Walking Boots

Best Women’s Walking Boots 2019 | Top 10

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, like the Keen Innate, will be great for light trails, whereas others, like the La Sportiva TX4, will be help you when 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 wax, 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 for pairs.

BEST BUY: Tecnica Forge

Price: £192
Weight: 1012g (size 6.5)
More info: tenicasports.com

This is a boot that can be shaped to perfectly fit the contours of your foot through a thermo-moulding process. Skiers and snowboarders will already be familiar with boots that are fitted using the technology, but the process had, until now, never been applied to walking boots. Why? Well, we’re not sure, because it works great. What you get is such a precise that the risk of hotspots, and the subsequent blistering, is minimised considerably. The one pictured is the men’s version, but the women’s is pretty much identical – same looks, same tech.

Read our full Tecnica Forge review

La Sportiva TX4 Mid GTX

Price: £165
Weight: 970g
More info: lasportiva.com

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

Keen Innate Sherpa Leather Mid WP

Price: £140
Weight: 982g
More info: keenfootwear.com

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.

Haglöfs Eclipse GT

Price: £150
Weight: 990g
More info: haglofs.com

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.

Danner Mountain Light

Price: £286
Weight: 1190g
More info: danner.com

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.

Asolo Greenwood GV

Price: £196
Weight: 1352g (size 8)
More info: asolo.com

If you’re looking for long lasting quality, these would be a good pair to consider. Asolo have used some great materials here, including Italian Perwanger leather, a Gore-Tex membrane, and Megagrip rubber outsole. It’s the construction that really impressed us, with that well-crafted one-piece leather upper with minimal seams (and therefore less chance of any water ingress), and the solid toe bumper.

It’s the men’s version pictured here. The women’s comes in somewhat brighter colours.

Read our full Asolo Greenwood GV Women’s.

Hanwag Tatra II

Price: €260
Weight: 1280g
More info: hanwag.com

This is a mountain boot designed for days out on tricky, technical terrain – think scree slopes in the Alps or a traverse over a boulder-filled landscape like the Rhinogydd in Snowdonia. It’s something for when you need solid dependability and protection, but still need to be able to cover long distances comfortably. With Hanwag you can normally expect exceptional quality and craftsmanship and they certainly haven’t dropped the ball here. Again, we’ve used an image of the men’s boot here, but the women’s version is pretty much identical.

Read our full Hanwag Tatra II GTX review.

Lowa Wendelstein

Price: £225
Weight: 1240g
More info: lowa.co.uk

The Wendlestein 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.

Merrell Chameleon 7 Mid

Price: £160
Weight: 816g
More info: merrell.com

As the name suggests, this is the seventh iteration in this popular collection from Merrell. Comfortable, grippy, and sturdy without being cumbersome, it’s the kind of boot that you’ll find yourself wearing very regularly, safe in the knowledge that it’ll handle the majority of what your active outdoorsy life throws at it.

The key thing is weight. A pair of these weighs just 968g, which is very light considering the protection and performance you can bank on the Chameleon 7 delivering. Merrell have worked with Vibram to deliver a new outsole for the Chameleon that’s far lighter than previous models but still just as grippy, with its 3mm and multi-directional lugs. For comfort and stability underfoot, they’ve gone for a contoured insole that’s fully removable, EVA foam in the midsole and a lightweight ‘Flexplate’ designed to protect the foot from sharp rocks.

Read our full Merrell Chameleon 7 review.