I love these shoes for hiking. PERFECT
A little background: I'm very impressed with Salomon shoes and how they are so durable and last for years, even with tons of wear on a daily basis. I do tons of hiking almost every day for miles and miles and live in the mountains. I had a pair of Salomon shoes for trail running/hiking (and also I used for exercising and almost just about anything that didn't require heels) and they have lasted for 4-5 years so far. The tops of them finally started getting holes in them - but crazily enough, despite using them constantly for all the hiking and even exercising in them a lot, the tread is still quite good! I've never had shoes last that long - I'm pretty hard on the ones that work for me. I was so impressed with that pair - so getting another pair of Salomon shoes was an easy decision for me once those started to get worn. My last ones were a different model from these and I was worried these wouldn't be as good. My worries were quickly dispelled.These shoes and this particular model: They're super lightweight and can sort of mold around your feet as needed when you tighten the laces - which btw, I was a little worried about. My last pair were just standard laces, and these are just the quick n easy pull on and then tighten/cinch kind. The "laces" look more like extremely thin strings, and I wasn't sure if they were going to be hardy or durable. Despite their fragile look, however, they're very durable - and I've grown very accostumed now to using them and love them. They hold up well, even as I yank the strings kinda hard for tightening on a daily basis, etc.As aforementioned, I hike a LOT, as much as I have time for. The mountains and terrain I hike in is very rocky and often steep - and quite uneven, even in the best of circumstances. The grip of the soles on these are amazing to me - they truly grip and keep things stable for me even as I am scrambling up the sides of mountains with lots of rocky rubble and moving/slippery spots. I loved my last Salomon shoes, which I thought were pretty grippy - but these in particular are next level. PERFECT!I often trip/kick/stumble over roots of trees and rocks...and the toe-kick is hardy and incredible and covers a nice area to protect my feet/toes. They don't even seem to scuff, even when I stub them across really outdoor pointy things fairly hard, which is surprising.My feet are tricky about aching if they are not properly supported. In fact, I used to wear pretty pricey shoes and sneakers by another well-known brand that caters to stuff like plantar fasciitis and things of that nature - and I was pretty loyal to those before I got my last Salomon shoes, which surpassed that other brand in every way for me. I can go all day, even with high activity and never sitting down, and my feet never ache in these. I have more of a high arch to my feet (not too high, but high enough to cause issues if shoes don't have the right support for them) and these support my feet just fine without having to add anything or swap anything out. With my last Salomon shoes, the insoles were supportive and never wore down to the point that I had to replace them - despite years of hard use. I expect the same from this pair.I ordered my normal shoe size, and these fit perfectly. My feet are a medium width, but I like a slightly boxier toe in order to allow my toes to spread a little, especially considering how much I use these.This brand and these particular shoes are incredible for me. I depend on my shoes heavily on preventing injury due to all the hiking I do, and these are just phenomenal for my particular feet and I can't recommend them enough. I'm rarely truly impressed by shoes in general - but Salomon really outshines most other brands for me and for my particular needs. The fact that they last and last for years makes the price almost neglible, imo. Excellent build, impeccable performance, and incredible durability!