Durability is one of the key attributes to look for in any piece of hiking or camping equipment. This is never more true than with our hiking footwear – if we’re spending upwards of $200, after all, getting value for money revolves around getting a boot/shoe that’s going to last. So how long should you expect those new hiking shoes to last?
If you treat them well, you can expect to get 500-700 miles from your trail runners and light hiking shoes. You might get 1000-1200 miles of use from more rugged hiking shoes and boots.
The longevity we can expect of our boots can vary greatly from brand to brand and from model to model. “Durability,” moreover, is a metric that’s particularly tricky to measure. How, after all, are we to know how long a product will last when perusing the array of options in the store or online?
Below, we aim to answer that question and provide a simple guide that will help you do the following:
- Identify boots that are built to last from those that aren’t
- Understand when it’s time to consign your trusty boots/shoes to the footwear graveyard
- Know the main causes of wear and tear
- Know what you can do to make your boots/shoes last longer
Many Factors Affect Durability
Asking how long hiking shoes last is a little like asking how long’s a ball of string. With so many variables coming into play, the length of time you can expect your hiking boots and shoes to remain in trail-worthy condition ranges from just a few months to a lifetime.
The bottom line with the life-expectancy of hiking boots and shoes goes as follows:
While durability will vary from model to model, how often you wear your boots/shoes, how you care for them, and where you wear them will largely determine whether they’re one-season wonders or “lifers.”
Let’s unpack that a little by looking at each determinant in isolation.
Durability and Shoe Type: Lightweight Vs Rugged
The type of shoe you buy can have a significant impact on how long it will last out on trail. For our discussion, we can divide footwear into two categories. On the one hand are lighter shoes, including trail runners and lightweight hiking shoes and boots. On the other are sturdier shoes, including leather approach shoes and three-season hiking boots.
Let’s look at how long these types of shoes can last. The best way to quantify durability is in terms of the mileage we can expect to get out of our boots before it’s time for a resole or repeat purchase.
How long do trail runners and hiking shoes last?
For trail-running shoes, synthetic approach shoes with softer outsoles, and lightweight summer hiking boots, you can probably expect to get around 500-700 miles out of the shoe/boot. By this point, the tread (aka lug) in the sole is likely to have worn down to the point of no longer providing sufficient grip and the upper has begun to disintegrate.
A few good examples of shoes/boots in this performance range are the hugely popular Salomon Speedcross and Merrel Moab hiking boots, both of which are famed for their comfort and minimal weight but not, sadly, their staying power.
How long do approach shoes and three-season hiking boots last?
Approach shoes with leather/split-leather uppers and stiffer sole materials and more robust, three-season hiking boots with harder-wearing rubbers in the outsole are also more likely to withstand the test of time. The average lifespan of these shoes/boots is in the region of 1000 miles.
Examples of this type of shoe and boot include the La Sportiva Karakorum and Scarpa Crux approach shoe, both of which use more rugged and robust split-leather uppers and a tougher variety of Vibram outsole.
Brand reputation and durability
As with any product – outdoor or otherwise – the most durable models are typically those made by bigger, more reputable brands. If you’re new to the game of hiking, some of these brands include Scarpa, La Sportiva, Brasher, Lowa, Keen, Vasque, Miendl, Garmont, Zamberlan, and Asolo.
While each of these bigwigs of the hiking world has a handful of shoes and boots in their catalog that will win no prizes for their longevity, for the most part, they’re a cut above the rest as regards life expectancy.
Hiking Boot Care For Extended Life
Getting the most out of hiking boots and ensuring they don’t take a nosedive into premature dotage or degeneracy requires suitable TLC on the part of the owner.
But just what does that TLC consist of?
Below, we’ve made a short, at-a-glance list of the things you can do to boost your boots’ likelihood to stick around for the long run:
- Brush off dirt and mud after your hikes and clean the upper with warm water and a cloth
- If on a multi-day hike, clean off corrosives like sand and animal scat asap
- After cleaning leather boots, treat the upper to a wax treatment to help maintain the leather’s suppleness and reduce the risk of the fabric drying out and cracking
- With both leather and synthetic boots/shoes, finish off your post-hike TLC with a DWR treatment to enhance or restore weather resistance
- Treat your boots to a resole as needed
- Avoid walking on paved surfaces – these are highly abrasive to the sole of your shoes/boots, as explained in more detail below…
Should I Avoid Paved Surfaces in My Hiking Shoes?
Certain things just weren’t meant to go together: naked flames and combustible gasses, orange juice and freshly brushed teeth, socks and sandals are just a few.
To that list we might add another entry: hiking boots and paved surfaces.
Tarmac and asphalt are to hiking shoe outsoles what simple sugars are to teeth and our kids are to our bank balances – i.e. highly destructive. – and hiking on them is perhaps the main cause of hiking boots making their way to an early grave.
As with the rubber in our car tires, the rubber on the soles of our hiking shoes wears down with time. Unlike our car tires, however, outsoles are not designed to put in tens of thousands of miles and, as such, are made with varieties of rubber that place grip and comfort higher on the priority list than wear-resistance.
And the take-home?
If possible, avoid using your hiking boots on roads and paved pathways.
The Parts of the Shoe That Wear Out: What To Look For
To help give you a better understanding of which parts of your boots are most prone to breakage and/or wear and how this happens, let’s take a look at each of these parts individually.
Outsoles
The outsole of your hiking shoe or boot is the rubber section on the underside. Because this is the part of the boot in most frequent contact with the surface of the terrain, it’s also the one most subject to the effects of wear and tear.
So, just how long can we expect an outsole to last?
As a general rule, softer outsoles found on hiking shoes and summer hiking boots are the quickest to wear down. These boots prioritize grip and comfort and are made to adhere to rock surfaces in all conditions. The trade-off, as you might expect, is with the firmness and toughness that is conducive to longevity.
More hard-wearing outsoles are usually found in three-season hiking boots (as opposed to backpacking boots).
The terminology here is particularly important.
A hiking boot is one specifically designed for use in all types of terrain, be it rock, snow, or more manicured, well-maintained trails.
Backpacking boots, on the other hand, are almost exclusively designed for use on established hiking trails.
Consequently, manufacturers are apt to use softer rubbers on backpacking outsoles (to enhance comfort) than on hiking outsoles, where the priority is on stability, edging ability, and reducing foot and calf strain on steeper terrain.
(Find out more about the differences hiking boots backpacking boots.)
While the above can be taken as a general rule, it’s not without its exceptions. When buying your boots, therefore, make sure to pay particular attention to the hardness of the rubber used on the sole regardless of boot type if durability is high on your list of priorities.
But how are we to know if an outsole is made with a softer or harder rubber?
Quantifying outsole durability
The longevity of an outsole is determined by the rubber compound with which it is made. Generally speaking, the harder the rubber compound, the more abrasion-resistant the sole will be.
The hardness of outsoles is measured by an industry specification known as the durometer hardness rating, which measures any rubber’s resistance to indentation and abrasion in standardized testing.
This is quantified using a rating system known as Shore A, which designates hardness on a scale ranging from 0A to 100A, with items like rubber bands (20A) coming in at the softer end of the scale and leather belts (80A) and shopping cart wheels (100A) at the harder end. For comparison, the rubbers used on most hiking shoes and boots fall into the 70A-85A range.
Sadly, and for reasons best known only to themselves, the big hiking brands aren’t in the habit of listing this vital specification with their boots…
The obvious solution to this conundrum is to get into a store and measure the relative hardness of varying models by feel before buying. This can be done by pushing a car or house key into the rubber. If the rubber offers little resistance to the pressure and the key leaves an indent, then the rubber is most likely on the softer side of the hardness spectrum and is liable to wear down in a hurry.
If buying online, gauging hardness and durability is a touch trickier, but not impossible.
First, take a look through user reviews to find out if the outsole of any shoe or boot got the seal of approval from other buyers. In this case, no news is good news – if no mention is made of the outsole, the chances are it performed – and endured – just peachily.
Secondly, look through product descriptions for red flags. These usually take the form of boasts about the grippiness or stickiness of the boot/shoe’s soles. Both of these qualities are advantageous when on rocky, exposed terrain and sought-after by those taking on graded scrambles (softer rubbers excel in smearing ability). However, both also hint to a degree of softness that will make them prone to speedy deterioration on standard hiking trails once you start clocking up the mileage.
Upper
In hiking boot terminology, the “upper” refers to, essentially, all of the material above the sole and rand.
The durability of different material types used in uppers can vary greatly and getting a handle on how long any model will last must also take into consideration a few more specific components construction elements, such as:
- the type of stitching used
- the seal between the upper and outsole
- the quality of the material (there are, after all, various types of leather and synthetic fabric out there, some of which are high-quality, others less so)
For the most part, leather uppers offer far more abrasion-resistance and robustness to synthetic materials and, if well cared for, a pair of leather hiking boots can last you a lifetime.
Recent improvements in fabric technologies, however, mean that synthetic hiking boots are improving year by year, which makes it particularly difficult to generalize about their longevity. Models like the La Sportiva Trango Tech, for example, are extremely hard-wearing and made entirely with synthetic, thermoplastic materials. Other models, like the Salomon X Ultra 3, on the other hand, are 100% synthetic and are unlikely to last more than a few seasons of regular use.
Midsole
The midsole on your hiking shoe is the layer of cushioning responsible for providing shock-absorption and reducing impact on your feet and legs. With new footwear, midsoles feel plush and cushion-like, and usually leave your legs feeling no worse for wear after a day on the trails. Over time, however, even the best midsoles will become more compact and lose their “bounce,” thereby leaving your ankles, feet, and legs to bear the brunt of impact.
So, how are we to know when our midsole’s days are numbered?
In many cases, our feet, ankles, and legs will give us plenty of feedback about the health of our midsole while on our hikes. If our midsole is in decline, this will come in the form of less responsiveness when walking, a dull feeling when our foot makes contact with the ground, being able to feel isolated rocks and stones underfoot, and unfamiliar aches and pains developing as our day on the trails progresses.
Waterproofing
Mud, dirt, perspiration, sand, and animal scat can cause cracks in the leather or deterioration of the fabric of your boots. They can also clog the pores in waterproof-breathable membranes (like Gore-Tex) and prevent the membrane from breathing, which is sure to lead to sweaty feet.
The solution, gladly, is fairly simple – after each hike, take the time to brush off each of the above and clean your boots with warm water and a cloth.
How Do You Know When It’s Time To Get a New Pair?
Saying farewell to a pair of beloved, long-serving hiking boots can be like saying farewell to a good friend. So much so, in fact, that many of us are loathe to part with our cherished trail besties even when all the signs are telling us it’s high time to put them out of their misery, have them stuffed and embalmed by the local taxidermist, and stick them on the mantelpiece.
The most notable of these signs include the following:
- Outsoles worn to the point where the lug (tread) is no more than a few millimeters
- Extensive cracking in the leather (usually in the forefoot and tongue)
- Decreased water resistance, even after reapplication of waterproof wax/spray/gel
- Leaks at the join between the outsole and upper
- No cushioning in the midsole
Resole Those Old Shoes For A New Life
If you’ve worn down the lugs on your favorite hiking boots and really wish you didn’t have to replaced, you might just have an alternative.
Well-made boots with more robust and durable uppers can be made very nearly “as-new” and given a new lease on life by having them resoled. Resoling is, in most cases, far cheaper than buying a new pair of boots and also saves you the hassle of having to break new boots in.
If the sole of your boot has worn down to the point where the tread is looking a touch on the slim side, therefore, don’t go throwing your boots out just yet. Instead, get online and research certified resolers for your brand of boot. In most cases, the turnaround time when resoling by post is no more than fourteen days.
The Verdict: How Long Do Hiking Boots and Shoes Last?
The number of months or years you can expect to get out of your hiking footwear will ultimately depend on where and how you use them, and how wisely you choose at the point of purchase. As explained above, however, there are certain measures we can take to increase the lifespan of our boots or shoes.
While the average life expectancy of trail shoes and hardier hiking boots is in the region of 5-700 miles and 1,000-1,200 miles respectively, by treating your boots/shoes to a little post-hike pampering and making sure you stick to suitable (read: unpaved) surfaces, however, there’s every chance you’ll be able to squeeze in another season or two before being forced to punch their tickets.