• Strapping on the correct pair of hiking boots goes a long way toward making sure hikes are comfortable, no matter if you’re backpacking for multiple days or just out for a few hours.
  • The best hiking boots not only offer a comfortable fit but provide stability across diverse terrain, are able to be quickly broken in, and will last for several years.
  • Our top pick, the Asolo TPS 520 GV hiking boots gives you the support, water-resistance, and comfort you need to conquer any trail or mountain.

Choosing the right hiking boots means first considering the environment in which you’ll primarily use them. Whether you’re keen on days-long backpacking trips or prefer a multi-mile afternoon day hike, the right hiking boots do plenty to make sure you’re comfortable and stable throughout.

What to keep in mind while shopping for hiking boots

Some boots are designed for use in snow and ice, making them ideal when paired with crampons or spikes. Others are light and breathable, designed to keep your feet cool even in the heat of the desert. You’ll even come across boots that are ideal for jungle travel, repelling water while wicking sweat.

Put plainly, no one hiking boot is perfect for all conditions, so it’s important you choose a boot that’s best suited to the environments you frequent (or plan to frequent).

Pay attention to material, tread pattern, weight, and design elements like the height of the rise and the lacing system. Every aspect of a boot either contributes to or detracts from its suitability for a given environment or activity, and only through a thoughtful assessment of planned uses and a close study of the boot itself can you be sure to find a proper pair.

For the record, if you’re a serious hiker, climber, or camper, you’re going to want to own a few pairs of boots. This is especially true if the seasons vary greatly in your area or if you travel for your treks.

Here are the best men's hiking boots:

The best hiking boots overall

The Asolo TPS 520 GV hiking boots are comfortable the first time you slip them on, no break-in period required, and they hold up even after thousands of miles of trekking in all conditions.

If you're a committed hiker, camper, or mountaineer, you know that at the end of the day, your hiking boots are your most important pieces of gear, so you should be ready to pay a decent chunk for them.

You could leave your tent, pack, sleeping pad, stove, and all the rest of it behind, but you need a solid pair of boots on your feet if you want to trek your way back out of the wilderness safely. If you want hiking boots that will be comfortable the first time you lace them up and that stay that way after tens of thousands of steps, slip your feet into the Asolo TPS 520 GVs.

With a rugged full-grain leather exterior and a waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex interior, the TPS 520s are ready for the elements, whether those elements include rain, rock, snow, mud, and more.

The solid Vibram sole is treaded for ideal grip in a myriad of conditions and keeps your foot supported whether you're scrambling through a boulder field, kicking steps into a snowpack with crampons attached, or just strolling through a grassy field. The boots' sturdy uppers protect your ankles against injury even when you roll a foot over a loose rock or catch a toe on a pesky root.

I recommend them because even after trying out six or seven other brands over the past fifteen years, I always choose my Asolos for any serious hike. They've carried me up and down Mt. Whitney, Mt. Rainier, the Grand Teton, and through the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains in Colombia, just to name a few of their many outings.

Pros: Instant comfort without break-in wearing, stellar water-resistance, great ankle and arch support, wicks moisture away from foot, easy and secure lacing system

Cons: Heavier and bulkier than many other hiking boot options, rather expensive

The best hiking boots for winter

Foto: Source: Columbia

Unless you plunge them into water that's deeper than their rise, the Columbia Daska Pass III Titanium Outdry Extreme boots simply won't let your feet get wet.

When Columbia Sportswear began to release gear and apparel stamped with its OutDry Extreme certification several years ago, it changed the outdoor clothing industry. Simply put, if you see the OutDry label on a piece of apparel, count on that item to be 100% waterproof.

You can trust me on this, too; I've worn various pieces of OutDry gear in downpours in the middle of a South American rainforest, in knee-deep snow in the northeast of the United States, and in many places in between.

Also, the word Titanium is significant, too. That's the top-of-the-line stuff this world-renowned apparel brand makes. If you need to rely on a pair of boots to keep your feet dry and supported in wet or wintry weather, these are a safe bet.

The Daska Pass III boots are impressively lightweight for footwear that offers such superlative waterproofing, not to mention impressive insulation. Paired with the right socks, these boots keep your feet warm even in conditions well below the freezing point. And their tall, sturdy uppers keep your ankles safe from a sprain (or worse) even when you're trekking across unstable terrain, like a shell of ice frozen over looser snow, for example.

The boots have an outsole made from durable Vibram rubber and a poured polyurethane midsole that offers you some extra bounce in your step, almost like you might get from a running shoe. It's not quite the same level of rebound, but better than nothing!

Columbia's Daska Pass III boots are at a decent price point, especially considering their durability. While in many conditions, the aforementioned insulation is a great asset, it's also the main drawback of these boots. They are just too warm for use in some places and seasons. If you wear these boots on a low elevation summer trek, your feet are going to sweat so much the waterproofing won't matter.

Pros: Amazing waterproof rating, cannot be inundated even by standing in water, great insulation, ideal for use in cold weather

Cons: Too warm for use in hot climates and/or seasons

The best hiking boots for any conditions

Foto: Source: Salomon

If you need one pair of hiking boots that will perform adroitly in the winter snow, the springtime mud, the summer's heat, or the frost of fall, then you should slip on a pair of versatile Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX hiking boots.

No one hiking boot is ever going to be ideal for use in all types of conditions. But, if you need to find the best possible compromise boot, whether for budgetary concerns or because you need to travel through various types of weather and terrain in a single expedition, the Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX hiking boots are a fine choice.

The exterior of the boots features a blend of leather and textile, with Gore-Tex waterproofing underlying both materials. The six-inch shaft rises more than high enough to protect an ankle against a roll, while the thick rubber toecap protects your toes against a falling rock or a hard stub against a stone, log, step, or anything else.

Now here are the compromises: The tread pattern isn't aggressive, as it's more akin to a trail shoe than a rugged boot suitable for the loose scree of a mountain pass. And although the exterior is water-resistant, it will eventually soak through if you stand in puddles or streams.

They might not be as warm as some hikers need, but they're suitable for all seasons when paired with the right socks and they even let your foot breathe and stay cool when you wear thinner socks.

Pros: Versatile enough for use in many conditions, lightweight with flexible sole, breathable materials keep feet cool

Cons: Thin underfoot padding leads to foot fatigue, tread pattern not ideal for some conditions

The best hiking boots on a budget

Foto: Source: Merrell

These Merrell Men's Moab Ventilator Mid Hiking Boots might cost half as much as many other options, but they're fine boots at a fantastic price.

For the outdoor enthusiast who goes for day hikes, weekend camping trips, or the occasional multi-day trek but who doesn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of hiking boots, the Merrell Men's Moab Ventilator Mid hiking boots are a great choice. These boots are reasonably lightweight, comfortable, and supportive, and have a tread pattern, water resistance, and breathability that make them suitable for use in most moderate conditions.

Are these the right boots to wear as you trek up and over the glaciers of Mt. Rainier? No, they're not. Having done that, I can speak with confidence. But are they a fine option for traversing miles and miles of graded trail or for wearing as you blaze your own path through a pine forest or rolling meadow? Absolutely.

The Merrell Men's Moab Ventilators feature a shock-absorbing air cushion under the heel and a flexible sole with no lugs under the arch. Those elements mean you could wear these boots for trail running if you really wanted, though they are a bit heavy for a long jaunt at speed.

While the Moab Ventilator boot is excellent at wicking moisture away from your foot to keep you dry, it's not all that water-resistant, so in heavy rains or the event you step in a stream, your foot is going to get wet.

Pros: Very affordable option, air-cushioned heel reduces impact effects, soles offer reliable grip

Cons: Limited water resistance, soles wear out rather quickly

The best stylish hiking boots

Foto: Source: Danner

Danner's hiking boots are some of the most stylish boots you can buy and they're extremely well made.

Danner has been making some of the most popular boots for outdoor enthusiasts for nearly a century. If you're looking for a pair of hiking boots that are somewhat less obtuse than the busy, flashy, high-tech boots that are so terribly a la mode these days, these are the boots for you.

Back in 1932, Charles Danner founded Danner Shoe Mfg. Company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where he sold his handcrafted work boots for four dollars a pair to the local loggers. He learned that, out west, loggers were paying upwards of $10 for a pair of calked logging boots - a small fortune back then - and moved the family and business out to Oregon to take full advantage of a lacking market.

Danner has come up with a lot of boots since those days, and the most popular of all has been the Danner Light Boots, which came out thanks to the then-new invention of Gore-Tex.

Despite rugged soles, Gore-Tex lining, and heavy-duty leather, Danner hasn't gone without its fair share of critics. Several esteemed publications have claimed that in the process of testing Danner boots, they found that the leather uppers and the seams at the miss let some water in. While I haven't personally experienced any seepage as of yet, one reporter at Insider Picks did notice the Danner Lights absorbing some water.

But, before you dismiss Danner boots entirely, consider this: These are still extremely sturdy, well-constructed boots using high-quality, full-grain leather. The soles are nearly indestructible, and if you do manage to damage them, they're built to be replaced.

The Danner Mountain Passes are a middle-of-the-road boot. They're not the most rugged, but they also don't feel like cinder blocks on your feet. The single-piece, full-grain uppers on this model will keep you good and dry unless you're trudging through absolute muck (in which case, just grab your wellies).

All in all, this is not your built-for-hell boot to take trudging through the mud or a mountain stream. If you want that kind of boot from Danner, rest assured that they make it. This, on the other hand, is more along the lines of a fair-weather hiking or hunting boot, though it's wonderfully suited for relatively dry terrain.

Hiking boots are always going to come with tradeoffs, and like many other things in this life, you'll really need about three or four of them to handle every kind of outing. If you find yourself in an urban setting more often than, say, trudging through a cranberry bog or a low country swamp, these stylish boots will keep you warm, dry, and of course, styling. - Owen Burke

Pros: Classic, timeless design, real leather construction, well made, can be resoled, fun collaborations with other brands

Cons: May not be perfectly waterproof, which won't serve in a torrent or muddy terrain