Guides
Here’s everything you need to know before buying a hiking shoe
Tread? Lugs? Rocker profile? We break it all down.
Like most things in the age of abundant consumer options, choosing a hiking shoe (or boot) can be overwhelming. The fact that I was inclined to write, “shoe or boot” is a testament to the plethora of choices, one of them of course being: “shoe or boot”.
I completed the Cross Borneo Trek in 2015. Four Dayak men led us through the muddy jungle, over the Muller Mountains and across the Mahakam River (multiple times); one of them barefoot. When asked how he managed such a thing, he replied, “I just know how to walk”. The majority of us require some footwear when trekking, though. I wore a pair of Lowa hiking boots — not the optimum choice as they slipped in mud (the lugs on the soles were too shallow) and on wet boulders.
📷: Vanessa Nirode
