8 Best Hiking Shoes for Men 2026

Boots with this much protection usually announce themselves with weight, and the Mt. Maddsen doesn’t. It’s the boot here that feels least like one on your foot — quick to lace through open eyelets, easy to walk in, and light enough that you forget about the ankle coverage until the ground gets rough.

Water is where it earns its keep. Wet grass, slush, the shallow end of a puddle: the leather and the membrane handle the kind of wet a fall hike throws at you, and the collar keeps grit and twigs out. The fit is friendly too, with enough room at the front to wiggle toes on a descent and enough structure at the back that your heel doesn’t slide.

Three-season hiking in wet country is exactly the job. It covers ground comfortably all day, and it doesn’t make you pay for the protection with heavy legs — which is more than most waterproof boots manage.

If your feet run narrow, the Columbia Newton Ridge is worth a look first: it has a closer cut and asks less of your wallet. The Mt. Maddsen is the more forgiving shape, the one that suits a thicker sock and a longer day.

Take the Timberland’s job and cut the money: that’s the Newton Ridge in one line. It’s a waterproof leather-and-mesh boot in the traditional mold, with a look that passes at a trailhead and at a pub on the drive home, and it’s what we suggest when someone wants waterproofing without paying premium prices.

The build is tidier than the money suggests. Stitching is even, the tongue seals against the collar so water doesn’t run in over the top, and the break-in is short — what you notice in the first week is a boot softening rather than a boot fighting you. Rain, wet gravel, and muddy paths are all unremarkable in it, which is the highest compliment a waterproof boot can get.

Width is the catch. This one runs narrow through the middle, so men with broad feet or a high instep should go up a width or look at the roomier shapes here — the KEEN Voyageur and the wide sizes of the Targhee among them. Order your usual length and let the width make the decision.

KEEN’s reputation is built on toe room, and the Voyageur is the clearest version of that idea in this group. The front of the shoe is broad and tall enough that your toes lie flat rather than stacked, and there’s real support under the arch — the combination that keeps wide-footed hikers comfortable on a long day.

On a hot climb, this is the low shoe we’re happiest in. The upper breathes, the shoe is light, and the sole is stable on gravel and dry rock. Where the ground is wet, the Targhee and the Timberland are the boots to look at instead; on a summer trail, airflow is worth more than a membrane.

Sizing is the one thing to get right. These run about half a size small, so go up, and decide while wearing the socks you hike in. Get that wrong and the roomy toe box stops helping, because your toes end up against the front of the shoe on every descent.

This is the least expensive route into a waterproof boot in this group, and it doesn’t read that way on the foot. The sole is thick, the upper is properly built, and the toe box is roomier than the money suggests — roomy enough that the width question simply goes away for most men.

On the trail it’s steady and unexciting in the best sense: it holds a line on gravel and mud, the waterproofing stands up to wet grass, and the collar sits high enough to keep grit out. It isn’t a featherweight, and the factory insole is flat and thin, so plan on a set of insoles if you want arch support.

None of that is glamorous, and that’s the point — this is the boot we recommend for a first season of weekend trails, or for replacing a worn-out pair without spending much. What impressed us most is how little it seems to age: mud rinses off, the sole edges stay put, and the uppers don’t scuff into a mess.

The Targhee is the most expensive low shoe here, and the only one in this group that pairs a waterproof membrane with a leather upper. If your hiking is a wet, cold day on a maintained trail with a daypack, that combination is exactly right: leather takes scrapes, the membrane keeps the weather out, and the shoe still looks presentable when you stop for lunch.

The fit leans wide. Even the regular width runs roomy, which suits hikers who normally have to hunt for wide sizes and can feel sloppy to anyone with average-width feet on technical ground. Thicker socks help; they don’t fully solve it.

On the trail it walks like a broken-in shoe from the first outing, the platform is stable on loose rock, and the water resistance holds through rain and wet snow. The sole is stiff enough for rough ground without feeling dead underfoot.

What happens after the first season is the problem, and it’s why we stop short of making this the low shoe we recommend first, even though it’s among the nicest to wear. Buy it if leather and waterproofing matter more to you than longevity; if not, the Merrell gives you most of the comfort for a lot less.

Warmth usually costs weight. The Relment-Pelmo is the exception here: a boot that keeps your feet warm on a frosty morning without the bulk of a leather hiker, and one that’s easy to pull on when you’re heading out the door in the dark.

Generous is the word for the fit — wide through the toes, roomy at the ankle, soft underfoot in a way that holds up over a long day on your feet. It shrugs off rain and wet pavement; standing water is where it stops being convincing.

The profile is closer to a sneaker than a mountain boot, which is part of why it works as an everyday shoe as well as a trail shoe. Scuffed, muddy, worn with jeans — it doesn’t look precious, and nobody will ask why you’re wearing hiking boots to the store.

Our view is simple: this is the boot for cold, wet, low-stakes walking — dog walks, canal-path miles, the flat trail you do every week. If that’s your hiking, the money is well spent. If you’re planning rocky climbs and multi-hour days, put it back and put the difference toward a boot built for that.

Grip is what sells this one. The outsole is aggressive enough to bite into rock and loose gravel, the platform is stable for a shoe this light, and at the bottom of the price range that combination is rare. If your trails are dry and rocky and you want something that feels like a trail runner, this is the pick.

The fit is true to size with a squared-off toe box — better for wide, flat feet than for narrow, high-arched ones — and it takes thick socks without pinching. The materials look better than the money suggests, and they clean up with a damp cloth.

It’s honest about being a hybrid: closer to a trail runner than a hiking shoe, which is fine on a path and a bit conspicuous in town. What we keep coming back to is how much shoe you get for the least money here, and how little it feels like a compromise on dry ground.