to help prevent painful callouses and blisters.
Do walking shoes need to be waterproof?
Most hiking boots are designed to be worn in the colder, rainier months, and are usually fully waterproof. When shopping for walking shoes, however, you can be more flexible.
If you want new shoes for summer walks, traveling in hot climates or for aquatic adventures such as rock pooling, you’re better off picking something lightweight, quick-drying and breathable.
If you plan to wear your new hiking shoes on hill walks and trail runs come rain or shine, pick a fully waterproof pair that use technology such as a Gore-Tex membrane to repel water.
Walking shoes traditionally weren’t the most exciting footwear to look at, but recently hiking footwear has been getting a bit of a street-ready makeover, and many of our top picks below have sporty, trainer-like looks that you can wear pretty much anywhere from city to countryside.
Best hiking trainers at a glance
- Best for hiking boot performance in a trainer shell: Hanwag Banks Low Lady GTX Shoe - £180, Amazon
- Best for all-vegan style: Merrell Moab Speed GTX - £90, Merrell
- Best for wide feet: Vionic Walker Classic Trainer - £100, Amazon
- Best for hardcore hikers: AKU Tengu Low Gore-Tex Shoe - £160.61, Alpine Trek
- Best for grip: Hoka Speedgoat 5 Shoe - £140, Hoka
- Best for city walkers and mountain trekkers: New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro V7 Shoe - £87, New Balance
- Best for sleek and simple: Adidas Skychaser Gore-Tex 2.0 Hiking Shoe - £140, Adidas
- Best for lightweight flexibility: Vivo Barefoot Barefoot Primus Trail Knit FG Shoe - £145, Vivo Barefoot
- Best for breathable support for tricky terrain: On Running Cloudventure Shoe - £140, On Running
- Best for aquatic adventures: Tropicfeel Monsoon Shoe - £49.50, Tropicfeel
- Best for comfort and style: Ecco Biom 2.1 Shoe - £96, Ecco
- Best for anti-slip: HAIX Black Eagle Nature Gore-Tex Low Shoe - £149.90, Haix
- Best for trendy trekking: Salomon XA PRO 3D V9, £140, Salomon
Shop the best below
Hanwag Banks Low Lady GTX Shoe
Best for: hiking boot performance in a trainer shell
We’ve reviewed Hanwag’s popular Banks hiking boot in the past and been favourably impressed, so it was no surprise that this low-cut shoe version also cuts the mustard.
If you want the look, feel and performance of a leather hiking boot but with a lower-cut ankle and a bit less weight, this is the model to pick – it features tough, grippy rubber soles and a solid, supportive construction that suits going further into hills and mountains, plus reliable Gore-Tex waterproofing.
These leather hikers are warmer than most walking shoes, but less breathable, so they’re best used in spring and autumn rather than the dog days of summer. A bunion version is also available for £180.
Buy now £180.00, Amazon
Merrell Moab Speed GTX
Best for: all-vegan style
The Moab Speeds from world-class shoemakers, Merrell, are described as ‘made for the trail’, and after testing them out we’d agree that they offer good grip and comfort even over longer distances.
The sporty looks make the shoes easy to wear everywhere from city streets to country lanes, so you get more bang for your buck, and these shoes are also fully vegan (many trainers use animal-derived materials such as glue, so they aren’t vegan-friendly), and are partly constructed from recycled materials.
Buy now £90.00, Merrell
Vionic Walker Classic Trainer
Best for: wide feet
The Walker Classic does what it says on the tin – this rather chunky trainer is designed with durable rubber soles that offer good traction, plus a supportive heel and cushiony inner soles.
The leather upper looks great, is naturally water-resistant and moulds nicely to your foot with use. We found the Walker offered good arch support on test, but this is not a design to pick if you have narrow feet as Vionic’s design is currently only available in ‘Wide’ sizes that will suit anyone who needs more width than most walking trainers offer.
Buy now £100.00, Amazon
AKU Tengu Low Gore-Tex Shoe
Best for: hardcore hikers
Just because you’re choosing a shoe rather than a boot doesn’t mean you’ll end up with something flimsy – just ask AKU’s Tengu Low. This sturdy shoe stands out for its solid rubber sole and tough toe box, and on test we found these shoes protected feet even on rocky scrambles.
If you want a casual walking shoe for summer weather, you can pick something less substantial, but for proper hiking, scrambling and approach hikes (approach shoes are used on more technical climbing terrain), these are brilliant, and a Gore-Tex liner will keep feet dry if the heavens open, too.
Buy now £160.61, Alpine Trek
Hoka Speedgoat 5 Shoe
Best for: grip
As the name suggests, this is the fifth iteration of the Hoka Speedgoat – and the brand reckon it’s better than ever with added Vibram soles that we found offered good grip on all types of terrain.
These vegan shoes are designed for running as well as for hiking, and we think they’re a good choice for use in hot, dry weather as the mesh uppers keep things breathable even as you work up a sweat.
Not everyone will like the thicker-than-average rubber soles of the Speedgoat 5, so try them around the house before you hit the trail to see if they’re your thing.
Buy now £140.00, Hoka
New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro V7 Shoe
Best for: city walkers and mountain trekkers
One trainer to rule them all? If you want a casual city sneaker that is secretly a tough and grippy walking shoe once you get it outdoors, you’ll get on with New Balance’s Fresh Foam X Hierro V7.
You can stroll, walk, hike and trail run in the Fresh Foams with ease, although we think the grip is only good enough to stick to more groomed terrain in dry weather, rather than wet mountain conditions.
We love the two eye-catching bright colourways, which look great with jeans as well as with joggers. A shoe you might just end up wearing daily.
Buy now £87.00, New Balance
Adidas Skychaser Gore-Tex 2.0 Hiking Shoe
Best for: sleek and simple
If you’re shopping for walking shoes and your priority is reliable waterproofing that can take on a storm, Gore-Tex technology is always a reliable choice. The Gore-Tex membrane built-in to the Adidas Skychaser will stop rainfall or puddles from ruining your hiking fun, but still allows these shoes to breathe in warmer weather.
And if you like your trainers to look sleek and simple, you’ll get on well with the plain black colourway of the Skychaser – it’s ideal if you need plain shoes for a job when you’re on your feet all day. Made with part-recycled content, for eco brownie points.
Buy now £140.00, Adidas
Vivo Barefoot Primus Trail Knit FG Shoe
Best for: lightweight flexibility
Ever heard of ‘barefoot’ shoes? They’re footwear designed to come as close as possible to how it feels to walk naturally with no shoes at all, while still offering protection from the elements. Vivo Barefoot’s Primus Trail Knit shoe has a tough but flexible sole that has been designed with trails in mind, coupled with a lightweight upper material that has a knit construction to allow your feet to breathe.
This fully vegan shoe is ideal for covering distances on tropical adventures, and at 250g per shoe this design will never weigh you down. Top marks for breathability and comfort in hot weather.
Buy now £145.00, Vivo Barefoot
On Running Cloudventure Shoe
Best for: breathable support for tricky terrain
On Running’s Cloudventure is designed primarily for trail running, sure – but we love it for slower-paced hiking adventures too. At just 250g per shoe, these trainers feel less heavy underfoot than many walking designs, so they feel light and freeing to hike long distances in.
Tough, grippy soles inspire confidence even on tricky terrain. The classic Cloudventure isn’t waterproof, but it is pleasingly breathable in hot weather. If you want to hike in all conditions, switch to the waterproof version (£150). A great choice if you want just one shoe you can run and trek in.
Buy now £140.00, On Running
Tropicfeel Monsoon Shoe
Best for: aquatic adventures
Water baby? These breathable aquatic trainers are designed to allow you to go from ocean to land in just one pair of shoes. Pop for a quick wild swim or an ocean dip and they’ll drain and dry quickly once you’re back on a coastal trail.
Designed with travellers and backpackers in mind, the Monsoons are flexible, lightweight and easy to pack in a rucksack - perfect for active summer holidays and for aquatic adventures, and smart enough to be a quiver-of-one shoe you could also wear out to dinner. Partially constructed from recycled plastic bottles.
Buy now £49.50, Tropicfeel
Ecco Biom 2.1 Shoe
Best for: comfort and style
Hey, good-looking. Most walking trainers are functional but, let’s be honest, don’t score highly in the fashion stakes. Not so Ecco’s Biom, which marries urban-inspired looks and an on-trend, oversized logo with trail-ready technology such as a Gore-Tex waterproof membrane.
They also stand out for comfort thanks to chunky soles, memory-foam cushioning and a stretchy, sock-like construction, but only have limited grip – so stick to groomed trails rather than rocky terrain. These shoes do fit on the small side, so consider ordering a half-size up.
Buy now £96.00, ECCO
HAIX Black Eagle Nature Gore-Tex Low Shoe
Best for: anti-slip
Grip is one of the main reasons to pick a shoe designed specifically for walking rather than just wearing your knackered trainers on a hike, and grip is what HAIX’s Black Eagle has in spades thanks well-made anti-slip rubber soles that feel sticky even on wet or slick surfaces such as coastal rock.
Elsewhere, the Black Eagle looks and feels like it means business, with a Gore-Tex waterproof membrane that works hard to repel water and a supple nubuck leather upper that should last you for years (and look good) with a bit of care.
Buy now £149.90, Haix
Salomon XA PRO 3D V9
Best for: trendy trekking
Salomon has taken on a whole new sartorial cachet. Strong, sturdy and designed for hiking, these trendy trainers come in a myriad of tempting colourways to suit any outdoor aesthetic. They perform best on rocky terrain, thanks to the tough grip, long-term protection of the foot and tailored lug patterns that aid stability.
Buy now £140.00, Salomon
Verdict
Looking for a hardy leather hiker? Hanwag’s Banks offers great quality. For a more lightweight summer shoe, pick the stylish Salomon. And for summer walking adventures abroad, we like Tropicfeel’s swimming-friendly Monsoon.
