5 Best Hiking Boots For Wide Feet

Hiking with the KEEN Targhee III Waterproof Mid, our top wide toebox hiking boot feels unrestricted yet armoured at the same time. It offers a healthy balance of soft and tough features to ensure our comfort and protection over various terrains.

Starting with its gentle features, this boot houses an accommodating toebox for our natural toe splay. No need to worry about blisters and hotspots with its wide 106.4/85.5 mm room in the widest and big toe areas. Further enhancing its natural feel is the adaptive midsole that bends freely with our strides. Our bend test confirms it’s 31.8% more flexible than average.

The next highlight is its protective leather upper that seals our feet from water and other debris. We passed through puddles and rivers and stayed warm and dry through our wet escapades. It even includes a toe bumper to ensure we don’t experience painful toe stubs. Proving it’s our armour, it scored a solid 5/5 against our Dremel test.

Beneath our feet is a firm midsole that ensures we remain centred and steady on rugged trails. Our durometer reveals the platform is 22.4% firmer than average, supporting us even as we carry heavy backpacks. 

Unfortunately, all its protective features led to a heavyweight 18.2 oz (515g). We recommend exploring other options if a light boot is a priority.

After extensive lab testing and real-world hikes, the Keen Pyrenees emerged as our top pick for backpacking. Crafted from premium nubuck leather and featuring a robust outsole and plush midsole, it offers unparalleled protection and comfort for long treks, particularly in cold conditions.

Our feet feel secure and shielded from various elements, including cold winds, water, sharp rocks, and protruding roots. The durable leather wraps snugly around our feet, ensuring a secure lockdown. Our rigorous Dremel test confirms its toughness, scoring a perfect 5/5 score. Additionally, the Pyrenees boasts one of the hardest outsoles ever measured in our lab, boasting a remarkable 92.0 HC rating, effectively numbing out any debris underfoot.

Despite its ruggedness, the Pyrenees maintains a plush midsole that provides ample impact protection, measuring 37.4% softer than the average. The generous heel stack, combined with an average forefoot, results in a substantial 16.7 mm drop, offering ergonomic relief for backpackers by alleviating pressure on the legs.

Our adventures across uneven and sloped terrain felt stable and supported, thanks to the wide toebox facilitating natural toe splay and the midfoot shank ensuring balanced and controlled strides.

However, with its robust build, the Pyrenees weighs 21.7 oz (615g), making it 3.8 oz (107g) heavier than the average boot. For those seeking a lighter option, we suggest exploring alternative models.

The Inov8 Roclite Pro Mid GTX’s performance in our hikes was a true master-class act, inspiring confidence and surefootedness in the most technical terrain. It proves its worth in the lab by revealing its stiff construction, spacious base, and aggressive lugs that deliver unmatched grip among the wide toebox hiking boots we’ve tested.

We had no instances of slipping as we tackled wet rocks, deep mud, and mossy logs. We measured the lugs at 5.3 mm, one of the toothiest we’ve measured vs. the 4.2 mm average. We felt in control of its braking power in steep hills.

The toebox allows for our natural toe splay and helps secure our balance. Our calliper reveals the widest area is 106.2 mm, suitable for broad feet and bunions. The shoe barely tapers to the front, leaving room for swollen feet.

The boot has several elements that stiffen the shoe’s structure to contain excess lateral movements. We discovered a TPU clip around the heel, a full-length rock plate, and a tough cradle in the midfoot area. Any attempts to twist the shoe came to no avail, which is why it earned the highest 5/5 torsional rigidity score.

While this boot feels stable, its 8.3 mm drop may not be steep enough for multi-day hikes with heavy loads. For a more ergonomic fit, we recommend a higher-drop boot for serious backpacking.

The second rendition of the Altra Lone Peak Hiker keeps it all-natural with its wide toebox, standing out as the best lightweight hiking boot in our lab. Our outdoor excursions feel liberated by its airy and free-flowing build, further accentuated by its enticingly affordable price point. At just £150, it's 15% cheaper than the average hiking boot.

Its unrestricted design promotes effortless, all-day wear—even accommodating light jogs with ease. This shoe feels like a breath of fresh air. Its 12.0 oz (339g) weight, 33.3% lighter than average, contributes to its exceptional agility on the trails. During our bend test, it shows 25.6% more flexibility than average, enhancing comfort during long hikes.

Lone Peak Hiker's modest platform and minimal 2.6 mm drop provide a near-barefoot experience without compromising on underfoot cushioning. Its spacious big toe area, boasting a generous width of 91.1 mm compared to the 79.2 mm average, ensures ample room for toe splay, eliminating discomfort and hotspots. The foot-shaped design makes lengthy hikes feel like a breeze.

However, its high flexibility may pose challenges on technical terrain, leading to a lack of sure-footedness. Backpackers and individuals requiring additional stability should explore more supportive options.

The KEEN Voyageur Mid takes home the prize for the best wide toe box hiking boots for summer. Made with desert hiking in mind, the Voyageur Mid is exceptionally breathable, spacious for wide feet, or in fact feet swollen from the heat and has unwavering traction.

With hot-weather hiking on the cards, we’ve been on the lookout for a breathable boot, and the KEEN Voyageur Mid is just the trick. Moisture-wicking materials making up the upper ensure that our feet dry out quickly after a soaking, and prevent our feet from getting sweaty or smelly. The boot passed our classic smoke test in the lab with excellent grades. Pumping smoke into the boot and watching it to assess how much smoke comes out and how fast, we were pleased to award it an almost-perfect 4/5 for breathability. This is surely a boot for summer hiking.

KEEN’s signature wide toe box is of course implemented in the Voyageur Mid. Our calliper measured 6.5 mm more space than average at the forefoot, and a whopping 9.5 mm extra compared to the average at the big toe! Our toes had plenty of space to move around, and we had no worries about hotspot or blisters. Add to that the impressively durable rubber toe cap, and this is certainly a toe box to write home about!

The multidirectional lugs boast excellent grip on dirt and gravel and we felt surefooted on our test hikes. Measuring the lugs in the lab, we found they come in at 4.6 mm, 0.5 mm deeper than average. The wide footprint of the shoe helps us to gain traction in sand, the home turf of the KEEN Voyageur Mid.

Our lab measurements show that the KEEN Voyageur Mid takes its cushioning seriously - maybe a little too seriously for the average hiker. We measured the heel-to-toe drop at 20.9 mm, which is 7.3 mm higher than average. Such an extreme drop makes sense for hiking in deep sand, where the heel will tend to sink somewhat, but this may be too high for some hikers on regular trails. We recommend that forefoot strikers look into other options.