3 Best KEEN Hiking Boots in 2024

Paul Ronto
Paul Ronto on
3 Best KEEN Hiking Boots in 2024
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KEEN—This footwear company needs no introduction! Makers of amazing outdoor kicks, particularly sandals, this brand puts out incredible hiking boots that go against the current design-wise.

We’ve tested KEEN hiking boots to come up with our top picks based on our own evaluations. We passed across trails and hiking routes in them to personally judge which ones belonged to the major league. This is the place to be, whether you’re looking for the lightest pair, a boot that crushes miles in the cold, or a KEEN hiker that inspires confidence in every area.

How we test hiking boots

We at RunRepeat delight in serving honest and objective reviews on the best KEEN hiking boots. Here is how we do what we do:

  • Trail boots from KEEN aren’t always cheap. That said, we buy all of them using our own money to give ourselves the freedom to create insightful and unbiased reviews.
  • Every KEEN boot we test thoroughly. We hike in each pair to gauge its best qualities and to determine the category under which it excels the most.
  • We report all the recorded parameter measurements and values of our tools and we relate them to our observations in wear tests. We also cut the shoes open in our lab and analyse even the tiniest detail present. 

Best Keen hiking boots overall

What makes it the best?

The KEEN Targhee III Waterproof Mid leaves the other KEEN hiking boots behind when it comes to trail excellence. At 17.8% lower than the standard cost of £150, we are spellbound by the competence of this hiking boot in all our expeditions. Also, it is waterproof so more reasons to love it!

Our ankles received relentless support from the mid-top collar of this hiker. We experienced no sort of ankle pivoting even from careless stepping on steep and rugged courses, the Targhee III Waterproof Mid took care of our balance. While it is so reinforcing, we appreciate that it doesn’t hold us back in our movements, as well as our pace. It doesn’t look like it but it has a light and flexible build.

On the other hand, one concern that surfaced during our adventures is the inadequate air circulation inside the boot. We found our toes sweating during high temperatures. For your tropical hikes, we recommend checking out more breathable pairs.

Pros

  • Extremely stable
  • Great ankle support
  • Generously padded and comfortable
  • Secure heel hold
  • Flexible
  • Budget-friendly price
  • Laudable warmth
  • Performs very well in the cold
  • Excellent grip on various terrain
  • Short to zero break-in period
  • Commendable toe cap
  • Roomy toebox

Cons

  • Stuffy in the summer
  • Lacklustre outsole durability
  • Firm midsole
  • Not ideal for narrow feet
Full review of KEEN Targhee III Waterproof Mid

Best leather KEEN hiking boots

KEEN Pyrenees
91
Superb!

What makes it the best?

The leather upper of the KEEN Pyrenees is not something to be downplayed, as we affirmed on our lab and hike tests that it’s the star of this KEEN pair. With that, we declared it the greatest leather boot from the brand. Resistance to water and abrasion go hand in hand with this material, so our feet are 100% protected.

Not one drop of water got into this hiking boot when we crossed ankle-level rivers. Regarding endurance, we couldn’t ask for more in this hiking boot. The construction is very solid so the Pyrenees didn’t obtain any damage from anything that came our way during our adventures. The boot also faced our Dremel in our lab and to simplify, the toebox and padding scored 5/5 and 4/5 in durability, respectively.

Normally, we’d go for outsoles that are on the soft side if we like optimum traction. Since Pyrenees’ outsole is 92 HC hard and only 4.5% harder than the average, we confirmed that it clutches onto dirt and mud like there’s no tomorrow, sparing us from sliding mishaps.

On the other hand, due to the boot’s massive size, the rigidness of this boot didn’t shock us at all. We bent it using our digital force gauge, and our tool got us a resistance of 47.2N, meaning the boot is 6.8% stiffer than most. Keep this in consideration if you are more interested in flexible boots.

Pros

  • Premium nubuck leather quality
  • Top-notch waterproofing
  • Tonnes of impact protection
  • Surprisingly soft cushioning
  • Excellent stability and support
  • Very wide, accommodating toebox
  • Convenient lacing system

Cons

  • Too bulky and heavy
  • Tongue edges dig into shins
  • Lacks traction for mud, ice, and snow
Full review of KEEN Pyrenees

Best Keen hiking boots for summer

What makes it the best?

The KEEN hiking boot we deemed incomparable during dog days is the KEEN Voyageur Mid. With this hiker, the perfect way to summarise the status of our feet after confronting long outdoor journeys is refreshed. Thanks to the visible perforations on the upper, the superior air flow is acquired.

The great news about the Voyageur Mid is that we can submerge it in pools of water without being bothered as its breathability promotes the fast drying of the upper. Complementing the freeing sensation of the breathable confines of this champ from KEEN is a generous toe space. We found that there was enough room for wide footers to fit in and for our toes to splay. 

Traversing on either muddy pathways or loose soil is also something we regard easy in this hiking boot. We discovered that it has a powerful grip on various surfaces, allowing us to avoid slipping dangers. The snag we hit is the brittle outsole which we found to have worn out quickly. Skip this pair if you look forward to longlastingness.

Pros

  • Accommodating fit
  • No need to break in
  • Excellent traction
  • Lightweight
  • Sufficient ankle support
  • Laudable breathability
  • Quick drying
  • Versatile

Cons

  • Sole started peeling off
  • Questionable construction quality
  • Too wide for narrow feet
Full review of KEEN Voyageur Mid
Author
Paul Ronto
Paul Ronto
Over the past 20 years, Paul has climbed, hiked, and run all over the world. He has summited peaks throughout the Americas, trekked through Africa, and tested his endurance in 24-hour trail races as well as 6 marathons. On average, he runs 30-50 miles a week in the foothills of Northern Colorado. His research is regularly cited in The New York Times, Washington Post, National Geographic, etc. On top of this, Paul is leading the running shoe lab where he cuts shoes apart and analyses every detail of the shoes that you might buy.