6 Best Hiking Boots For Plantar Fasciitis

How we test hiking boots

We prioritize objectiveness and transparency. Because of that, we: 

1. Buy all the hiking boots with our own money;
2. Test the boots on our hikes, in wet and dry terrain, on uphills and downhills, easy and technical trails; 
3. Subject the boots to various lab tests which result in 20+ data points that accurately describe the fit, performance and durability of each boot; 
4. Publish all our results, along with the averages for the given category and together with other results so that you can compare the boots of your interests by any parameter;
5. Choose the top picks based on our experience with the boot on the hikes and based on our lab data. 

This guide is here to educate, not offer medical advice. 

Heel pain and plantar fasciitis 

Most hikers discover plantar fasciitis when they feel a sharp pain in their heel. This pain basically alerts us that our plantar fascia is inflamed. The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue at the bottom of the foot that connects the ball of the foot and the heel, creating the arch. Inflammation happens when the fascia is overused or overstretched. 

This heel pain is not easy to ignore, and it’s best to consult a specialist before taking any other action besides resting. If you try to hike through the pain, maybe using NSAIDs, the condition can get worse. After all, plantar fasciitis is not the only cause of heel pain. 

As with any other foot condition, it’s best to get properly diagnosed and make a rehabilitation plan. Different footwear can help, up to a certain degree. When talking about hiking boots, we focus on features that offer a superb lockdown and a rigid platform. This allows the overworked fascia to work only as much as needed, not more. 

Look for these 5 hiking boot features if you’re dealing with plantar fasciitis

Imagine you’re hiking on a terrain covered with large sharp rocks. The moment you step on a sharp edge, your boot can bend/twist with your feet following that platform movement as much as they can, or your boot can be stiff and stay leveled, just like your foot. When dealing with plantar fasciitis, we’re looking for the latter. 

Basically, we want to remove all the unnecessary strain that could be placed on the plantar fascia. We do this by not allowing the foot to twist too much, by locking the heel firmly in place, and by having the heel elevated (here, we’re talking about the heel drop). Based on this, we recommend you look for: 

1. Cushioned hiking boots and not minimalist/barefoot ones. Look for at least 30mm at the heel. 
2. Heel drop of at least 8 mm. The heel drop goes from 0 (or close to zero) to above 20mm. High heel drop utilizes the higher-leg muscles so the plantar fascia is not overused. 
3. Rigid platform. As explained above on the example when a hiker is stepping on a sharp rock, it’s best to have a platform that won’t allow your foot to struggle to find balance, but always be planted. 
4. Moderate-to-firm platform. Too soft and your feet will be sinking in and working to “come back up”. We can prevent that by not choosing too-soft platforms. 
5. Stiff heel counters that will keep the heel in place. 

We will cover each of these features (and more) below. 

Skip minimalist/barefoot hiking boots if you have plantar fasciitis 

While barefoot and minimalist footwear has their own advantages, like strengthening the foot muscles, feeling the ground, moving “naturally” in insanely flexible hiking boots, all of those advantages are disadvantages for hikers who have plantar fasciitis. 

We want to cushion the heel so that it absorbs less impact. We even want to lift the heel. For plantar fasciitis, we recommend hiking boots with a heel stack height of at least 30 mm. At the moment of writing this guide, we don’t even have hiking boots with a lower stack height in the database - mainly because we haven’t tested any minimalist ones yet. So, this feature should be easy to nail. 

High-drop hiking boots can bring some relief 

Heel-to-toe drop is the difference in height between the heel and the toes (forefoot). That’s exactly how it is calculated: heel stack height minus forefoot stack height. Why is the heel drop so important? Because it can affect our leg muscles differently and we should be mindful of the possible effects. 

We split hiking boots into 4 groups based on their heel drop: 

1. Zero-drop hiking boots: the heel and the toes are on the same level. These boots make the foot muscles work the most and are often used for strengthening of those muscles.  
2. Low-drop hiking boots have a heel drop of 1-4 mm. They utilize the lower leg muscles, Achilles, calves. 
3. Mid-drop hiking boots have a heel to toe drop in the 5-8 mm range. They usually put more stress on the knees and thighs. 
4. High-drop hiking boots have a heel drop higher than 8 mm and they activate the higher-leg muscles the must, especially the hip muscles. These boots are the best for hikers dealing with plantar fasciitis as we know they don’t put extra stress on the plantar fascia. 

For context, here are some averages pulled from our lab database: 

• Average heel drop of trail running shoes: 7.6 mm
• Average heel drop of hiking shoes: 11.1 mm
• Average heel drop of hiking boots: 13.8 mm

How to find a rigid hiking boot for plantar fasciitis?

There are 2 ways to do this: if you’re shopping for hiking boots in specialized stores, twist the boots. Look for those that resist the twisting the most. Or, if you’re looking for a boot on RunRepeat, find one that scored 3, 4, or 5/5 on our torsional rigidity test. 

This hiking boot scored 5/5 on our torsional rigidity assessment, meaning it is as rigid as it gets

This hiking boot scored 2/5 on our torsional rigidity assessment, meaning it is flexible

As mentioned above, this stiffness helps stabilize the foot, especially on uneven terrain. This means our plantar fascia won’t be forced to compensate for the small movements needed when hiking in non-rigid boots. 

Fortunately, the average torsional rigidness for hiking boots (per our current lab data) sits at 4.3/5.0, so the boots are stiffer on average than, say, hiking shoes and trail running shoes. 

In our lab, we also measure the longitudinal stiffness. We bend the boot to 90 degrees with a digital force gauge and note how much force it requires. 

Measuring longitudinal stiffness in RunRepeat lab using a digital force gauge. More force needed to bend the boot to 90 degrees = stiffer the boot

You can always consult our lab results if this metric peaks your interest as well. 

Say no to soft platforms when dealing with plantar fasciitis 

Soft midsoles feel awesome! Usually. To most hikers. Even “recovery slides” can be found on the market which are soft and all about cloud-like experience. However, hikers with plantar fasciitis might not enjoy such underfoot. 

Maybe at first, the softness will be good. But, in the long run, or during a longer hike, softer platforms make our feet work more. They make it easier for our feet to sink in and shift slightly to the sides (wobble). All of these micromovements put additional strain on the plantar fascia. And that’s exactly what we want to avoid. 

Based n our experience, we recommend midsoles that are not too soft or that show a minimum of 20 HA on our durometer. 

Stiff heel counters: how to recognize them?

Stiff heel counters are the craze for plantar fasciitis! Their stiffness cradles the heels and locks them down in place, which is super important when we want to avoid any unnecessary movements. 

You can find out whether the heel counter is stiff by: 

1. Squeezing it and pushing it (which is what we also do to assess the stiffness). This is valid only if you’re shopping for hiking boots in person. 
2. Looking at the heel, if it has a plastic heel counter on the outside, it is most likely very stiff! 
3. Looking at our reviews where we add our stiffness assessments and we cut the boots in half, sometimes the heels have internal heel counters as well, and that’s something we can see only once the boots are cut in half. 

Assessing the heel counter stiffness in RunRepeat lab: 1/5 being very flexible and 5/5 being very stiff. The boot in the video scored 3/5 

What your heel won’t like

Maybe you’ve found a pair of hiking boots with stiff heel counters, but it does not mean you’ve just won the lottery. When you try the boots on, it’s important that the shape of the heel counter matches the shape of your heel. How to figure that out? If you’re experiencing heel slipping, it’s not a match. If the heel counter is hurting your heel by being too sharp or pointy to the point of creating hot spots, it’s definitely not a match. 

Stiff is ok, but harsh is out of the picture. Look for padded heel counters! Heel counters must not be hurting your heels (even more). 

Your heels will appreciate the extra padding

Padding is soft, it brings comfort to our heels, and it prevents bruising and hotspots. It’s easy to spot but, just in case, we will show you a few variations so that you have some context. 

If you get bothered by the pressure on the instep (so-called lace bite), you can also look for more comfort in that area by finding a padded tongue. 

Finding the adequate grip in hiking boots for plantar fasciitis

Finding an adequate grip is always important, regardless of the foot condition you’ve been dealing with. Here’s how we recommend you go about it.

1. Decide which terrain and conditions you’re buying the boots for. Wet or dry? Light, moderate, or technical terrain?
2. Look at the lugs. Their depth, shape, number, orientation. 
3. Understand the role the hardness of the outsole plays. 
4. Check the durability of the outsole, especially if you plan to hike over sharp rocks or similar obstacles that have higher chances of destroying the midsole. 

Here’s a quick overview of hiking boot features depending on the terrain difficulty. 

When it comes to the weather, it’s about finding the balance between breathability and, potentially, waterproofness. 

Looking at the lugs, we usually talk about their thickness, shape, orientation, and how close or far apart they are placed from each other. 

The most general rule is: the deeper the lugs, the better the grip. For mixed terrain with a lot of ups and downs, we recommend 3.5-4.5 mm. Technical terrain asks for the deepest lugs: deeper than 4.5 or even 5.0 mm. 

However, that’s not the only thing that we pay attention to. Softer rubber is stickier, while harder rubber is more durable and protective. 

And sometimes, it’s the design of the hiking boot itself that sets it apart, some have very deep lugs but are too chunky to deal with the technical terrain. And, on the other hand, other boots might have shallower lugs but such a sturdy and stable construction that they rock on moderate terrain.

And, last but not least, we examine the durability of the outsole. This is especially important for hikes who tend to hike on rocky terrain or those who excessively pronate or supinate. They should prioritize durability so that the outsole does not experience premature wear and tear. 

Testing the durability of the outsole on hiking boots: the shallower the dent, the more durable the outsole