7 Best Low Cut Hiking Shoes in 2023

Sporting the ultra comfy Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX has leveled up the hiking game for many. Taking inspiration from agile trail running shoes, this waterproof and grippy wonder will push you forward across technical terrain with or without rain.

Comfort above everything else! Talk about cushioning: the Anacapa Low GTX is softer than average, more cushioned, more padded, and it's ready to hit the trails straight from the box! For all of these reasons, we picked it as the low-cut hiking shoe with the best cushioning. 

When we got into the Anacapa Low GTX, we felt like we were wearing running shoes and not hiking shoes. No firmness, no stiffness that we'd usually experience. So, we turned to our lab tests. The durometer, indeed, confirmed that the Anacapa Low GTX is very soft. To put a number on it, it is 31.8% softer than the average hiking shoe!

When it comes to flexibility, it's just around the average, at least at room temperature. In cold weather, which we simulated by putting the shoe in the freezer for 20mins, the shoe got 37.1% stiffer. This is great news, given that hiking shoes get 48.9% stiffer on average! 

What sets this shoe apart from running shoes is its grip. The lugs bite like crazy and no wonder given that they are 5.0 mm thick. The average for hiking shoes is 4.3 mm. We covered everything from hard-packed and well-maintained trails to single tracks and rocky areas and we trusted the Anacapa Low GTX at all times. 

With this Gore-Tex membrane comes another feature and it's called lack of ventilation. The membrane performs wonderfully when we're in wet weather but it also stops the air from naturally going in and out. Because of this, we don't recommend the Anacapa Low GTX to hikers who regularly hike in warm weather. 

Swift R3 GTX.
Torsional rigidity score: 5/5. As stiff as it gets.
Average heel midsole width and above-average forefoot midsole width.
Boot-like stability. 
Lateral stability score: 5/5. 
Extra cushioned and protected.

That's Adidas Terrex Swift R3 GTX, we crowned it as the hiking shoe with the best stability we found in all the low-cut shoes we tested. Low cut does not stop it form offering 10/10 stability, not just that but it actually feels like a hiking boot! The heel counter is very stiff, it scored 4 out of 5 on our stiffness test, it grasps our heel firmly and safely. And the platform scored 5 out of 5 on the torsional rigidity test, which is why we never turned an ankle! And we hiked over very slippery terrain. 

It also helps a lot that the base od the shoe is wider than the average. Our strides felt very planted and secure. In the lab, we used a caliper to get the numbers: the midsole at the heel is 88.5 mm wide, while the midsole at the forefoot is 114.5 mm wide. This makes them 0.8 mm and 3.2 mm wider than the average, respectively! 

No terrain was an obstacle for us. The grips are 4.4 mm deep which is just about right - on the shoe, it reads "LUGS 4.5 MM". Such lugs on a Continental rubber and we got ourselves a winner!

We do not recommend this hiking shoe to hikers who like hitting the trails for longer distances the moment they get the shoes. These need some break-in due to their stiffness. 

No lace bites, no ankle cuts, low-cut-socks friendly, no additional foot fatigue, no slips, no ankle twists... we didn't experience any of these! All thanks to the cushioned, padded, flexible Merrell Moab 3 GTX that allowed us to safely cover longer and more demanding distances. We had 0 doubts about naming it the most comfortable low-cut hiking shoe. 

Starting from the top: the Gore-Tex membrane's performance was 10/10 and we tested these shoes in rather rainy weather. Dry feet are definitely a huge deal when we talk about comfort. Then, the tongue. Using a caliper, we measured its thickness in our lab. It sits at 14.6 mm which is 3.2 mm more when compared to the average hiking shoe. The tongue is spectacular: soft, gusseted and it allowed us to play with the tightness of the laces a lot. 

The tongue is not the only part of the shoe with such rich padding, the heel counter is also padded and, because of that, we were able to even wear low-cut socks! Then, we get to the midsole: it's 20% more flexible and 14% firmer than the average. It seems that this is a great combo given our experience - after every trail test, we did not get any additional foot fatigue! Just the opposite. 

With our feet safely locked in, what also contributed to this very secure feel is the outstanding grip. Wet or dry, soft and loose or hard-packed, this shoe did not care. It got us through everything with no slips or twists! 

Keep in mind that these laces have proven to be somewhat unruly: you really have to figure out how tight you want them and, ideally, do a knot that won't let them untie easily. 

Amazingly lightweight, the Adidas Terrex Trailmaker is a perfect option for an easy hike minus the unwanted bulk. We instantly got lost in the shoe's plush confines which made us want to keep the shoe on even after the hike. On the trail, this Adidas offering feels more natural and grounded as opposed to being stable and protective. Some durability was sacrificed to keep the weight of the Trailmaker down but we believe that its comfort is well worth the price.

The Merrell Moab 3 is a cut above the rest when it comes to finding the best low-cut hiking shoe for summer hikes. Not only is it highly breathable, but also supremely comfortable and flexible ... We simply can’t rave about it enough!

Our feet stayed dry and comfortable on hot summer days thanks to the excellent breathability of this shoe. We pumped smoke into the shoe in the lab to put a number to our observations. It easily let the smoke pass through the upper, so we awarded it 4/5 for breathability, one of the more breathable shoes that we have tested.

The cushioned midsole finds the sweet spot between comfort and protection from sharp objects. In the lab, we pressed a durometer to the midsole to measure the softness and found it to be 33.5 HA, around the average. We also measured the thickness of the tongue with our caliper - it was a generous 14.5 mm compared to the average 12.5 mm. Altogether, that explains the day-one comfort that we experienced in this shoe!

Our transitions were unbelievably smooth when we were out hiking. We bent the shoe to 90° with a force gauge and measured 24.9N. Since the average is 39.2N, we know we’re talking about a flexible shoe! We also manually twisted the shoe in all directions and awarded it a score of 3/5 for torsional flexibility. The average hiking shoe is somewhat stiffer, at 3.9/5. As well as smooth transitions, we noticed our grip improved since our feet could flex naturally over uneven surfaces.

On the other hand, the Merrell Moab 3 is pretty chunky. It weighed in at 16.2 oz (460g), 2.7 oz (76g) heavier than the average non-waterproof hiking shoe, so we can’t say it’s a lightweight shoe. We don’t recommend it to hikers who are looking for an ultra-light shoe for multiday adventures.

An exceptional budget-friendly day hiker—this is how many trail-goers find the Terrex X4, with negative reviews being a rarity. Indeed, from its virtually tackle-anything underfoot performance to the way it handles shifting weather, this piece from Adidas is a doozy. There's also its initial price of $90, which makes owning one not at all an uphill battle.