1. Merrell Moab Mid GTX hiking boots – also available is the Merrell Moab Ventilator for warm, dry climates.

2. Keen Targhee II Mid hiking boots

3. Vasque Sundowner hiking boots

4. Keen Voyageur Mid hiking boots

5. Merrell Refuge Core Mid Waterproof hiking boots – also available as the Merrell Refuge Core Ventilator

6. Keen Pyrenees hiking boots

7. Merrell Chameleon hiking boots

8. Montrail Torre GTX hiking boots

9. Oboz Yellowstone II hiking boots

10. Ahnu Montara hiking boots

::  Honorable Mention  ::

11. Timberland White Ledge hiking boots

12. Merrell Outland Mid hiking boots

13. Kayland Zephyr hiking boots

14. Keen Klamath hiking boots

We combine elements like quality, popularity, value and availability to determine what the “best” hiking boots are.  On average these boots are more popular, $100 less and only a little bit lower in quality compared to our list of the best hiking boots.

You can’t go wrong with any of the boots on this list.  If it fits great, buy it.

1. Danner Mountain Light II hiking boots

2. Asolo TPS 520 GV hiking boots

3. Asolo Fugitive GTX hiking boots

4. Lowa Renegade II GTX Mid hiking boots

5. Vasque Breeze GTX hiking boots

6. Asolo FSN 95 GTX hiking boots

7. Solomon XA Pro 3D hiking boots

8. Merrell Wilderness hiking boots

9. Solomon Quest 4D GTX hiking boots

10. Keen Oregon PCT hiking boots

::  Honorable Mention  ::

11. Lowa Zephyr GTX Mid hiking boots

12. Asolo TPS 535 hiking boots

13. Merrell Outbound GTX hiking boots

14. Zamberlan 760 Steep GT hiking boots

The difference in quality and value in the top ten hiking boots is minimal. You can feel confident buying any hiking boot from this list that best fits your foot and your style.

Obviously it is difficult to make a list of hiking boots that perfectly suits a vague word like “best”, so we’ve tried to consider a broad range of criteria like quality, popularity, value, availability, etc.

Also see our list of best hiking boots for under $150.

Best Hiking Boots Under $150 - Our list of the best inexpensive hiking boots includes Merrell, Keen, Vasque and more.

Hiking Boot Reviews

Most popular hiking boots by brand:
Asolo hiking boots
Lowa hiking boots
Keen hiking boots
Vasque hiking boots
Danner hiking boots
Merrell hiking boots
Montrail hiking boots
Scarpa hiking boots

These brands are popular for their quality, durability in the outdoors and good value.

There are other brands that are also popular like Hi-Tec, but most of their products are inexpensive and their durability is more like a shoe rather than a true hiking boot.  For a beginner on a groomed trail they can be sufficient though.

Hi Mike,

Sam

 
Mike says:

Let me see if I understand your predicament:

You roll up to an awesome route featuring a really nice overhang. The route is 100 feet long and measures a good 20 feet from the bottom of the climb to where the rope will hang free from the anchors above. Some big trees and rocks near the cliff give some nice shade from the afternoon sun. So you count up the bolts, rack your quickdraws, tie in, lace up, and head up into the sky. It is a tough route, almost out of your grade, but you’re feeling good and you manage to hit the chains just before your forearms explode and sweat completely blinds you.

Totally worked, you thread the chains, sit and look around, catch your breath, enjoy the view…and then you are jerked back to reality wondering how in the heck you are going to get your draws back! If you try to swing over and unclip them one at a time you are going to take some pretty good swings and maybe hit the nearby trees and rocks, not to mention that your kid sister you bribed into belaying you could never pull that off. And it would be next to impossible to downclimb what you almost didn’t get up (or feel like doing again).

So here are some options:

1. Man Up and Climb It Again – You can lower off, tie into the other end of the rope and climb back up retrieving your draws as you reach them, lower off and pull the rope.

2. The Trolley Method – Clip a quickdraw to your belay loop and the rope running up from your belayer. As your kid sister belayer (who you still owe an ice cream cone if you make it down alive with your draws) lowers you, your quickdraw tether on the rope will “trolley” you down and keep you within arms reach of the draws on the bolts. When you hit the last one, closest to the ground, you will clip in underneath it and finish lowering to the ground. Then you just have to boulder up and grab the remaining draw.

Either way you do it, it is a pain. But if climbing overhanging routes is your thing, you’re going to get pretty good at either one of the above mentioned options!

Climb Safe!

 
Now it’s your turn – ask me a question eh?

In traditional climbing, the normal length of a pitch is from ledge-to-ledge using up as much of the rope as possible. The pitch will usually end where there is a comfortable spot to belay. In some cases, the pitch will finish when the end of a rope is reached. Sometimes this will result in not having a comfortable spot in which to belay (also called a hanging belay). The climbing continues until the top of the cliff is reached. Multi-pitch climbs are rated by difficulty just like any other climb, but are also given an estimate of how much time it will take the average team to complete.

To illustrate, here is a short description of how a typical multi pitch is climbed: A climber and her friend set out to climb their first multi-pitch route together. The leader has received instruction from a fellow climber in correctly placing trad gear and her belayer has likewise received his instruction from a qualified source. They have thoroughly discussed climbing and belaying signals, turn around situations (rain, lightening, darkness, etc) and have told other people where they were going and when they intend to return.

After consulting a friend who has done the climb, and studying the guidebook, they scope out the route from a distance and discuss major features like belay ledges, natural features (arêtes, dihedrals, chimneys, trees, shrubs, discolorations, etc). They now feel confident that they have enough information to begin the climb.

The leader puts on her helmet, ties in, racks up and laces on her shoes. Her belayer gives her the signal to begin. She places a piece near the belayer and equalizes it with another piece providing tension on the first piece. This will provide a multidirectional anchor that will be able to hold upward as well as downward force. Her belayer clips in and she climbs up a few feet placing another piece of protection. Her protection is spaced close together at first, maybe every six feet or so, then the space increases a little as she nears the middle of the pitch.

Careful to inspect each hold before weighting it and the area around each intended gear placement, she is now nearing a large ledge about 50 meters (165 feet) up from the belay. As she climbs over the lip of the ledge she places a bomber cam and clips the rope to it. Using the cam, she builds an anchor using another bomber cam and a very secure stopper. She equalizes these pieces using a cordelette and clips in. She takes up all the slack, stacking it neatly in a sling and secures it to the anchor.

She gives the belayer a signal discussed previous to the climb and he cleans the anchor and begins to climb. Carefully removing and organizing the gear he joins his friend on the ledge. She transfers any gear remaining from the lead to him and he begins to climb the second pitch as she belays. They repeat this process, swapping leads, until they reach the top of the cliff.

They bask in the scenery and then rappel back down the route, following the same way they came up.

Big wall climbs usually ascend very thin lines that require more grip than a pair of rock shoes to get up. These small cracks are so thin and surrounding rock so featureless that the only way to go up is to insert gear and step up on it. Most big wall routes incorporate some amount of free climbing, but for the most part the only way to ascend is to insert a piece of gear, clip an aider (or etrier), step up on it and repeat. Aid lines usually follow fairly continuous cracks.

The gear used for big wall climbs is the same as that used in traditional climbing. Cams, stoppers, hexes, slings, biners and the like are used on “clean” big wall climbs. All gear placed is removed as the team ascends to the top. Other big wall climbs require the use of pitons, a hammer to smash them in with, hooks and thin crack aid gear like Peckers, bashies (kind of like moldable stoppers) and RURP’s (Realized Ultimate Reality Piton), a thin, small knife bladed piece of steel that will fit in the tiniest of seams.

Big wall climbs require several ropes, one for the leader to climb on, a thin trail line tied behind the leader to haul up any extra gear in the middle of a lead and a thick static line to haul up the gear. Rope organization is critical on a big wall climb. A tangled or stuck rope can eat away precious time needed to move the climbers upward. Wall climbers can sleep on ledges that may be found on a climb, but when the route lacks any place flat, a Portaledge is required for a semi-decent night’s sleep. This portable hammock is big enough for a sleeping bag, a small amount of gear and it can be covered up like a tent in poor weather.

Everything needs to be clipped in to prevent it be dropped hundreds or even thousands of feet to the deck below. Your sleeping bags, pads, food, water, clothing, etc. are put into large haul bags made of nearly indestructible fabric. These haul bags will follow you up the wall and while seemingly tremendously heavy at first, they’ll get lighter as you get higher up and consume the food and drinks inside.

Guidebooks rate each climb, providing the climber a sense of the difficulty and the amount of time that will be required to finish a climb. There will also be a description of the route and a map, showing each pitch of the climb. As far as big wall climbs go, the rating defines the most difficult move required on the climb, although each pitch will usually be given a rating of its own. Different climbing areas may use their own local rating system, but the following rating guide will apply to most big wall climbs:

A1 – solid, easy placements- no sweat, C1 means that a bolt or piton is available instead of having to place gear
A2 – Fairly solid placements and will most likely hold a fall but may be tricky to place, C2 would be something like rickety fixed gear taking up an otherwise decent placement
A3 – Difficult to set, awkward placements that won’t hold a fall and certain injury can be expected if it pops off
A4 – Gear placements are very tricky to place. May hold only body weight and a fall will most likely result in severe injury or even death
A5 – A placement that will most likely come off when weighted and certain death and destruction await the poor climber who dares to try

Also, here is a guide to give you an idea of how long you should plan on to complete the climb:

Grade I – 1 to 3 hours
Grade II – 3 to 4 hours
Grade III – 4 to 6 hours (if you are fast)
Grade IV – Sunup to Sundown
Grade V – 1 to 2 days (plan on spending the night)
Grade VI – 2 or more days

Of all the many different facets of rock climbing: bouldering, sport climbing, and trad climbing, few casual climbers will ever participate in big wall climbing. It makes you wonder then how someone got the idea of climbing a big wall. Maybe as the aspiring climber explored the joy of trad climbing, there seemed to be a natural progression and fascination toward longer and steeper multi pitch routes. Possibly the exhilarating idea of being able to actually sleep high above the ground up on a cliff rolled around in their mind. And the feeling of being so far up the climb, knowing that is easier to go up than it would be to try and go back down made their palms start to sweat. If you feel like you can relate, who knows, maybe you are ready for your first big wall climb!

Cam – short for camming device, a cam is temporary protection placed in a crack

Multi-pitch Climbing – A climbing route that is longer than one length of rope. The belayer and climber trade positions as they ascend each section of the climb.

Top Roping – A setup involving a rope attached to a climber, running up through an anchor above and back down to a belayer.

Trad Climbing – Traditional Climbing is the purest form of safe climbing on a cliff and uses temporary protection.

Sport climbing routes appear anywhere someone feels inclined to drill holes and place bolts. As a result, most sport routes are very close to roads or only need a short hike to reach. Traditional climbing routes feature a natural forming crack or fissure in which to place gear. This often requires hiking deep into remote and quiet areas- away from the crowds. Trad climbing offers a new challenge for sport climbers who feel that they have reached their plateau.

There are some disadvantages to trad climbing, like the fact that you can’t roll right out of your car onto the belay site. And few people relish the idea of packing 35 pounds of gear long and steep distances just to climb a route or two. The main drawback of trad climbing though is the price of the gear. An intro trad rack will run you well over $1000 dollars for stoppers, hexes, slings, biners, and the most expensive- cams. Learning to trust the placement of trad gear takes great faith that it will hold in the event of a fall.

Trad gear mainly consists of stoppers (or nuts), hexes, cams and other removable hardware. There are many fine manufacturers of all of the above gear, however not all are alike. You may find for instance that one manufacturer of stoppers has stiffer cables than another, allowing you reach higher for a better placement from where you are perched. Another company may have stiffer triggers on their cams giving your hand a workout, while another cam’s trigger may be as smooth as butter.

Whatever brand you go with doesn’t matter so much as that you shopped around and you are 100% confident that you can trust your life to their products. Climbing is strange sport in that it balances great risks and rewards. Trad climbing offers a bit more risk and a lot more reward than sport climbing. But ultimately, climbing is unique in that it lets you, the rock an amazing environment be one.

A top rope set up involves a secure anchor at the top of the climb. The rope is run through 2 locking carabiners with the gates opposed. One inch tubular webbing is used to secure the anchor to bolts, a stout tree, or gear (cams, stoppers, etc). The carabiners must be hanging over the lip of the climb so the rope does not touch the rock. Doing so will abrade the sheath and decrease the life of the rope.

As the climber ascends the route, the belayer will take the slack out of the rope. This will tighten the rope running through the carabiners on the anchor at the top of the route. In the event that the climber falls, the belayer should already have all of the slack taken up allowing only the stretch in the rope to catch the climber. The climber then has the option to continue upward or to lower back down and try again.

Top roping is hard on a rope. Usually only a short section of the rope will be used at a time, so be sure to switch ends after each climber has had a turn on the rope. This will allow for more even wear and also let the stretch come back in the rope. Use of a rope tarp will help to keep the dirt out of the sheath of your rope too.

Belayers often pay more attention to the climber than they do the slack in the rope. More than one injury has occurred when the belayer allowed the end of the rope to slip through the belay device causing the climber to hit the deck. Make sure you tie a big knot in the tail before you start belaying and be aware of how much rope is needed for each climb to lower off safely. And as always, remember to wear your helmet every time you climb!

Rob

 
Mike says:

Good question! And a tricky one. At the risk of offending another rock climbing gear company, I will reluctantly answer your question (currently, I am not sponsored or receive any compensation from any of the companies mentioned).

Recently I reviewed Metolious Cams and Black Diamond C3 Cams

In my honest opinion, I have to confess that I prefer Black Diamond C4 & C3 cams to any other. I really like how smooth the trigger is on the C4′s, the small head-width of the C3′s, and the ease in placing both of them. You can even get the Neutrino Rackpack from Black Diamond to you help quickly grab the right cam in a desperate situation.

OK, I know you are thinking, “Black Diamond cams are the most expensive cams on the market and I can get a whole set of Friends Cams for half the price.”

I understand the temptation, but my advice is to slowly collect #0.3 through #4 of the C4 series and also #1 and #2 of the C3 series even if it takes a long time. And you’ll obviously want to get the Cams that you’ll be using the most first.

Ask anyone you know to get them for you for Christmas, birthdays, Easter, heck, even Halloween. Beg from Uncles, Aunts, Neighbors. You are a rock climber – you have no pride! And you never know, Grandma might even let you mow her lawn for a few bucks.

You will be surprised how soon you’ll have the full set, and someday you will be climbing and you’ll look down and see those beautiful Black Diamond Cams and feel supremely confident that you can climb any crack when you have a rack of the best cams ever made!