5 Best Hiking Shoes For Plantar Fasciitis in 2026

How we test hiking shoes for plantar fasciitis

First, we buy all the shoes with our own money. We have no sponsorships or any other contracts with the brands. We also don't have brand ambassadors on our team. 

Second, we wear test all the hiking shoes on our hikes. We give them hell! Be it cold or hot, wet or dry, muddy or rocky, there's no excuse for any pair not to be tested on our hikes. 

Third, we take the shoes to the lab where we cut them into pieces and use different tools and instruments (like durometers, calipers, smoke machines, Dremel, etc.) to describe each hiking shoe with 20+ parameters. 

Fourth, we publish everything. Not just as a list of all the lab data, but a) in the comparison table so you can compare shoes of your interest and b) next to the averages and all the other results so that you can have a context and understand where each hiking shoe actually lies in terms of performance. 

The purpose of this guide is to educate about the features of hiking shoes, not to give medical advice.

In this guide, we will not focus on the causes and rehabilitation but on the shoes and why some features can help with the pain and the overall condition. 

Plantar fasciitis and hiking

You might have experienced very sharp heel pain while hiking. Or it happened a day after a demanding hike and you’re not sure where it came from. Plantar fasciitis can be one of the causes and definitely not the only one! 

If it is, it means your plantar fascia is inflamed. It's the fascia that connects your heel to the ball of the foot and creates the arch below the foot. It gets inflamed due to overuse or overstretching. What helps here, when it comes to hiking shoes, is stabilizing the heel so that it does not have to do any extra work! 

If you're struggling with heel pain, we recommend visiting a specialist first, a PT or a podiatrist. Plantar fasciitis, like the majority of other foot conditions, is about rehab (and rest) first. Then, shoes. 

5 features to look for in hiking shoes for plantar fasciitis 

Hiking shoes for plantar fasciitis basically need to stabilize the foot and prevent any unnecessary movement, however small and in whichever direction. To accomplish that, we recommend these 5 hiking shoe features:

1. Shock absorption of 100 SA or more, or, as many like to say, use cushioned hiking shoes. Minimalist hiking shoes are not recommended. They put much more force on the foot muscles and plantar fascia and we want to avoid that. 
2. Not-too-soft platforms. Fortunately, the majority of hiking shoes are not plush, so this one is easy. Firmer midsoles prevent unnecessary foot movement. 
3. Torsionally rigid platforms. We suggest those that scored 3, 4, or 5/5 on our tests. Just like firmer midsoles, rigid platforms help because they don’t make our feet work extra to find balance while hiking over sharp debris or similar surfaces that would twist the shoes. We don’t want any wobbling when dealing with plantar fasciitis.
4. Heel to toe drop of 8mm and higher. This is important because higher heel drop utilizes higher leg muscles and, therefore, relieves the plantar fascia of additional stress. 
5. Stiff heel counters (again, we recommend the 3-5 range based on our lab tests) which stabilize the heel in place. 

Below, we take a dive into each of these features, how we test for each, and how to recognize hiking shoes that have them all. 

Best cushioning for plantar fasciitis: shock absorption lab test

If you have plantar fasciitis, it’s best to avoid hiking in minimalist or barefoot hiking shoes. Those shoes are too flexible and sometimes even too soft. To experience the extra support that’s needed when dealing with plantar fasciitis, cushioning is the way to go. 

Cushioning is important because it's there to protect our feet. Shock absorption is the midsole's capability to dampen the impact forces. As if dealing with plantar fasciitis wasn't enough, why put more stress on the feet and legs? That's why we recommend looking for hiking shoes with medium-to-high shock absorption. In numbers, this translates to 100 SA or more. 

Testing the shock absorption of hiking shoes for plantar fasciitis 

To test this feature, we follow the ASTM F1976 13 methodology. This means that we drop an 8.5kg mass from a height of 5 cm, with a total energy input of 5 J. We drop this mass exactly on the spot that marks 12% of the inner shoe length. This is also the place where we measure the heel stack height according to World Athletics guidelines, except that the stack height test is done on shoes cut in half. 

Say no to plush midsoles if you have plantar fasciitis 

Midsoles that are too soft allow our feet to sink in and that usually creates the cloud-like feel many hikers talk about. However, this softness may make your feet work more, which is why we recommend avoiding it. 

How to do that? Look for midsoles that scored at least 33 AC on the softness test. Or, simply, avoid hiking shoes that feel very soft, like soft trail running shoes. It should not be a problem to find these shoes as the average midsole softness, per our lab tests, sits at 46-47 AC. 

Rigid feels GREAT on demanding terrain

If you’re hiking on very flat terrain, hard-packed trails, basically no obstacles, rocks, or elevation, then you might be ok with somewhat flexible shoes. But, imagine this: you step on a branch or on a sharp rock. What happens? The shoe might bend and/or twist. And it’s normal that this happens, especially in running shoes. 

But, if you’re dealing with plantar fasciitis, it’s best to avoid this and to choose a rigid platform. This way, your foot will not “follow” the shape of the platform that is bent and twisted, and therefore, your plantar fascia will be spared from extra stress. 

For plantar fasciitis, we recommend shoes that scored 3/5, 4/5, or 5/5 on our torsional rigidity test. 

Ths shoe scored 5/5 on the torsional rigidity test, meaning it is the most rigid

This is how 1/5 score for torsional rigidity looks like in hiking shoes

Importance of heel drop for plantar fasciitis

Heel to toe drop is a very important topic that is often overlooked. We wrote an in-depth guide about it and, although it focuses on running shoes, it also explains the effects of heel to toe drop on the leg muscles. 

We recognize 4 groups of heel drops and they all impact our legs differently: 

1. Zero-drop hiking shoes, where the forefoot and the heel lay at the same height. These hiking shoes utilize the foot muscles the most. They also ask for the longest adaptation period if you’re coming from, say, 10mm-drop hiking shoes. 
2. Low-drop hiking shoes where the heel is 1-4mm higher than the forefoot. These shoes activate the lower leg muscles the most (Achilles, ankle, calves). 
3. Mid-drop hiking shoes that have a heel drop of 5-8mm. These shoes will put the most stress on the knee and thighs. 
4. High-drop hiking shoes with a heel drop of 9mm and above. These shoes are best for plantar fascitis as they utilize the highest leg muscles (around the hips). Therefore, out of these 4 heel drop groups, they are using the foot muscles, plantar fascia included, the least! 

In hiking, heel-to-toe drop is higher than in trail running shoes, so there aren’t many low-drop or zero-drop options. The average heel drop in hiking shoes is 11.1mm, while in trail running shoes it sits at 7.6mm (at the moment of writing this guide). Or, at least, not as many as in the trail running world. Still, we recommend high-drop hiking shoes to hikers who are experiencing plantar fasciitis. 

We calculate the heel drop thanks to our precise stack height measurements. Heel drop = (heel stack height) - (forefoot stack height). Many brands advertise wrong heel drops and we rely on our numbers as we honor the WorldAthletics guidelines when measuring the stack heights. 

Your heels will love stiff heel counters! 

Hikers with plantar fasciitis experience heel pain. What often feels great is a stiff heel counter. It stabilizes the heel so it is locked in place and there’s no excessive motion. 

Assessing the stiffness of a heel counter in RunRepeat lab: 
this heel counter scored 1/5 meaning it is very flexible 

Assessing the heel counter stiffness:
this one scored 5/5 meaning it is very stiff 

What makes the heels stiff? There’s usually a stiff material inserted between 2 layers, which creates an internal heel counter. We can also sometimes see an external heel counter when a stiff material is glued on the outside to stabilize the heel. 

For plantar fasciitis, we recommend heel counters that scored 3/5, 4/5, or 5/5 on our stiffness assessment. 

You might also enjoy padded heel counters 

There are hiking shoes that fulfill all the requirements listed above but come with stiff and harsh heel counters. This means that the materials are too rough on your heels to the point of causing hot spots.

To avoid this, we suggest looking for padded heels. Your heels should be cozy! 

Where you plan to hike dictates the grip to look for 

Even if you find hiking shoes that fulfill all the above-mentioned criteria, they still might have lugs that are too shallow or too deep for your preferences. To avoid that, it’s best to decide which terrain you’re buying the hiking shoes for and act accordingly. 

Now, the deeper the lugs, the better the grip. But, that’s not the whole story. We should also pay attention to the shape of the lugs, their orientation, and their number (also distance from one another). 

And, when deciding on which terrain a hiking shoe is good for, we also take into account how the shoe performed, maybe it is too chunky or too flexible for technical terrain (even if it has very deep lugs). And some shoes, even with shallower lugs, perform well on moderate terrain thanks to their sturdy construction. 

Up until now, we’ve also seen that, in most cases, softer rubbers are stickier and more flexible, while the harder ones are more durable and protective.