Hiking Boots or Trail Sneakers

Hiking boots or trail sneakers? Everyone seems to have a different opinion about which is better, so I decided to do my own research and I have the mileage in each to support my decision. My conclusion is hiking boots for long distances and trail sneakers for short, even terrain hikes.

Here is the breakdown of my hikes and the footwear:

Ahnu Montara (2013 model)
Colorado 14ers (Pikes Peak, Quandary, and Cameron)
Mt Kilimanjaro
Inca Trail
Section hiking the Appalachian Train (about 125 miles)


Asolo TPS Equalon GV EVO (2017 model)
Annapurna Base Camp (twice)
Patagonia - Chile (twice)
Patagonia - Argentina


Scarpa Proton GTX (2018 model)
Tour du Mont Blanc (100 miles)
Smokey Mountains


Each of these shoes were comfortable out of the box. They also each had a feature I wish was better. Ahnu was purchased by Teva, so the new models are slightly different, which means my comments might not be the same with a newer version. The Ahnus were very comfortable and I never had a blister while wearing them, they also have held up for over 500 miles of hiking. I did add some cushion with an insert, and I needed to be extra careful when navigating in the rain, the traction was not solid.

By contrast, the Asolos were like glue to rocks. The traction was amazing. I added come cushion to these as well with a thin insert. These also had an unbendable sole, which probably aided in the sturdiness and the grip. I also never had a blister with these shoes, and I mainly got them for the increased foot protection and the fact that they were marketed for backpacking (something I was going to be doing in Nepal). I have at least 300 miles on these and they are still solid.

Because of packing restrictions and others touting the virtues of lightweight hiking sneakers/trail runners, I decided to get a pair. Initially, I was going to use them for short training hikes and trail runs. I chose the Scarpa pair because they were on sale, were waterproof, and had good reviews. I’ve had great success with the fit of Brooks Cascadia line for trail running sneakers, but the GTX version weren’t on sale. With my trip to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc including some touring before the hike started, I didn’t want to lug hiking boots around, so I decided to use the Scarpa. They were great for the first 90 miles, I even went through every form of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow). It wasn’t until the descent on the last 10 miles that my feet suffered from the rocky terrain which was felt more through the lightweight sole.

So my conclusion is that if I’m hiking through rocky terrain or over long distances, I’ll chose hiking boots. If I’m going to be out for short hikes or know the terrain will be smooth, then the lightweight hiking sneaker is a great option. There are so many shoe options, so given my limited research, I’m still convinced that shoes are a very subjective purchase for fit and usage. As these shoes wear and need replaced, I would definitely buy Asolos again. As for the trail running/hiking sneaker, I really do want to try the Brooks Cascadia GTX for my next pair.

Happy feet = an enjoyable, long distance hike!