Approach Shoes

Recent Approach Shoe Reviews

Salewa Mountain Trainer Lite

Well made, durable hiking shoes that are a little niche but perform as designed. I use boots and shoes in rotation and try to cover my weather and terrain needs. I'd read some good things about the Italian-based Salewa and while European sizing can be a little tricky, grabbed their Mountain Trainer Lite shoes on sale in the never-ending quest for the perfect footwear. I've only them for about a year but they've had a fair amount of use and are holding up exceptionally well. I was a little worried… Full review

Salewa Wildfire GTX

The company offers a "no blisters" promise that they will NOT honor. The toe box on this shoe is extremely narrow. Wearing the shoes on a hike of any meaningful distance has resulted in large blisters under several toes on each foot. I am not prone to blisters and I wear proper liners and hiking socks. I would not consider this a big deal if Salewa would stand behind their "no blisters" promise and allow me to return the shoes. But they will not work with me, or even respond to my inquiries. Most… Full review

Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX

One Shoe To Rule Them All. No, seriously... these were that good! Since my hiking shoes were nowhere to be found the day before leaving on a four-week hike, sleeping in tent, I had to run out on the town and pull the trigger on the first pair I thought might be up for the task. The Zen Pro GTX felt great on the foot from the start. Great heel grip, snug around the foot, wide enough where you want it, and a little wiggle room for the toes up front. A little stiff at first, like most new shoes are,… Full review

Scarpa Zodiac Approach Shoes

Well made but bad heel cap system. This model is not discontinued. It is in production and sells all over as of early 2022. Good for approaching mountains, forest, and rocky trails. Stiff and supportive, apart from around heel. I will not recommend this. Get the old Scarpa Vitamin or something else. I've been using Scarpa for ages, amongst them three pairs of Scarpa Vitamin approach shoes. and they work exceptionally well—easy to lace and make them tight, looong row of holes to lace, good grip,… Full review

Lytos Le Florian m16

An awesome alternative to tennis shoes, great light hiker for dry climates. Unfortunately hard to find because they are, I believe, discontinued.     Bought these two years ago on clearance. Not waterproof so I sprayed them with SOF which has done a good job protecting them. I've used them for hiking on trails when dry and as a general out and about shoe. They have even seen snow dozens of times when it wasn't sloppy conditions. My wife tells me to keep them nice because she likes how they look… Full review

Scarpa Crux

Great until you walk on slabs. These have been great walking around, and climbing 5th class ridges. Off trail they work well, too, including alder scrambling. However, when on sustained slabs or talus-hopping, the tongues rotate to the side. The slot in the tongue for the laces doesn’t help at all. In my case, with kind of fat ankles, the top eyelet on the inside of my right foot digs in. I untied the top eyelets, but that was a bit insecure. This only happens on slabs.  Full review

Five Ten Guide Tennie

Mediocre precision and grip, but very durable. It is a solid and durable shoe with fantastic grip on pure rock. That is its main advantage. However, when it comes to grassy or unstable mixed soil slopes, it quickly becomes unfit for purpose.  There are better approach shoes today, in terms of frontshoe precision, fit, and multi-surface sole grip performance. Full review

La Sportiva TX3

The La Sportiva TX3 is an approach shoe, which means that it is intended for both hiking and scrambling or light rock climbing. Like many of the best approach shoes, it has sole made from rubber that is very sticky and grippy on rocks, has the kind of close fit that rock climbers like, and a longer run of laces than a typical hiking shoe that helps them fit almost "like a glove." At the same time, their mesh uppers, cushioned midsole, and healthy tread depth make them better than most approach shoes… Full review

Garmont Dragontail MNT GTX

Very solid hiking shoes; but they are not entirely comfortable. These are superbly-made shoes, heavy duty hiking shoes rather than a boots; but, so far, I am not entirely happy with them. The problem is the sizing. I have LOWA and Hanwag shoes and boots, all in European size 42; but the Garmont runs small in both length and width and I do not have wide feet. Being fairly rigid, they may need to be broken in; but I have never had this issue with shoes of any kind before.  I ordered the shoes through… Full review