Footwear

3 guides tagged Footwear

Review

Merrell Moab 3 Review (2026)

The Moab 3 is commonly cited as the best-selling hiking boot in America, and the reason is disarmingly simple: it is comfortable out of the box, priced fairly, and durable enough that people buy the same boot twice. Here is the full verdict on both mid builds, waterproof and not, where the Salomon X Ultra 5 and Columbia Newton Ridge beat it, and who should actually buy it.

Read the guide →~9 min read

Comparison

Hiking Boots vs Trail Runners: Which Should You Hike In?

The most heated gear debate on any trail, settled honestly: what boots actually give you (and what they just claim to), why thru-hikers overwhelmingly went to trail runners, what the old 'pound on your feet' saying really means, how dry time and durability change the math, and a clear buy-boots-if / buy-runners-if verdict so you can stop reading forum wars and go hiking.

Read the guide →~13 min read

Buyer's Guide

The Best Trail Running Shoes for Hiking (2026)

The best trail running shoe for hiking is the HOKA Speedgoat 6, and the quiet revolution behind that sentence is that the fastest hikers stopped wearing boots. Trail runners are lighter, dry faster, and need zero break-in, which is why they now dominate the long trails. We ranked the six we would actually hike in: the max-cushion Speedgoat, the thru-hiker-default Altra Lone Peak 9, the mud-eating Salomon Speedcross 6, the do-everything Brooks Cascadia 18, the $100 Saucony Peregrine 15, and the technical-terrain La Sportiva Bushido III.

Read the guide →~15 min read

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