Teva Grandview GTX Low review

We believe that the Grandview GTX Low is a must to consider if you are after the following:

• an exceptionally wide and roomy toebox for wide feet
• a more subdued, semi-casual look in a hiking shoe
• soft cushioning that will support you all day

If you prefer a more close-fitting shoe and a slightly taller collar, we highly recommend the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX. For the same price, it ticks all of the same boxes as the Grandview GTX Low but does it even better.

And if you like everything about this Teva shoe but worry about stepping in the water too deep, do get the Grandview GTX Mid.

The Teva Grandview GTX Low packs a good amount of cushioning and we never felt like it was lacking on our hike test.

Our caliper recorded a measurement of 33.6 mm in the heel which is nearly the same as the average heel stack. We can readily recommend this Teva shoe for up to a full day of hiking. 

Upfront in the forefoot, we got 23.0 mm on the caliper. This is also an optimal amount of cushioning for a day hiking shoe.

Neither too tall nor too low, but offering just enough ground feel.

Calculating the difference in stack heights resulted in a 10.6 mm heel-to-toe drop. This is very typical for a hiking shoe and we didn't feel any discomfort related to our foot mechanics on the trail.

If we had to name only one reason to choose the Grandview GTX Low over other hiking shoes, it would be softer-than-average cushioning.

Stepping into the shoe for the first time, we couldn't believe that we were actually wearing a hiking shoe!

Back in the lab, we pressed a durometer against the shoe's midsole foam. The tool returned 15.3 HA which is a whopping 100% plusher than average!

Cushioning-wise, this Teva feels a lot like a running shoe.

To our great surprise, the shoe's foam characteristics didn't change much in low temperatures!

After spending 20 minutes in the freezer, we repeated the durometer measurement and couldn't believe that the cushioning softness barely changed at all!

With a reading of 16.9 HA, it only got 10.7% firmer and was still softer than most hiking shoes at room temperature. 

Teva certainly didn't skimp on underfoot cushioning. The Grandview GTX Low received a nice padded insole that is 7.4 mm thick! We found it notably cushier than average.

In a crowd of hiking shoes from different brands, Teva must be the easiest to spot. Priding itself in extra spacious toeboxes, this is the go-to brand for hikers with wide feet.

But let the gel mold of the Grandview Low speak for itself.

We measured the shoe's mold in two areas to show you exactly how roomy we're talking.

In the widest part of the forefoot, our caliper showed 97.8 mm which is a few millimeters wider than average.

But when it comes to the tip of the toebox, that's where it makes all the difference.

At the big toe mark, the rounded toebox shape of the Grandview shows an impressive above-average width of 76.7 mm.

On the downside, people with narrow or even medium-width feet may lack a secure foothold inside this Teva shoe. Actually, if we were wearing thinner socks, we would probably experience some heel slippage too!

If this sounds concerning to you and you prefer a more close-fitting shoe, the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX will provide a better experience. But for someone with wide feet, bunions, or a tendency to toe swelling, this Teva shoe is a dream! 

The Grandview's vertical space showed a standard reading of 27.7 mm. That's good because we don't think this hiking shoe needs any more room!

To tell the truth, we found this Teva shoe's heel lock system a bit fiddly. It's not very practical and tends to fall off the lace when we are trying to lace up the shoe. This is especially annoying when you have to adjust the laces quickly in an outdoor setting.

We didn't find any glaring stability issues in the Teva Grandview GTX Low. It felt amazingly planted and supportive even when the trail got rocky and wobbly.

The shoe draws most of its steadiness from a stiff nylon shank embedded into its midsole.

It gives the Grandview a lot of torsional stiffness to prevent any unwanted foot movements or, God forbid, ankle rolls.

In a manual test where we twisted the shoe sideways, we couldn't help but grant it the highest possible stiffness score - 5 out of 5.

We found another source of stability in the shoe's very secure heel hold.

Pushing and squeezing the Grandview GTX Low's heel counter, we found it to be on the stiffer side. Easocially for a low-cut shoe!

On a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the stiffest, we rated it as 4.

As far as low-top hiking shoes go, the Teva Grandview offered a really wide platform to land on.

In the widest part of the forefoot, we got 116.6 mm on our caliper which is significantly wider than average! Even the massive Hoka Anacapa Low GTX fell short of a couple of millimeters here.

This Teva shoe also stood out with its immensely wide heel area. In the widest part, it returned 93.0 mm. It proved to be wider than the average again and even 1.6 mm wider than the popular KEEN Targhee III Waterproof.

There is no such thing as feeling off-balance in the Teva Grandview GTX Low.

Despite its sturdy and even stiff build, the Teva Grandview turned out to be pliable enough in the forefoot. Bending our feet throughout the walk, we didn't feel like we had to fight with the shoe.

To provide some context, we measured how much force it takes to bend this Teva shoe to a 90-degree angle. Our force gauge showed 27.3N which is 30% less than it takes a hiking shoe on average.

It felt nice to have both stiffness and flexibility in the areas where each is most needed.

Even in the cold, the Teva Grandview GTX Low managed to retain its flexibility!

Most hiking shoes get about 40-50% stiffer after sitting in the freezer for 20 minutes. But not the Grandview! The shoe barely changed, stiffening up by a mere 9.3%!

If you are considering the low-cut Grandview GTX in the hope of getting a lightweight hiker, you might be disappointed.

Of course, it is lighter than the Grandview Mid but at 15.6 oz (441g), it is nearly 2 ounces heavier than the average hiking shoe.

But it's not a complete disaster either! This Teva shoe weighs the same as the popular Merrell Moab 3 GTX.

With its waterproof membrane and dense leather upper, we didn't really expect breathability from the Grandview GTX Low.

However, it did turn out to be more ventilated than its mid-top version thanks to the low collar and gaps in between the tongue and the quarters. As you can see from our smoke-pumping test below, the smoke is able to come out freely from the mentioned area.

For that reason, we rated the shoe's breathability with a slightly higher score of 2 out of 5.

We also noticed that the woven fabric on the shoe's toebox didn't let any air out, so we turned to our microscope to take a closer look.

It is indeed a very densely woven material that adds reassurance in this Teva's impermeable nature. We also found it to be a pretty quick-drying and water-phobic material. It shed the drops instantly and never soaked them up.

The star of the shoe is of course the world-known Gore-Tex membrane. We found that it worked magnificently in the rain and light puddles, keeping our feet nice and dry.

However, do take into account the shoe's low-cut collar. If water happens to flood over its edges and into the shoe, it is going to stay there for a while. So, if you expect to step into some deep creeks and puddles, getting the mid-cut Grandview GTX boot is a better idea.

At first, we were a bit concerned about the shoe's fabric toebox. But our worries evaporated the moment our Dremel began to drill.

After 12 seconds of applying the tool at consistent pressure (3.2N) and speed (5K RPM), we were amazed at how light the damage was! Where some shoes end up with a see-through hole, this Teva model stands strong and barely touched.

We believe that the Grandview GTX Low deserves praise and the highest toebox durability score: 5 out of 5!

Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about the shoe's heel lining. Made of a pretty basic synthetic mesh, it lost a 4-second duel with our Dremel.

On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is the least durable, we rated the shoe's heel padding as 2. This is a bit concerning given the shoe's price.

Seeing "Vibram" on the shoe's rubber set our expectations high for the outsole from the start. However, we were soon to be brought back to earth.

The Vibram rubber on this Teva shoe did not stand out as particularly hard. Based on our durometer measurements, it comes in at 82.5 HC, a little below average. This is not critical but nothing to write home about either.

The Vibram failed to impress us once again in the Dremel test. But it did fine, much like other hiking shoes.

Having drilled one of the shoe's lugs for long 22 seconds at 10K RPM speed, we saw a pretty typical damage for this test.

Our tread gauge showed that the dent was 1.4 mm deep on the Grandview's outsole. Not so different from the average.

This Teva hiking shoe also comes with a standard outsole thickness. Our caliper showed 2.5 mm minus the lugs.

According to our caliper measurements, the lugs are exactly 4.0 mm deep on the Grandview GTX Low.

In addition, these lugs have a triangular multi-directional shape which offered a very hard bite on unfriendly terrain. From wet rocks around the river to muddy stretches under the rain, this Teva helped us feel surefooted.

There are no reflective elements to be found on the Teva Grandview GTX Low.

The tongue of this Teva shoe is lightly yet sufficiently padded. Our caliper shows a thinner-than-average thickness of 5.9 mm.

But we never experienced lace bites here!

As befits a waterproof hiking shoe, the Teva Grandview GTX Low features a semi-gusseted tongue.

We found that it nails its job of protecting the interiors from water. And in addition, it also prevents any unwanted tongue shifting and holds the foot more securely in place than a non-attached tongue.

The shoe features two finger loops, one on the tongue and one on the heel collar. Both are very handy to hold onto when sliding inside the Grandview GTX Low.

You can always remove the shoe's stock insole and replace it with a custom insert. But do take into account this shoe's roomier-than-average toebox.