Replacing my duck boots with these light, secure gripping trail shoes
I live in the constantly wet Northwest, so waterproof footwear is required six months out of the year. When the tread on my go-to duck boots wore out I decided to try something new. I love the Columbia brand for their quality and wear. (I have Columbia jackets that are years old and still look and feel like new after hard wear and regular washing.) These hiking shoes looked like they could fill the bill, yet were reasonably priced. They arrived quickly and were very light and stylish. ( Duck boots are to be blunt, pretty ugly. But so are cold wet feet.) My only complaint was having to really pull open the lacing to get my foot in. But after several wears this is getting easier, and I do like my shoes to fit without slipping around, so I am pretty demanding about a secure fit. Tried these out in general use for a couple days and they were very comfortable and LIGHT. Today they got put to the real test when halfway into a three mile trail walk it opened up and poured while I was in a wooded area with heavy slippery duff covering the trail from last night's wind storm. I was walking through running water and puddles, wet clay and slippery leaf fall and the shoe grip was secure, even on wet inclines. After an hour in light to very heavy rain my feet were completely dry. I am impressed. Excellent quality for the price. Love that they feel like shoes, not heavy trail boots. I highly recommend these shoes.
✔ Verified Purchase
Perfect Hiking Boots for the Kalalau Trail in Hawaii!
I couldn’t wait to write a review. My boyfriend and I are first time backpackers, and of course we decide to do a 26-mile hike as our first. We knew finding a good pair of waterproof hiking shoes was imperative for this hike. We were going to do the Kalalau trail in Kauai. It was going to be muddy, rainy, rocky, basically jungle terrain - over three days & 2 nights. We needed good traction and something super comfortable. We hit the jackpot with these. We were complimenting them throughout the whole hike. I did my research on hiking shoes and socks, went to stores and tried on the best brands - nothing did it for me. I really wanted a cute, light weight hiking shoe that felt like a tennis shoe. Almost all the shoes I tried on had something poking my ankle and I knew any pain or annoyance I felt would be tripled by mile 2. I had to find something that fit and felt like a cloud. A hiker needs to size up on all hiking boots, because your foot may swell and to make sure your toe is NOT touching the boot - so I went up from a normal size 8 to a 9 and it was perfect. I could still feel my toe just a tad in an 8 1/2 so I finally landed on the 9. In fact they were so comfortable, I told my boyfriend that we hit the jackpot and that he needs to not waste time shopping around but get the same ones I got! He went ahead and bought the men’s version of these boots. He’s normally a 10 1/2 and he got them in an 11 1/2. Perfect fit! He was amazed at how comfy they were just walking out in the parking lot. He tried sizing up just a half size at first but decided that going up a full size was best, just like mine. We paired them with Darn tough wool socks and switched out our socks every night. By the end of the 26 mile hike, my boyfriend actually had no blisters. I developed a blister on the side of my heel and one between my toes, but I was happy it wasn’t more. And honestly it didn’t really affect my hike - the shoe was really comfortable and I hardly noticed the blisters - especially when you are prepared to get them and bring good blister bandaids. I think the blister on my heel may have developed from how I was walking on the trail, trying to balance myself as I went downhill on rocky terrain. Which I also want to add that hiking sticks were extremely helpful on this trail. It helped us tremendously going down and up huge rocks, rocky terrain, slippery terrain, etc. we slipped on several spots because it was extremely muddy and slanted downhill. But the sticks really helped keep us grounded. Whatever blisters I got, it probably would have been way more in a less comfy shoe and as a first time hiker, it could have been way worse. Because these shoes are made like tennis shoes, I don’t see them lasting for more than a couple years of you do extensive hikes all the time, but we aren’t mountain people anyway and we just needed something to last us through this hike.Lastly, I switched the shoelaces to cute reflective 63-inch white ones that I got off of Amazon to match my outfits. They are called “Vasgo”. Hope this review helps somebody!
✔ Verified Purchase
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Jess P.
November 12, 2025
Your perfect hiking boot!
These are 100% waterproof! I stepped into a puddle up to the middle of my shoe to test it out and my feet were completely dry! These took no break-in time. I put them on and hiked some castles around Germany for about 5 hours. My feet were comfy and not achy after walking (with a little one strapped to me) and my toes were warm even through pouring rain and lots of puddles. The quality is top notch! Highly recommend!
✔ Verified Purchase
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Carolan Ivey
November 03, 2024
Fairly comfortable and easy to wear.
Because my feet are held together with a lot of titanium, they aren’t flexible and that means boots can be difficult to put on, mostly because the tongue is invariably fixed in place on the sides. Thankfully that is not the case with these boots. They went on pretty easily.Despite the fact they’re “wide”, I don’t find the toe box particularly roomy but it’s enough not to rub anywhere. After wearing for a while the material warms up and stretches a bit. It's better if I wear thinner socks instead of thick boot socks.The insoles aren’t very cushiony, IMO. I’ll probably replace them with memory foam. Also, the laces are not long enough, especially after I put my arch supports in. I’ll probably replace those as well.Overall they seem like a good boot. After wearing them around the house a while, I forgot I had them on, which is a good sign. They seem very lightweight. I’ll keep them.
✔ Verified Purchase
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Hannah Davis
October 31, 2025
Would buy for tropical hiking!
These are amazing and comfortable- hiked in Costa Rica with them and they are super lightweight and truly waterproof - bought two pairs
✔ Verified Purchase
I’m a Size 8 and I’m ordering a 9.5
I wear an 8 in other Columbia Boots I have tried the 8, 8.5 & the 9 in this shoe, this is CRAZY. I returned the 8 & 8.5 now I am returning the 9 which was still too short. My toes are still touching the front of the shoe & although my foot is narrow, wearing a very thin crew sock, in the 8 & 8.5 the shoe fit extremely snug. I hadn’t adjusted the laces to try to loosen because the length even was too short. The width in the 9 was comfortable. I’ve never had to loosen laces (narrow feet) but we’ll see on the 9.5Order a full size & 1/2 up!
✔ Verified Purchase
