Six hiking shoes from about $90 to $180, and which size to order in each one.
By Alex HartDay trails mostly, a few nights out a year, mountains when the time allows.
Updated Sep 2026·26 compared
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Most women should start with the Merrell Moab Speed 2, at about $145. It's a mesh shoe on a Vibram sole, and it's the one on this page most likely to fit in the size you already wear. Of the women who said how it fit, 22 of 31 called the length right and 24 of 30 the width.
That counts for more than it sounds, because you're probably buying online without trying anything on. The box shows up, you lace up and walk around the kitchen, and either your heel stays put or you're printing a return label. Hiking shoes don't all miss in the same direction, either. Some run big, some narrow, some a full size small, so for each shoe below I say which way it runs and what size to order. If every shoe you've owned squeezes your toes, go straight to the Targhee 4, which runs roomy. Under $100, there's the Crestwood at about $90, as long as you order it where returns are easy.
Roomy where most hiking shoes are tight, so start here if your toes always feel squeezed. Waterproof, with a wide for about $35 more that many won't need.
A waterproof hiking shoe for about $90, and the wide costs the same. Buy it somewhere you can send it back, and don't count on the lining for more than a season.
Vibram TC5+ outsoleFlexPlate for torsional stiffness39 percent recycled upperHeel and tongue pull loops
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Why I picked it
Order this one when you can't try anything on. Most women who said how theirs fit got the length they ordered and a width that suited them, and that's rarer than it should be.
On the trail, a plate Merrell calls FlexPlate keeps the shoe from twisting when you step across a root at an angle, while the front still bends as you push off. The outsole is Vibram TC5+. Pull loops at the heel and on the tongue let you hook a finger in each and get the shoes on fast at the trailhead. The upper is mesh, 39 percent recycled, so it breathes and dries, and it won't keep water out. The Gore-Tex version exists at about $175, which is $30 more for a membrane, and further down you'll see why I wouldn't pay it.
Who it is for
Anyone who wants one pair for the local trail, the dog walk and a week of walking on vacation, and who would rather not spend three hikes wondering whether to send them back.
What owners report
Its fit numbers, length and width together, are the best on this page if you set aside the Olympus 6, which has only six reports. Where women part ways with the Speed 2 is the sole: several describe it as much stiffer than they expected, closer to a shoe built for a loaded pack than for a day hike, and it barely bends at the toes. A few felt their heel slip as they walked, and two wanted more support side to side.
Arches are the other gap. Five women checked the box for no arch support, and two more said it in their own words, so if you need one, plan on an insole. And one buyer opened her box to find two shoes of different lengths. Set yours side by side before you wear them outside.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The sole is stiff enough that some women never get used to it.
No arch support to speak of. Budget for an insole if you need one.
Heel slip for a few, and that's the one fit problem a size chart can't warn you about.
Fit and sizing
Order your normal size. It's the shoe on this page least likely to surprise you in either direction.
2
Wide forefoot
KEEN Targhee 4 Low
Roomy where most hiking shoes are tight, so start here if your toes always feel squeezed. Waterproof, with a wide for about $35 more that many won't need.
Roomy where most hiking shoes are tight, so start here if your toes always feel squeezed. Waterproof, with a wide for about $35 more that many won't need.
KEEN Original Fit, room to splayDirect-attach constructionRemovable Luftcell footbedBruise plate under the forefoot
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Why I picked it
If hiking shoes always squeeze you across the toes, start here. KEEN builds the Targhee on what it calls its Original Fit, with room for your toes to spread out, and the women who've bought it say it errs roomy. Nearly everything else in this category errs tight.
It's waterproof, with KEEN's own KEEN.DRY lining. The upper is bonded straight to the sole instead of glued on afterward, which KEEN says makes the two less likely to come apart. A plate under the forefoot takes the edge off sharp rocks, and the Luftcell footbed lifts out if you'd rather wear your own insoles.
Buy it if
Your feet are wide, or your forefoot is, and you've spent years going up half a size for the width and then sliding around in the length.
Skip it if
Your feet are narrow. It's the clearest case on the page.
What owners report
Only nine women answered the fit questions, so take these as counts. Four found it wider than marked and one narrower. On length, three said it runs half a size big and one a full size big, against one who found it small. So it runs big, which most hiking shoes don't.
On a slim foot, that room turns into floating: women with narrow feet say theirs slid around in it. Someone who owns 29 pairs of KEENs says she'd need to go down a size in this one. It's also a heavy shoe for a low, and some owners wanted more cushion underfoot. Two separate buyers found a bump in the tongue.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The wrong shoe for a narrow foot, too long and too wide at once.
Heavy for a low shoe.
A bump in the tongue, reported twice.
Fit and sizing
Take your normal size, and think about half a size down if you usually buy narrow. The wide costs about $35 more, and it's worth trying the standard first, since it already runs wide.
3
Under $100
Columbia Crestwood Waterproof
A waterproof hiking shoe for about $90, and the wide costs the same. Buy it somewhere you can send it back, and don't count on the lining for more than a season.
A waterproof hiking shoe for about $90, and the wide costs the same. Buy it somewhere you can send it back, and don't count on the lining for more than a season.
Omni-Grip lugged outsoleSeam-sealed bootieSuede and mesh upperNon-waterproof version costs less
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Why I picked it
For about $90 you get a lugged, waterproof hiking shoe that's fine for a first pair or a few hikes a year. If you need a wide, it's the same $90, the only shoe here where width costs nothing extra.
The upper is suede and mesh. Inside, the Omni-Tech lining is built as a seam-sealed sock, and the Omni-Grip outsole has lugs pointing in several directions.
Who it is for
Someone starting out, or someone who hikes a handful of times a year and would rather spend the difference on the trip. It's also the easy answer if you need a wide and don't want to pay extra for it.
What owners report
Most women found the fit right: 37 of 62 on length, 53 of 60 on width. But 13 said it runs a full size small, more than for any other shoe here, so this is the pair to buy where returns are free.
The lining is the bigger story. Three women say their feet were soaked within minutes, in the rain or on a walk through dewy grass. A fourth had hers keep water out for about two months of walking before it gave up. If you want dry feet into a second season, don't count on this membrane. One buyer also found a hard vertical ridge inside the heel that gave her blisters.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The waterproofing leaked for some owners from the start and wore out for another after two months.
A full size small for a real share of buyers.
Fit and sizing
Order your usual size, buy where returns are easy, and go up if you're between sizes. The wide costs the same, so trying it costs you nothing.
4
Arch support
Oboz Sawtooth X Low B-Dry
The one shoe here with a footbed you'll want to keep, with a deep heel cup and a real arch. Go up half a size, because it's narrow.
O Fit triple-density footbed8 mm drop, publishedOiled nubuck upperTPU heel counter
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Why I picked it
If you usually pull the flat liner out of a new pair and put in an insole you bought separately, this is the shoe where you might not have to. Oboz ships its O Fit footbed, a molded insole in three densities of foam, with a deep heel cup and an arch Oboz calls medium to high. Your foot gets held in place, which is what you want on a rocky descent when you're tired.
Add a firm heel counter and an oiled nubuck upper, and it's the most structured shoe here by a distance. Oboz also publishes the drop, 8 mm, meaning your heel sits 8 mm higher than your toes. Most makers on this page don't say.
Who it is for
High arches, or a foot that wants to be held rather than cushioned.
What owners report
The loudest voices are longtime fans, and they aren't happy. Oboz changed the footbed and the shape from the last version, and women who've bought Sawtooths for years noticed right away. One wore them every day for seven years and has owned eight to ten pairs, and she doesn't recognize this one as the same shoe.
On fit, it runs narrow. A woman who takes an 8 in KEENs suggests going half a size to a full size up. Flat laces that are hard to pull tight come up more than once.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Narrow, and Oboz doesn't list a wide for this model.
If you loved an older Sawtooth, don't assume this one fits the same.
The laces are hard to cinch down.
Fit and sizing
Go up half a size, or a full size if your foot is on the wide side.
5
Cushioning
Hoka Anacapa 2 Low GTX
The most cushion under your foot on this page, with Gore-Tex. It's narrow up front, and a couple of owners had water get in at the big toe.
Gore-Tex Invisible FitSugarcane-based EVA midsoleNon-waterproof Freedom costs lessPrice swings by color
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Why I picked it
Hoka puts more cushion under your foot than anything else on this page. On a long day of hard-packed trail, that's the difference your heels feel by the end of the day. The midsole foam is EVA made partly from sugarcane, and the shoe is lined with Gore-Tex Invisible Fit.
It's also the most expensive shoe here, and the price moves a lot: from about $180 to about $245 depending on color and width. The same shoe without a membrane, the Anacapa 2 Freedom, costs about $120.
Who it is for
Hikers who end the day with sore feet on firm trails, and anyone coming from cushioned road shoes who doesn't want to give that feeling up.
Skip it if
Your forefoot is wide, or keeping water out is the main reason you're buying.
What owners report
Water is the report that matters at this price. Two women describe it coming in at the big toe, on both shoes, after a short walk through wet grass, and one of them had the same thing happen with a second pair.
The forefoot draws complaints too. Two found the forefoot narrower than the Anacapa Breeze they'd worn, and one says it's tight both ways. And several owners bring up the price.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Narrow at the forefoot, on a shoe whose soft ride lets your foot spread.
Water at the big toe for two owners, one of them on two pairs.
What you pay depends on the color you pick.
Fit and sizing
Order your usual size and expect a snug forefoot. A wide is made, at a higher price, and it's a better fix than going up in length.
6
Zero drop
Altra Olympus 6 Hike Low GTX
Heel and forefoot at the same height, and a toe box shaped like a foot. If that's what your feet already like, it's the only one here.
Zero drop platformFoot-shaped toe boxGore-Tex guaranteed by GoreFew women's reports so far
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Why I picked it
Zero drop means your heel and the ball of your foot sit at the same height, the way they do barefoot. Altra pairs that with a toe box shaped like a foot instead of a point, so your toes can spread. If you already walk or run in zero drop shoes, nothing else here gives you that. The GTX version adds a Gore-Tex lining that Gore itself guarantees, with a breathable mesh inside.
Who it is for
Anyone already used to zero drop, and anyone whose toes have never had enough room in anything else.
What owners report
Just six women have written about this one so far. Four found it true to size, one half a size big, one a full size small, and all five who answered on width called it right. One who loved the Olympus 5 in this cut would like it back, because it held her foot better.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Hardly any women's reports yet, so there's no long record to lean on.
Zero drop takes getting used to. Don't make a long hike your first day in it.
Fit and sizing
Take your normal size. If you're new to zero drop, give your calves a few short walks before a long day, because the shape shifts the load down toward your heel and Achilles.
Who this is for
This guide is for day hikes and light overnights, on trail. If you're carrying a heavy pack, or your ankles want holding, a mid-height boot will do more for you, and our guide to hiking boots covers the same ground higher up the ankle. If weight is what you care about most, lightweight boots is the other place to look, and our lightweight hiking shoes guide has five low shoes at 11 to 12 ounces each, all sold in women's versions too.
For scrambling and steep technical ground, look at a mountain shoe instead. None of these six is built for it.
How to choose
Start with the shape of your foot
Width is what sends most shoes back, and you can plan for it. A wide forefoot belongs in the Targhee, which runs roomy on top of that. A narrow foot will get on with the Sawtooth X and the Anacapa 2, and not with the Targhee. If you don't know, the Moab Speed 2 is the safest first guess on this page.
Decide whether you want a membrane
A waterproof lining makes a shoe warmer, slower to dry once water comes in over the collar, and pricier: about $13 more on the Columbia here, about $60 more on the Hoka. It's worth it in cold shoulder-season mud. In July it does very little. In Pisgah's summer humidity, where trails cross plenty of creeks, I'd take a mesh shoe that drains over a lining that holds the water in. And as the owner reports above show, the membrane is often the first part to quit.
Check the price of the color, not the model
These shoes are priced by color and size, not by name. The Moab Speed 2 runs from about $89 to $175 across colors and versions, and the Anacapa 2 from about $180 to $245. The wide costs more on the Targhee and nothing extra on the Crestwood. Before you buy the shoe in the photo, see what it costs in a color you can live with.
Order where you can send them back
Even the steadiest shoe here surprises some buyers, and heel slip is the one thing no chart predicts. Walk around the house in them before they touch dirt. The Crestwood runs a full size small for enough women that it's worth planning for, and the Sawtooth X is narrow enough that most people will want the next half size up.
The competition
Salomon X Ultra 5 GTX Low
The first choice on most other lists. There's no women's low version of it on Amazon to send you to, so it isn't here. The X Ultra 5 review covers the men's low and Mid, and how narrow they run.
The shoe most guides reach for first, and the Moab 3 Mid already has a spot in our hiking boots guide. Here, the Moab Speed 2 covers the same buyer. If you want the Moab anyway, the Moab 3 review covers its women's sizing, which runs small in the Mid Waterproof.
About $78, without the lining behind the waterproof version's worst reports. For summer hiking, it's the one I'd pick of the two.
How we picked
A women's last, not a men's shoe sized downAt least 40 readable owner reportsA wide at the maker's catalogue, or a shape owners call wideUnder $200A lugged outsole, not a street sole
The list opened with 26 shoes sold to American women, and I read what each maker publishes: the last, the membrane, the outsole, the drop where anyone states it, and which widths exist.
Then I read about 500 owner reviews, the unhappy ones first. Zappos asks each reviewer whether the shoe felt true to size and true to width, and those answers are the backbone of this guide: it's the one place I know of where hundreds of women answer the same two questions about the same shoe. I counted them model by model, and where only a handful answered, you get the counts instead of percentages. The Olympus 6 is the one pick with fewer than 40 reports, kept because nothing else here is zero drop.
Prices were checked across colors and sizes, because on shoes they move more than you'd expect.
Common questions
Should I size up in hiking shoes?+−
For one of the six here, yes: the Oboz Sawtooth X runs narrow enough that half a size up is the sensible order. For the other five, the owner reports point to your normal size, and the Columbia is the one that catches people out, running a full size small for a real minority. The usual advice to size up exists because feet swell over a day and thick socks take room. But going up in length to fix a shoe that's too narrow only swaps one problem for another: your foot slides forward on descents and your toes hit the front. If a shoe is too narrow, change the width or change the model.
Do I need waterproof hiking shoes?+−
Only if you hike in cold, wet conditions or early-season snow. A membrane makes a shoe warmer, slower to dry and more expensive, and it can wear out before the rest of the shoe does. On summer trails, a mesh shoe drains and dries faster once water gets in over the top, and sooner or later it will.
Hiking shoes or hiking boots?+−
Shoes for day hikes and light loads, boots when the pack is heavy or the ground is loose. A boot adds support under weight and a cuff that keeps grit out, and it costs you weight on your feet and a longer break-in. If you're carrying enough to feel it on the descents, that's when to look at boots.
How long do hiking shoes last?+−
It depends on which part gives out first, and in the reports I read, that's the membrane. One Columbia owner had hers stop keeping water out after about two months of walking. If you buy waterproof, expect the lining to go before the tread does.
Why do women's hiking shoes fit so differently from each other?+−
Each maker builds around its own last, and those lasts differ more than the size labels suggest. KEEN builds wide on purpose, Altra builds around the shape of a foot, Oboz builds narrow and structured. The number on the box tells you the least, which is why this guide leads with how each shoe runs.
The verdict
Start with the Moab Speed 2
For about $145, the Moab Speed 2 is the shoe most likely to fit when it arrives, in length and in width. Know before you buy that the sole is stiff.
Pick something else only if your feet give you a reason. The Targhee 4 is for toes that feel squeezed, and the Anacapa 2 for feet that ache on hard ground. The Crestwood saves you about $55, as long as you don't need the lining to last.
