7 Best Waterproof Hiking Shoes (2024)

Make way for the champion of grippy hiking shoes, the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX. With its unbeatable waterproofing and excellent stability, this shoe is the perfect multi-tasker and we keep it at hand for demanding trails.

Our feet coasted over rocks, roots and muddy trails with no problem, so we took the shoe into the lab to crunch the numbers. Our caliper measured 4.5 mm lugs on the Contragrip sole. This is about average for hiking shoes, but what really adds to the superior grip is the shoe’s flexibility. We bent the shoe to 90°, measuring the force taken to do so with a force gauge. The gauge measured 37.1 HA - that’s 31% more flexible than the average hiking shoe! What this means in practice is that our feet could bend and flex over tricky terrain, maximizing the surface area of our foot in contact with the ground.

Salomon’s Active Support System really struts its stuff when the going gets rough. The quick lacing system locks our feet snugly into the shoe. The laces attach to a plastic shank in the midsole, keeping our ankles from rolling on technical terrain. In the lab, we tested the stiffness of the heel and awarded it a 5/5, the stiffest rating possible. This translates to a firm heel hold and increased stability on rocky trails.

The GoreTex waterproofing is amongst the best we’ve seen, and we could even splash through streams and deep puddles without getting wet feet.

The heel collar is a lot higher than previous versions of Salomon’s X Ultra line, so we don’t recommend it to hikers who like a low-riding shoe.

When a hiking shoe feels like a running shoe, and not any running shoe but a seriously comfortable one, it has to be crowned as the hiking shoe with the best cushioning! Plus, it's day-one comfort that comes in an insanely rugged package.

When we cut Acanapa Low GTX in half in our lab, we say layers, padding, cushioning. No wonder the comfort level is 10/10. When we pressed the durometer against the midsole, it measured 23.3 HA. The average for hiking shoes is 30.7 HA. Because the lower durometer readings mean softer materials, this makes the Anacapa Low GTX 31.8% softer than the average hiking shoe!

This cushioning and overall comfort levels are so badass that the shoe got a Seal of Acceptance from the American Podiatric Medical Association.

We took this shoe to some very challenging hikes and could not notice signs of wear and tear. Our tests have confirmed this - the outsole is harder than the average and the toebox is our standard now. We compare all the other shoes to this one when trying to destroy the upper with a Dremmel. It got the rating of 5 out of 5 meaning it is the most durable. And its waterproofness is just what we need for wet weather hiking that ends in dry socks!

Keep in mind that the numbers stated by the brand do not match the lab measurements. Starting with stack heights, Hoka said 28/22 mm while we measured 36.0/25.5 mm at the heel/forefoot. This also gives us a different heel drop, Hoka said 6 mm, we measured 10.5 mm. Given the significance of these differences, hikers should be aware of them and look for alternatives if this high drop is not what they are looking for.

Adidas Terrex Swift R3 GTX is a hiking shoe embodiment of stability. After all our hikes and lab tests, we gave it the highest ratings for: lateral stability, torsional rigidity, waterproofness, and overall secure feel.

The level of stability that this hiking shoe offers should be called hiking-boot level. When we tried twisting it with our hands, we realized it's almost impossible to do so. This torsional rigidity is one of the reasons why we felt so stable when hiking even over more technical terrain. We gave the Swift R3 GTX the highest score on this test 5/5, because it really is: the stiffest.

Looking inside the shoe, we found another reason for this stability. The heel counter got 4/5 on the stiffness test and, for sure, we felt how it snuggly hugs our heel area and allows no unwanted lateral movements.

All the terrains that we covered with no slips now make sense: with a caliper, we measured the thickness of the lugs. They sit at 4.4 mm. The average is 4.3 mm, so it's not big difference but, thanks to the softer-than-average rubber, lugs are sticky and did not disappoint.

The waterproof membrane works wonders. We checked it out under the microscope in the lab and it is so tightly woven, no wonder no water gets inside easily! However, it's also no wonder for why no air circulates through the upper. This is a warm shoe and we don't recommend it for summer days.

A very padded and gusseted tongue, padded heel counter, cushioned footbed, and overall waterproofness and protectiveness are packed in a day-one-comfort hiking shoe called Merrell Moab 3 GTX. And that's why we found this shoe to be the most comfortable waterproof hiking shoe out there.

Although it has a Gore-Tex membrane, the Moab 3 GTX is not stiff. In the lab, we performed a flexibility test by bending the shoe to 90 degrees. Our force gauge measured 30.2N. Hiking shoes, on average, need a force of 36.4N to get bent to 90 degrees. This makes the Moab 3 GTX 20.5% more flexible! This flexibility improves comfort so much because it allows for more natural foot movement.

Let's not forget about the padding on the heel counter! Or the tongue - it's remarkable, at 14.6 mm thickness, the tongue is 3.2 mm thicker than the average one. It's soft and it allowed us to tighten the laces as much as we needed without even a trace of a lace bite!

And it's not that just the Gore-Tex works, it's the lugs as well. Hiking when it's raining proved to be a good exercise because we could focus on our training and form rather than worry about slips and ankle turns. Lugs are 4.8 mm deep and their bite is as versatile as it gets.

We can't have it all. That's why we don't recommend the Moab 3 GTX to hikers who prefer lightweight hiking shoes. Weighing 15.94 oz (452g), it falls on the heavier side because it is significantly heavier than the average hiking shoe that sits at 13.93 oz (395g).

The Merrell Moab Speed GTX stands out from the crowd as the best lightweight waterproof hiking shoe. Weighing in far below average, there’s nothing clunky about this shoe. Impeccably waterproof yet still breathable, its stellar grip bites into soft, muddy trails making it our go-to hiking shoe for rainy days.

Weighing in at 12.1 oz (343g), the Merrell Moab Speed GTX is 1.8 oz (50g) lighter than the average waterproof hiking shoe. We notice it most on our long hikes when our legs are still fresh at the end of the day.

The Gore-Tex passed our stream tests with flying colors - not a drop of water made it through the membrane. Yet despite its watertight pedigree, our feet don’t overheat on hot days. We pumped smoke into the shoe to test for breathability, and the Merrell Moab Speed GTX performed better than we expected. The mesh tongue works as a chimney to let air flow in and out of the toe box, and we awarded it 3/5 for breathability when most waterproof shoes score a low 1/5.

Muddy trails, wet rock, and rocky ascents present no problem for this shoe. Its 4 mm lugs shed mud well, offering stability even in the most challenging conditions. The outsole is on the softer side of average, with our durometer clocking 84.5 HC compared to the average 86.1 HC, which serves to increase our grip on hard surfaces.

It is unusually stiff for such a lightweight shoe. With such a solidly constructed upper, it put up a lot of resistance in our flexibility tests. Pushing it to 90° with a force gauge, it registered 54N - far more rigid than the average of 36.4N. We don’t recommend it to hikers who want a natural feeling, flexible hiking shoe.

Among waterproof hiking shoes, we rigorously tested in and out of the lab, KEEN Targhee III Waterproof delivers protection, comfort, and stability like no other. For an investment of only $155, its quality exceeds its price, making it our best-value pick.

Targhee III’s upper is composed of a mesh that’s incredibly dense and compact preventing water and debris from getting in. It includes a rubberized toe bumper, so we hiked without worries of painfully bumping our toes into rocks and roots. On top of this, the materials used resisted our Dremel greatly and scored a solid 5/5 in our toebox durability test.

Moving to the midsole, we had a good mix of cushioned landings and ground feel thanks to the elevated heel and modest forefoot. The ride felt extra stable on uneven terrain since the cushion never bottomed out. Our durometer confirms our sensation as the foam is 13.6% firmer than average.

Beneath our feet lies a robust outsole with 4.5 mm thick, grippy, and multi-directional lugs that showcased a solid bite on grass, loose ground, mud, and wet rocks. We’re confident the outsole will last many hikes as our measurements show its rubber is 32% thicker than average.

As a low-top shoe, we recommend sticking to water levels below the ankle as any water that seeps in won’t drain out.