--- title: "Hiking boots or trail running shoes – that is the question!" description: "You'll hardly ever catch a die-hard long-distance trail enthusiast in hiking boots. What are the pros and cons of light running shoes and are they suitable for you too?" canonical_url: "https://gramino.com/blog/hiking-boots-or-trail-running-shoes" last_updated: "2021-04-21" --- # Hiking boots or trail running shoes – that is the question! Authors: Tomáš Roztočil Date: 2021-04-21 You'll hardly ever catch a die-hard long-distance trail enthusiast in hiking boots. What are the pros and cons of light running shoes and are they suitable for you too? Spring is here, the hills are turning green, and they're calling us out for our first day hikes and serious treks. If you've been following Gramino for a while, you already know we're big fans of [lightweight hiking](/blog/lightweight-hiking-benefits) – with lighter gear and a minimalist packing approach, you'll get farther, higher, and you'll still be smiling at the surrounding peaks at the end of a long day. But we haven't yet covered the one thing that patiently carries you forward on both day hikes and six-month ridge treks – yes, today we're talking about feet and footwear. Footwear is a key piece of gear, because it often decides whether you enjoy your trek or needlessly suffer through it and end up turning back to the valley with tired or even completely wrecked feet. **In this article, you'll learn what the actual advantages of trail running shoes are, whether you're hiking light or heavy**, and whether that path might appeal to you too. ## The weight of tradition If, like me, you belong to the generation that grew up under the watchful eye of experienced older mountaineers, you've probably had it drilled into you that **“only fools head into the mountains without proper hiking boots.”** If so, you probably remember hikes through the mountains that were fun, sure, but also seriously painful – leaving you with blisters of every shape and size that sometimes took weeks to heal. And if you were lucky enough to get a pair of “honest leather hiking boots” that fit you perfectly, the weight of those boots still caught up with you eventually – swollen calves and knees, and pairs of sweat-soaked socks, were just as inseparable from your first multi-day treks as tins of beans and thirty-kilo packs. I wasn't any different – **my first attempt at crossing part of the Pyrenees ended in disaster because of blistered feet and battered knees**. Once I got home, I set out to “rehabilitate” my feet with shorter hikes in the mountains, swapping my heavy, sweat-soaked boots for running shoes. Switching to light, breathable running shoes was my first step toward lighter gear, longer treks, and above all, a lot more joy on the ridgelines. My knees and feet immediately thanked me for taking away that unnecessary weight, and my ankles started to get stronger. I gradually took them to higher and higher mountains, and eventually on long trips to Scandinavia, where I learned to hike in rain and freezing cold with them too. My hiking boots eventually became a dark shadow lurking in the back of the closet, and these days I only pull them out for the deepest snow and the harshest cold. ## Stepping into the unknown Switching your mountain footwear, like any other step into the unknown, takes a bit of courage and some initial discomfort. But the reward for a little patience is huge – **with trail running shoes, you'll leave behind blister problems, heavy waterlogged boots, toe blisters on long descents, and plenty of other headaches**. You might be wondering now if it's really that simple, and what about tradition… The answer to the first question is simple – it really is that easy, with just a few small catches we'll get to at the end of this article. And tradition? You have to remember that **in the early days of mountaineering, lightweight yet durable materials simply didn't exist** – hand-stitched, practically “bulletproof” leather boots were standard kit for anyone heading to the summits, right alongside heavy wooden ice axes, giant sleeping bags, tents, and a ton of other “wilderness” gear you can easily do without today, even on the longest treks. And it's precisely because of the lack of suitable materials and durable trail running shoes that this tradition stuck around until relatively recently. Leather and heavy canvas have been replaced by lightweight membranes, fast-drying modern materials, and a whole lot of other gear that means we mostly no longer have to head into the hills loaded down with expedition-grade, almost military equipment. With the arrival of modern materials, fans of long-distance crossings started thinking about how to lighten their gear so they could go farther and gather more experiences. **One of the first revolutions in the world of lightweight hiking was precisely this shift to lighter footwear and trail running shoes**. Pioneers of [ultralight](/blog/how-to-lighten-your-backpack-7-tips) quickly realized that running shoes have a number of advantages over heavy leather hiking boots, which we'll now go through one by one. You might end up finding that all those well-known claims about ankle support and waterproofing aren't quite as valid as they might seem at first glance. - [Topo Athletic Men's Terraventure 4](/p/topo-athletic-terraventure-4-mens.md) - [Topo Athletic Women's Terraventure 4](/p/topo-athletic-terraventure-4-womens.md) - [Topo Athletic Men's Terraventure 4 Wide](/p/topo-athletic-terraventure-4-wide-mens.md) - [Topo Athletic Women's Terraventure 4 Wide](/p/topo-athletic-terraventure-4-wide-womens.md) - [Topo Athletic Men's Pursuit 2](/p/topo-athletic-pursuit-2-mens.md) - [Topo Athletic Women's Pursuit 2](/p/topo-athletic-pursuit-2-womens.md) - [Topo Athletic Men's MTN Racer 4](/p/topo-athletic-mtn-racer-4-mens.md) - [Topo Athletic Women's MTN Racer 4](/p/topo-athletic-mtn-racer-4-womens.md) ## **Fatigue and weight** Since we're die-hard ultralight fans, we can't resist starting with weight. You might be thinking, why would weight on your feet even matter – what doesn't weigh you down on your back shouldn't bother you, right? Actually, the opposite is true! **It's exactly on your feet that every gram makes the biggest difference** – you take countless steps in a day on trek, and each one costs you a proportional amount of energy depending on how heavy your shoes are. Extra weight on your feet doesn't just tire out your muscles either – on longer hikes, it wears on your joints too. On my first longer trek after switching from hiking boots to running shoes, I was immediately surprised that my knees and calves didn't ache in the evening even after a solid number of kilometers. Another advantage of trail running shoes is that they have a much more flexible sole, so the whole cluster of muscles wrapped around your ankle, instep, and foot moves much more naturally with every step. A stiffer hiking boot sole, on the other hand, keeps your foot fixed unnaturally in one position, so the fatigue concentrates in just a few spots – walking in “ski boots” like that will eventually wreck your Achilles tendon, calf, or knee. The longer and more demanding the trek, the more this difference shows, but you'll feel the comfort of running shoes even on easy hikes. Going light just always works out better. ## **Blisters and chafing** Blisters of every shape and size are something almost everyone associates with hiking trips. Nothing ruins a trip quite like that creeping pain that gets worse with every step. A blister will eventually get you to the point where gritted teeth and makeshift bandages just won't cut it anymore, and you'll have to turn back home. It's no wonder that **blisters are one of the key factors that can stop even the best-prepared and best-equipped adventurers on long treks**. **With trail running shoes, though, you can forget about blisters for good**. If they fit you right and you choose the right socks, no unpleasant surprises are waiting for you. **Running shoes are usually so soft and breathable** that, unlike stiff hiking boots, they'll still feel like slippers even after a full day. Another advantage of trail running shoes is that you don't really need to break them in before wearing them for real – something thru-hikers on the longest trails especially appreciate, since they'll have to swap out shoes several times over the course of the trail whether they like it or not. ## **Waterproofing doubts** One of the other arguments typically made in favor of stiff hiking boots is their supposed waterproofness. Leather and a membrane will, without question, protect your feet from bad weather better for a while than the light, breathable mesh on running shoes. That's true, but once you're dealing with prolonged rain, wading through water, or walking through soggy terrain, you're in trouble no matter how many layers of leather, membrane, and wax you put on your boots. Physics is unforgiving, and water will get into your shoes eventually either way. **Trail running shoes, on the other hand, dry out incomparably faster after getting fully soaked, thanks to their unbeatable breathability** and water doesn't linger in them during a heavy downpour or river crossing. Keep in mind that already-heavy hiking boots gain an astonishing amount of weight once they soak up water, so you end up wet anyway and are stuck carrying a hefty extra load of water on top of it. I learned this the hard way during a month of travel across the Scottish Highlands. My shoes got soaked on the second day, and I stayed in heavy, waterlogged boots for the rest of the trip. Meanwhile, plenty of locals ran around me in shorts and light shoes, looking completely unbothered by the rain. Long-term soaked feet can also put your whole trip at risk through a higher chance of blisters and chafing – soft, waterlogged skin injures much more easily. And after a few days of walking in that swamp, you won't exactly be welcome on public transport either, for fear of asphyxiating your fellow passengers – and the sight waiting for you at home after taking off your socks really isn't one you'll want to frame. It's not a hard rule, but breathability often drops as waterproofing goes up. On long hikes, and especially **in sunny weather, your feet will sweat inside traditional hiking boots** to the point where you might prefer wading through a stream instead. If you're planning to head out in running shoes come autumn, or somewhere up north where water is never in short supply, it's a good idea to pair them with [waterproof socks](/blog/how-to-choose-waterproof-socks), which you can take off and dry out easily every day. **The combination of fast-drying, lightweight footwear and membrane socks**, which keep moisture and cold away from your feet when used correctly, holds up even in proper Nordic conditions. And when a light frost shows up overnight, you won't have to step into two soaked blocks of ice in the morning. - [DexShell Ultra Thin Crew](/p/dexshell-ultra-thin-crew.md) - [DexShell Running Lite Sock 2.0](/p/dexshell-running-lite-sock-2-0.md) - [DexShell Thermlite](/p/dexshell-thermlite.md) - [DexShell Trekking](/p/dexshell-trekking.md) - [DexShell Hytherm Pro](/p/dexshell-hytherm-pro.md) - [DexShell Longlite Socks](/p/dexshell-longlite-socks.md) - [DexShell Ultralite Gloves 2.0](/p/dexshell-ultralite-gloves-2-0.md) - [DexShell Watch Beanie](/p/dexshell-watch-beanie.md) ## **A false sense of safety** Perhaps the most widespread myth that ends up convincing a lot of people that hiking boots are a must is safety. Yes, high-top boots really do hold your foot firmly in place, but that doesn't mean they'll protect you from injury or a twisted ankle. With a bit of bad luck, you can easily twist your ankle even in a tall hiking boot. In a stiffer boot, your foot is also less agile and tires out faster – **so in hiking boots, you actually end up tripping much more often, which makes you that much more prone to falls and injuries**. Trail running shoes, by contrast, give you a much more confident and sensitive footing even on fairly rough mountain terrain. On regular treks from spring to autumn, and outside of extreme conditions, they've definitely worked out much better for me than traditional hiking boots. All it took was working up the nerve to set tradition aside for a while. If you're making the switch to lighter footwear for the first time, I'd recommend starting with a few shorter hikes in running shoes, so your feet can get used to it and your ankles can stabilize. In the end, your feet will be much stronger and happier, and you'll move through the terrain with confidence and safety. It's worth remembering that **lightening your footwear should go hand in hand with** [lightening what you carry on your back](/blog/how-to-lighten-your-backpack-7-tips). ## **Downsides** No piece of gear is ever completely universal, of course, and trail running shoes have their limits and downsides too. So to wrap up, let's take a look at their dark side as well. The stiffness and uncompromising durability of hiking boots is simply essential for certain trips. **If you're heading out on a glacier tour where you'll need crampons, or into deep freezing conditions, for example, tall hiking boots will definitely be the better choice**. Before any adventure, following the [“Leave No Trace”](/blog/leave-no-trace) principles, you shouldn't forget to find out what's waiting for you on the route and adjust your gear accordingly. Another downside of running shoes is **lower durability** – the uppers of trail shoes are mostly made from mesh and various lightweight materials, which obviously can't be as tough as a solid layer of leather. From my own experience, I can say my trail running shoes last at least two seasons even with frequent use and demanding treks – by the end of their second autumn, the sole is usually pretty worn down and the cushioning isn't what it used to be either. Lifespan obviously depends on the terrain and how often you use them. Both hiking boots and running shoes wear out fastest on asphalt – the soft, grippy rubber wears down much faster there than on unpaved terrain. ## **The verdict!** So, have you decided what your next pair of shoes will be? I know my answer – after all the testing and weighing the pros and cons, running shoes win hands down for me. If you're still on the fence, there's nothing left to do but work up the nerve and try the benefits for yourself – I still haven't met anyone who wasn't won over by a lighter step. Give it a try, and you'll see the mountains will never be the same again. - [Sea To Summit Airlite Towel – Medium](/p/sea-to-summit-airlite-towel-medium.md) - [TheTentLab DirtSaw Deuce #2 UL Trowel](/p/thetentlab-dirtsaw-deuce-2-ul-trowel.md) - [Gramino SagiFlow](/p/gramino-sagiflow-ultralight-bidet.md) - [Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Bag](/p/sea-to-summit-ultra-sil-dry-bag.md) - [Darn Tough Men's Run 1/4 Ultra-Lightweight](/p/darn-tough-run-1-4-ultra-lightweight-mens.md) - [Darn Tough Women's Critter Club Micro Crew Lightweight](/p/darn-tough-critter-club-micro-crew-lightweight-womens.md) - [Sea To Summit Camp Cutlery Spoon](/p/sea-to-summit-camp-cutlery-spoon.md) - [Sea To Summit Passage Cutlery Set 2P](/p/sea-to-summit-passage-cutlery-set-2p.md) - [Katadyn BeFree Replacement Cartridge](/p/katadyn-befree-replacement-filter-cartridge.md) - [Patizon Merino Tube](/p/patizon-merino-tube.md) - [Injinji Run Lightweight Mini-Crew](/p/injinji-run-lightweight-mini-crew.md) - [TOAKS Titanium 450 ml Cup](/p/toaks-cup-450-ml.md) This post is also available as [HTML](/blog/hiking-boots-or-trail-running-shoes). ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.