Salomon: The Must-have Brand for Winter Running Shoes
Outdoor Activities | January 17, 2023
SAIL
April 07, 2022
Each different footwear brand offers hiking boots and shoes providing unique benefits and technology to the wearer. To help you in making your selection, we’ve created a list of the 10 most popular hiking boot and shoe brands so that you can head out on the right foot.
Check out our Hiking Guide to discover more tips about this popular activity that can be done both in summer and winter.
In this article, you will learn more about:
Note: The following brands have been classified alphabetically and not by order of performance or popularity in order to preserve neutrality throughout the article.
It was on Italian soil that Aku founder, Galliano Bordin, set up his workshop. Today, the brand has two manufacturers – one in Montebelluna, Italy, and the other in Cluj-Napoca, Romania – and is taking outdoor enthusiasts by storm all over the world. Its guiding principle: Innovate in terms of materials and design without losing the artisanal element that defines its reputation.
For over 80 years, Columbia has been dressing you from head to toe. Although this American brand is known for its ski clothing, it has begun becoming popular in the hiking field, with the creation of aerodynamic and colourful hiking shoes, as well as classic styles offering excellent heel support.
“Engagement” is truly a word that defines Keen. Founded in Oregon in 2003 and known for its famous Newport sandal, the company makes continual social and environmental efforts that have a positive impact. Since 2017, it has minimized the use of perfluorinated compounds, synthetic chemicals that are harmful to the planet and humans, and replaced them with safe materials.
If you still don’t know about Lowa, you should take note that the almost century-old Bavarian workshop is now a well-established brand renowned for its high-quality hiking and mountaineering boots, as well as climbing shoes. The brand holds true to designing its products in Europe in order to guarantee an unparalleled quality level and good working conditions for the craftsmen and women who contribute to the brand’s reputation.
If you imagine a traditional boot with blue laces when you think of Merrell, it’s because the brand is a hiking leader and stands out for its unique style, versatility and the remarkable durability of its shoes and boots. The brand has done so well: Merrell just celebrated its 40th anniversary!
Did you know that if you combine the words Outside and Bozeman (Montana), the city where the brand was born, you get Oboz? Established in 2007, the brand offers a ton of footwear models and promises to plant a tree for each pair sold.
This French brand has been equipping you for the ski slopes for 75 years. In addition to having expanded to other sports fields related to skiing – cross-country, ski touring, snowboarding, etc. – the brand introduced its line of hiking shoes in 1992.
Ironically founded on a beach in California by two hiking enthusiasts, The North Face has been conquering sports lovers and climbers, as well as athletes from all over the world.
Vasque has been taking you where you want to go for over 55 years, and it’s this very sense of adventure and power of nature that fuels each pair of shoes and boots made by this American company.
Slightly less well-known than other hiking shoe and outdoor brands, this Italian company is well established and run by the third generation of the Zamberlan family. Each boot model proudly exhibits artisanal detail and rounded design, the signature of this lasting brand that’s here to stay.