Walking Boots

Best Walking Boots For Women 2021

Our pick of the best women's hiking boots out there for three-season hiking

Hiking boots are the item of gear you need to get exactly right – pick a pair that aren’t right for you and even on short walks there’ll be a high chance you’re not going to have a good time. It’s not just about finding boots in your size though, because to find the best women’s walking boots for you, you’ll also need to find the right shape. That’s why it’s always wise to purchase boots that are built around a women’s specific ‘last’ shape. You’ll find plenty of those kind of boots here.

In this list of the best ladies’ hiking boots, all of the pairs are designed for three-season use, but they all vary in regards to their capabilities over certain terrain. What we mean by this is that some will be great for easy trails, whereas others are purpose-built for demanding scrambling or trekking. They’re all waterproof hiking boots, some with Gore-Tex, others with different brands or their own proprietary membranes. If you’re looking for low cut options, go check out our list of the best walking shoes round-up for this season. You can also find more walking boots tested by the OM team over in our round up of the best hiking boots for men – many of the options in that list will come in a boot for women.

Related: Best Approach Shoes
Related: Best Value Walking Boots

What To Look For When Buying Women’s Walking Boots

It’s a case of horses for courses when picking the right boots for your trip, but the best walking boots for women, broadly speaking, tend to possess the same group of traits. First of all, they’ll have deep and grippy lugs that will shed mud easily and not get clogged up quickly. They’ll also be able to keep out moisture, thanks to either a waterproof membrane like Gore-Tex or a waxed finish, and they’ll also keep your feet at the right temperature, preventing them from getting too cold, or too clammy. Then there’s the comfort aspect. You want support and cushioning around the ankle and the right amount of cushioning or shock absorption in the midsole as well. Finally, you want them to be durable and protective, but also lightweight. There are certainly number of balances to strike, and again, it’s horses for courses there. Note: All weights given are per pair.

The Best Walking Boots For Women

Halti Fara Mid 2 – Best Women’s Walking Boot
La Sportiva TX4 Mid GTX
KEEN Innate Sherpa Leather Mid WP
Haglofs Eclipse GT
Danner Mountain Light
Hanwag Banks Lady GTX
Lowa Wendelstein
The North Face Vectiv Exploris FutureLight Trail Shoe

BEST BUY: Halti Fara Mid 2

Price: £100
Weight: 700g (size 6.5)
Best for: Day hiking and hillwalking
Key attributes: Lightweight, waterproof, well-cushioned, great value

With great out-of-the-box comfort, low weight, plenty of cushioning and an attractive price tag, this lightweight mid-cut walking boot from Halti ticks plenty of boxes for day hikers. The emphasis is on lightweight, all-day comfort for relatively undemanding terrain, though they are equipped with a waterproof lining to enable you to tramp through the wet stuff without too much concern.

The synthetic textile uppers and foam rubber midsole means they are very light, so they’re well-suited to women who don’t like or need chunky clodhoppers. The uppers are made from a mix of recycled polyester (from recycled PET bottles) with synthetic reinforcements. They’re lined with Halti’s own waterproof-breathable technology, a PU-based membrane called DrymaxX. There’s also a moisture wicking polyester mesh lining for added comfort and breathability.

Underfoot, the outsole is a Halti GripmaxX Antislip rubber outsole with a phylon midsole made from EVA foam. The sole unit is not the most aggressive, with fairly shallow lugs that are better suited to easier, hard-packed trails than anything too loose or technical. The EVA midsole gives plenty of cushioning and shock absorption though, aided by an anatomically-designed insole that gives you a little more structure and padding for the heel, instep and ball of the foot.

Selected for our Outdoor 100 2021/22. Read our full Halti Fara Mid 2 Women’s Walking Boot review

Get the latest price at:
halti.com

La Sportiva TX4 Mid GTX

Price: £165
Weight: 970g
Best for: Mountain walks and scrambles
Key attributes: Lightweight, sturdy, grippy

If you’re into more technical mountain walking then this is the boot for you. It’s lightweight but there’s still a good bit of sturdiness to it, along with a reliably stiff sole that’s perfect for handling rocky and uneven terrain. What’s probably most notable about it is that there’s a climbing zone on the toe to allow for really precise edging on the narrowest of footholds. What else? Well, there’s the sticky rubber compound, clever lacing system – we could go on.

Read our full La Sportiva TX4 Mid review

Get the latest price at:
lasportiva.com

Keen Innate Sherpa Leather Mid WP

Price: £140
Weight: 982g
Best for: Day hikes and countryside walks
Key attributes: Lightweight, ethically made, comfortable

This boot, the result of a collaboration between Keen and Sherpa, was in fact featured in our Green Gear Guide for 2019. One of the things that persuaded us to include is the fact that the leather that’s been used is from a Leather Working Group (LWG) approved tannery and what that means is that it meets a number of ethical and environmental standards of production. Today, 80% of leather is tanned using chrome, a highly toxic process that results in a significant amount of toxic waste being released into waterways and serious harm to industrial tannery workers. With a LWG approved product, you can be sure that none of that nasty stuff has gone on.

What’s more, for every pair of these sold, €15 goes to Room to Read, an organisation that seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. We like that.

More more on the tech specs, read our full Keen Innate Sherpa review.

Get the latest price at:
keenfootwear.com

Haglöfs Eclipse GT

Price: £150
Weight: 990g
Best for: Hiking, hillwalking and backpacking
Key attributes: Comfortable, sturdy and supportive

Haglöfs have really upped their eco efforts in recent years, so much so that you could say they’re right up there as one of the most sustainable big brands out there. Take for example their pledge to fully remove PFCs from all of their products by 2020. You certainly won’t find any of those nasty chemicals in this boot. Instead, the brand have developed an alternative durable water repellent treatment that’s kind to the environment.

Overall the Eclipse is a reliable, light trekking boot with nice ingredients, including a Gore-Tex membrane, nubuck and seude leather upper and a gel injected midsole for shock absorption.

Read our full Haglofs Eclipse GT review.

Get the latest price at:
haglofs.com

Danner Mountain Light

Price: £286
Weight: 1190g
Best for: Day hikes and town-to-country wear
Key attributes: Comfortable, retro styling

The Danner Mountain Light is the modern relaunch/update of Danner’s classic boot from the 90s, which some might recognise from the film, WILD. It features a one-piece leather upper with minimal seams, solid metal lace-loops and eyelets, a chunky sole and those distinctive red laces. Although the style is somewhat retro, the design features modern comforts, the main example being its Gore-Tex waterproof membrane and PU footbed.

Read our full Danner Mountain Light review.

Get the latest price at:
danner.com

Hanwag Banks Lady GTX

Price: £200
Weight: 1050g (size 8)
Best for: Hiking and hillwalking
Key attributes: Comfortable, sturdy, well-made, wide range of fits

The Hanwag Banks is a well-made three-season walking boot that are a particularly good option if you sometimes struggle with fit, since the Banks comes in a variety of different styles and widths designed to suit multiple foot types. This includes the Banks Straight Fit Extra, for those with a wider forefoot, the Banks Narrow and the standard Banks Lady.

The latter has a roomy toe box but a snug, close fit around the ankle. The inner lining is really soft and the boot feels fantastically cushioned overall. Overall performance is impressive. A nubuck upper with a Gore-Tex lining offers reliable waterproof-breathable performance. Grip underfoot is also good, since the Vibram Endurance Pro outsole gives sure-footed traction on both slippery grass and rocky, uneven trails.

Selected for our Outdoor 100 2021/22. Read our full Hanwag Banks Lady GTX review

Get the latest price at:
webtogs.com

Lowa Wendelstein

Price: £225
Weight: 1240g
Best for: Mountain hiking and hillwalking
Key attributes: Durable, comfortable, well-made

The Wendelstein might bring to mind old sepia photos of mountaineers doing their things in the Alps, wearing knickerbockers and the like, but the boot itself is technical and modern in all the ways it needs to be.

The upper material, made from good old-fashioned leather which is chromium-free, has the perfect toughness-flexibility balance, while the carefully designed seams reduce the risk of friction and serve to enhance the Wendelstein’s extremely durable nature.

Suitable for a variety of terrain, the outsole has fairly aggressive lugs of about 4mm and a slightly narrowed toe that allows precise edging, so as well as your standard rolling green hills it can also handle the rocky stuff.

Read our full Lowa Wendelstein review.

Get the latest price at:
lowa.co.uk

The North Face Vectiv Exploris FutureLight

Price: £140
Weight: 750g
Best for: Trail hiking
Key attributes: Long-distance comfort, innovative design, good breathability

Though these are trail shoes, not boots, they pack in plenty of tech and some impressive innovation. First up, there’s the Futurelight waterproof membrane, then there’s the Vectiv carbon plate. These are both big innovations that have really been turning heads within the outdoor world. We’ve tested them both in a number of different products from The North Face over the last couple of years and we can confirm that they’re very impressive.

The Vectiv carbon plate, which was originally unveiled in The North Face’s Vectiv trail shoe collection, brings a number of benefits, the most notable one being increased energy return with each stride. Basically, it propels your feet forward, ultimately helping you to go for longer. On top of that it also provides a decent amount of protection from sharp roots and rocks.

The outsole has 4mm lugs with a large central cutout to increase traction and save weight. It’s not the most aggressive of soles but our testers found that it’ll do the job on all but the super slippery and muddy stuff. The compound offers a bit of grip on wet rock but, as you often find with most three-season hiking footwear, there are limitations there.

Selected for our Outdoor 100 2021/22. Read our full The North Face Vectiv Exploris FutureLight Trail Shoe review.

Get the latest price at:
webtogs.com