Hiring remote: Content writer / review specialist in 5 Best Hiking Shoes With A Wide Toebox in 2025
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Give your feet a break from getting squished every time you hit on the trails. Get a glove-like feel with a dependable pair of hiking shoes for wide feet. Ill-fitting shoes can ruin an otherwise great outdoor adventure and put your feet and ankles at risk of injury or bruised toenails.
Having a wide-foot problem can be a real challenge when going for a day hike or a backpacking trip. You no longer have to suffer from unnecessary discomfort while tackling challenging terrains.
To help you find the ideal shoes for your feet, we’ve rounded up and tested the best hiking shoes for wide feet. When hiking in them, we paid special attention to the toe splay, and whether the toes got cramped in the toebox, and in the lab, we made 2 toebox measurements to double-check the width.
Take a quick look at our top picks in different categories.
How we test hiking shoes with a wide toebox
We hiked in these shoes for 30-50 miles in each pair. This allowed us to assess how the toes feel when the legs and feet swell. Are they cramped? Are there any blisters? And, in the lab, we measured the width of the toebox in 2 places: where it's the widest and at the big toe. This gave us the overall width and the info on how much the toebox tapers (how pointy it is) which is important for people with more square-shaped toes.
Our selection method includes doing the following:
- Investing time, energy, and our own resources to buy wide-toe box hiking shoes. This guarantees the 100% objectivity of our comprehensive reviews.
- Clocking up the miles wear testing the shoes on the trails. We specifically determine their fit, comfort, traction, heel protection, waterproofness, durability, and more. We also subject all the models further to technical terrains, murky routes, and tough weather conditions.
- We utilise our lab tools and equipment to measure 20+ parameters of the shoes. Moreover, we cut the shoes in half and into pieces using our saw machine. This puts all the elements on display and analyse the details.
Best hiking shoes with a wide toebox overall
What makes it the best?
The Merrell Moab Speed 2 is our best hiking shoe with a wide toebox because, besides its spacious toebox, it packs a LOT of cushioning, support, and deep lugs! All of that comes in a lightweight yet robust-looking package, so there's nothing we could ask more of it.
Looking at the toebox, Speed 2 is 75.1 mm wide at the big toe! This is certainly wider than the average and it feels so. Our toes were not cramped and we believe this is also great for hikers who cover longer distances because swelling is inevitable. Not just that, but this toebox is high as well! 7 mm higher than the average! We felt absolutely no pressure on our toes and we're sure there's no danger of getting black toenails in this roomy toebox.
Moab Speed 2 packs so much cushioning in its 38.8/23.8 mm (at the heel/forefoot) platform, erasing the harshness of the ground. We measured the foam at 19.0 HA with our durometer, proving its comfort by being 31.4% softer than average. Surprisingly, it only weighs 11.6 oz (329g), 12.3% lighter than average.
Each stride feels steady and controlled despite the shoe’s height. We discovered a FlexPlate in the midfoot that stabilises the ride and a reliable Vibram rubber in the outsole. No matter what surface we tackled, the grippy rubber and 3.7 mm lugs ensured our safety.
A small nitpick is the non-gusseted tongue that gives room for small rocks to get in.
Pros
- One of the lightest hiking shoes
- Plush and abundant cushioning
- Great support and stability
- Perfect grip for moderate terrain
- Excellent durability
- Breathable for summer
- Cosy step-in feel
- Two loops for easy on-off
Cons
- Frail inner lining
- Small debris gets inside
Best summer hiking shoes with a wide toebox
What makes it the best?
KEEN NXIS Speed features a very breathable toebox, which is not common in hiking shoes, and the said toebox is almost 1 cm wider than the average! With its lugs that are equipped for moderate and technical terrain and an extremely durable outsole, it made sense for us to choose it as the best hiking shoe for summer! It shines on the hot-weather hikes and in the toebox.
The mesh used on the toebox has a structure full of large gaps and, even though there are more layers of the mesh, it is remarkably breathable. Once we pumped smoke into it, we had no choice but to rate its breathability with a perfect 5 out of 5. A lovely treat for sweaty feet or long summer hikes! Especially when we consider the average breathability score for hiking shoes which sits at only 2.7/5.
The toebox from KEEN NXIS Speed looks and feels wider than average. Our lab data shows it does sit above average, which is why it's great for hikers whose toes often get cramped. It makes sense, given that the difference between the width of the toebox where it's the widest and at the big toe is only 14 mm. This is significantly less than some hiking shoes that taper more than 30mm!
While KEEN NXIS Speed has a very soft and flexible platform that felt great while speed hiking, we got all the agility we craved for; it is too soft and flexible for backpacking. If this is your activity of choice, we recommend looking for a hiking shoe that offers more support.
Pros
- Top-level comfort
- Immensely breathable
- Sticks to various terrain
- Extremely durable outsole
- Quite lightweight
- Incredible support
- Relaxed forefoot fit
- Accommodating toebox
- Greatly flexible
- Locks the heel in place
Cons
- Unruly shoestrings
- Too airy for cold winters
- Not ideal for backpacking
Best waterproof hiking shoes with a wide toebox
What makes it the best?
There are grippy hiking shoes, there are waterproof hiking shoes, some even with a wide toebox... and then, there's Teva Grandview GTX Low, which has it all! 4.0 mm deep lugs, perfect for both moderate and technical terrain, and they grip wet surfaces as well. Fortunately, given that the upper is waterproof! It would have been a waste of the Gore-Tex membrane, combining it with a slippery outsole. This super-packed hiking shoe stands as our #1 pick for waterproof hiking shoes with a wide toebox.
Gore-Tex membrane works. What we usually don't know and what we test for is how breathable the hiking shoe is when it features a Gore-Tex layer. This one? Surprisingly, 2/5 based on our smoke-machine test. Not the worst, plus a waterproof membrane? We'll take it! At least our feet were breathing a bit in them.
After a long hike, we loved that our toes were not cramped, even when our feet started swelling. And the sun got out, so it was hot as well. Our lab tests confirmed this. The callipers showed 76.7 mm at the big toe! This makes the Teva Grandview GTX Low a hiking shoe with one of the widest toeboxes that have gone through our lab.
Be warned though, while the toebox is very wide, it is not that tall, at 27.7 mm it is actually lower than the average. While for most, this is not an issue, it can be a deal breaker for hikers whose big toes point up or who often experience black toenails due to the pressure from the toebox.
Pros
- Excellent waterproofing
- Softer than average cushioning
- Great impact protection
- Remains soft and flexible in low temps
- Very stable and supportive
- Deep lugs with top-notch grip
- Comfortable in-shoe feel
- Good wear resistance
- A dream for wide feet
Cons
- Heavier than average
- Not for narrow feet
- Heel lock is fiddly
Best water hiking shoes with a wide toebox
What makes it the best?
What's better than hiking through streams and shallow bodies of water in shoes that grip well and offer enough toe room? Doing it in a shoe that's also lightweight and flexible! Nike ACG Watercat+ offers all of that, so we had to make it our best pick for water hiking!
Looking at the lugs, they are only 2.7 mm deep. 1.2 mm shallower than the average for hiking shoes. However, design is what makes wonders. The beehive-like shape allows the shoe to grip in all directions, and thanks to its flexible platform, our feet bent naturally on it and gripped even more. These beehives also felt like suction cups on wet rocks!
For a hiking shoe to end on this list, it has to feature a wide toebox. ACG Watercat delivers this as well: with 75.9 mm at the big toe, it sits at the top of the list! It's also worth noting that this is not a narrow shoe with a wide toebox. It's a wide shoe as well; we measured the width of the toebox where it's the widest to be 97.9 mm and, with that result, ACG Watercat is difficult to beat! At the moment of writing this, we haven't had wider hiking shoes go through the lab.
We love hiking in the Watercat because it also drains and dries quickly and is not weighing us down. Even the platform has drainage holes, it's not all up to the upper! However, the upper catches tiny pebbles easily and this can be very annoying when hiking on terrain covered with small debris.
Pros
- Outstanding water drainage
- Immensely breathable
- Excellent abrasion resistance
- Very light on foot
- Amazingly grippy on wet
- Very grounded platform
- Bends along with the foot
- Adaptable fit with a roomy toebox
- Easy on-and-off
- Comfy in-shoe feel
- Bold aesthetics
Cons
- No arch or ankle support
- Catches debris and small pebbles easily
Best barefoot hiking shoes with a wide toebox
What makes it the best?
In our opinion, Fivefingers V-Trek is the best barefoot hiking shoe with a wide toebox because it is supercomfortable (unlike many barefoot hiking shoes), protective, and lightweight!
The width of the toebox is subjective until you get the lab results. Per our lab data, the toebox found in Fivefingers V-Trek is very wide! Being 25mm+ wider than the average should be enough to make a point. However, it seems that it's only the toebox that it's wide. Looking at the width of the toebox where it's the widest, it is actually narrower than the average. This means that V-Trek is not wide overall and we love it because more room around the ankles and in the heel would mean more instability.
We actually loved how secure we felt in this shoe, especially because it's also flexible so it grips even better thanks to its bendy platform. We needed a force of 1.8N to bend it to 90 degrees, while the average force we need to do so for hiking shoes is 29.6N. This super flexibility just enhances the barefoot feel but there are many overlays and deep rubber layers that protect our feet so we felt safe at all times, even when the terrain got somewhat harsher.
While this shoe feels like a zero drop, it actually has a negative heel drop of -0.8 mm. Those who are used to barefoot shoes should also be warned and those who are just looking to get their first pair of barefoot hiking shoes should be SUPER careful about this heel drop.
Pros
- Top-notch comfort
- Superior level of protection
- Powerful grip and traction
- Glove-like fit
- Incredibly Supportive
- Durably built
- Performs consistently in the cold
- Quick drying
Cons
- Needs breaking in
- Hard to put on
Understanding the toebox width and shape
If you’re here, you’ve most likely experienced some or most of the following during hiking:
- Toes that are cramped so much that you’ve developed blisters or even some bleeding, as shorter toes were pressed too hard against longer ones and their nails rubbed too hard against the skin of longer toes
- Pain in the toebox area
- Bunions and/or bunionettes
- Stubborn and painful corns and calluses exactly where the pressure in the toebox was the highest.
If that’s the case, and you’ve experienced these in more than 1 hiking shoe (toebox), you most likely need a roomier one.
And, when it comes to the wide toebox, there are nuances. As you can see in the image above, not all of us have the same feet and toe shapes. Some need more room closer to the tip of the hiking shoe, while others need more room around the ball of the foot. Because of this, we stick to our lab measurements strongly.
Toebox width in hiking shoes: lab data
To measure the inner width of the hiking shoe toebox, we can’t just stick a calliper inside or a laser. There’s no room to do that, plus the anatomy of the shoe itself does not allow us to do so. So, we thought of a workaround that’s actually straight to the point!
We’ve created a gel that, once poured into the toebox and frozen, gives us a perfect mould of the toebox
Once the gel has hardened, we take our callipers and measure the toebox width in 2 places: at the big toe and where it’s the widest.
We use the big-toe width as a direct measurement of the toebox width. However, given the different shapes of feet, we can also look at another measurement.
We discovered that the toebox width where it’s the widest is directly related to the overall hiking shoe width, so we use that lab data to talk about the shoe width. However, when looking at the toeboxes, we can use this measurement as well to talk about the shape of the toebox: some are pointy, others rounded.
The bigger the difference between the 2 toebox width measurements, the pointier the toebox (more tapered). The smaller the difference, the rounder the toebox. It is that simple.
Knowing this, you can always look at our lab data to find out which toebox is wider or pointier.
Why lab data is so important
Hikers can comment on the toebox width and say whether it works for them and whether their toes can splay. Many experts can also visually inspect the toebox, but the lab data is superior because:
- The tests are standardised and objective. The results don’t depend on anyone else’s foot shape. We can look at both toebox width and conclude how wide and tapered the toebox is
- The data is comparable across all hiking shoes we’ve tested so far in the lab.
- The tests focus on the actual toebox width, its interior. Others who comment on the width just by looking at the shoes don’t know how thick the upper is, which significantly varies from shoe to shoe. Then, some hiking shoes also have thick toe bumpers or upper overlays, which may create an illusion of a wide toebox.
- We also quantify toebox height which no other measurement or assessment so far was able to do.
In the example above, we see a hiking boot that proves how the thickness of the upper varies throughout the toebox (although that's the case in practically all hiking shoes), which highlights the importance of gel-mould measurements even more:
- At the big toe, when measuring the toebox width on the outside using callipers, we got 87.0 mm. Measuring the width at the same place but on our gel mould, we got 76.7 mm
- Using callipers directly on the outside of the toebox where it's the widest we measured 103.8 mm. The same place measured on the gel mould got us 97.8 mm.
Toebox height in hiking shoes
Some hikers don’t just need horizontal space but also vertical. This is not something that is often discussed and brands certainly don’t give information on the toebox height. Enters: RunRepeat testing.
Knowing the toebox height of hiking shoes means avoiding horrible pressure on the toes and nails that sometimes ends up with black toenails, or preventing the big toe from hitting the toebox and maybe even poking a hole through it, by giving it enough vertical space.
Keep in mind that hiking shoes with very stiff uppers don’t have any give. Toes that love extra room in the toebox usually enjoy softer materials. If that’s not an option, find a toebox that is as roomy as you need it to be.
Foot-shaped toebox in hiking shoes: what to expect
The name is self-explanatory and here’s what that looks like in the hiking world: See this Altra hiker that has a foot-shaped design (up), vs this shoe that has a regular design (down).
There are different brands that make hiking footwear with, what is usually referred to as, natural design (Altra, Topo, Vivobarefoot, etc.). These shoes are great for people who have a wider forefoot and who enjoy the feeling of the toe splay inside the shoes. This is a huge pro.
However, such shoes tend to come with a few warnings (technically, they are not cons): they tend to be minimalist, which means low to the ground. This equals less cushioning and more ground feel. Also, it means having a lower heel-to-toe drop that could also be 0 mm.
Making sudden changes in heel drop, especially when going from, say 10 mm, to zero drop, is a dangerous move and should be done cautiously.
If this is something that peaks your interest, we strongly recommend reading our in-depth guide on Heel drop: Heel to Toe Drop: The Ultimate Guide.
Consequences of a tight toebox
We can usually feel whether the toebox is narrow: our feet get cramped and we might feel the pain in an instant. However, the discomfort can happen later on as well, once our feet swell and we cover longer mileage.
Here, we list the most common consequences of a tight toebox. This does not mean that the tight toebox is always the only responsible cause, so consider the list as a general guideline, not a precise diagnosis.
- Ingrown toenails and Morton’s Neuroma can both happen when the toebox is not wide enough. Best to look for a wider forefoot.
- Black toenails can happen both when the toebox is too tight or too low. This is when you should pay attention to the height of the toebox as well.
- Painful corns and calluses may not be painful at the beginning but should be “treated” with a wider toebox so that the condition does not worsen.
- Blisters, especially at the big toe or the pinky toe, can happen when the toebox of your hiking shoe is not wide enough.
- Hallux rigidus and Hallux valgus (bunions) should be treated with a wide toebox, to start with.
Why loose toebox fit is a bad idea
Hiking shoes should fit properly, just right. Not tight, not loose. Here’s what can happen if you decide to get a wider toebox than you actually need:
- Feet may start sliding, so your toes might instinctively try to stabilise the feet by clawing into the ground. This might lead to hammer toes and more tired feet.
- Constant rubbing can lead to blisters as well.
- Running on trails, especially on non-flat terrain, with a wider-than-needed toebox, is very risky. You may experience imbalance, slipping, and even falling.
How hiking socks can help with the fit?
The most popular choice for hiking is Merino wool. Most socks have it, at least to some degree. But, what matters when we’re discussing the fit and not just performance is the thickness of the socks.
Very thin ones can definitely help, especially if they also do compression. They feel like the feet have got thinner a bit! And compression helps with (against) blisters as well. Regular socks are, well, regular and the shoe should feel normal in them. Thick socks, on the other hand, which are great for winter and because they offer a lot of cushioning, might make the shoes feel tight.
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