It's been a long time since I've bought any.  Looking for some water proof, fairly light weight boots to start hiking in.   Central MS so rocks not really a worry.  Pretty much just woods and creeks.   Thanks

Solomon have always been my go to. I'm trying Lowa right now and they seem to be ok , but are not breaking in the fastest.

THanks!  When I was younger I didn't give much thought at all into footwear but now that I'm getting up there (mid 50's) it's become a necessity.

First post pretty much sums it up .

I have wide feet so Lowa has more options than Salomon - I do wish they had more as I think Salomon is a bit more comfortable than Lowa .  The Lowa's I have though hold up very well .

I’ll tell you right now, Altras are the shit for any long distance hiking. I like their Lone Peaks and they come in a water proof version. If you want more cushion then Hokas are it. I’ve hiked sections of the Pacific Crest Trail the last 2 summers and 99% of the shoes on the trail were either Altras or Hokas, and those people put down serious miles.

My suggestion is go to the city and find a well stocked outdoor store.  Find a pair that fit your feet and "speak" to you.  

There are lots of good options.   Also, beefy trail runners are a solid modern option if a real boot is not needed.

My recent boots have been Salomons.

I'm a big fan of La Sportiva and Salewa.

If you aren't going to be backpacking with a heavy pack, I would suggest looking at an approach shoe vs a traditional boot.  I got to love my Boulder X shoes so much I wear them as my daily wear shoe.  

I have my eye on the GTX for when I need some ankle support.

OP skip the boots and get a pair of trail runners. The new thinking is boots are bad, and waterproof is bad. You want something that will dry out quickly as it's impossible to keep all water out

I've been enjoying the heck out of 2 pairs of Keens for awhile now.

If I were buying a pair of hiking boots today, it would be the Salomon Quest Element GTX.  They are 3.5 oz lighter (7 oz per pair) than the Quest 4 GTX boots.  They are lighter than any Lowa boot I can think of.

I have the Salomon X-Ultra Treks, and wish I had picked up one, two more pairs, before they went out of production.  The Quest Element GTX seems to be their current lightweight, full-ankle offering.

The Scarpa TX4 Mid was mentioned in this thread, and while I have a pair of TX3 mesh shoes, and really like them, I would bet the Salomons hike better.

The TX4 Mids will definitely get better traction on bare rock slabs.  But, even with that advantage, I would forego the Mids for the regular TX4s or TX3s because they'll fit better in a pack when changing over to technical climbing - even if that means I lose the waterproofness of the Mid (I offset this by using Showerpass WPB socks with my TX3s).  If I need a sticky-soled light boot like the TX4 Mid, I'm simply going to skip the whole genre and go with a pair of Scarpa Ribelle Tech 3.0s - a boot I would never, ever recommend for hiking.

Trail runners in lieu of boots?  No, not necessarily.  GoreTex lowcut shoes are a no-go in my book because it's way too easy for water to ingress over and into low-cuts.  But, a proper high-cut boot, and not a mid, does an excellent job of keeping the elements out of the boot, and keeping your feet dry, and dry feet are less prone to blistering, rot, trench foot, you name it.  A proper boot, taller than a mid, will give valuable ankle support - ankle support that can salvage an outing.  I rolled an ankle and scuttled an objective about 4 or 5 years ago when I was in trail runners - ferried the first load up to my high-camp bivi just fine, but rolled my ankle just a 1/2 mile from the parking lot on my way down to bring up another load.  When switching to a full boot, I could hike ok, but my ankle was sprained enough that I couldn't cant it to the side when wearing rock climbing shoes, so that was a terrible way to end a trip.

I will opt for boots when carrying over X pounds of load, or the weather is going to be consistently bad.  Trail runners for most everything else.  And trail runners augmented with WPB socks, if need be.

This.  

You don't want to feel like you have a pair of bricks strapped to your feet.  Different brands fit different feet, and how people walk vary, and there really is no substitute for lacing a pair on and walking around the store and moving in them.  Some will definitely feel better to you than others.

I tend to wear Merrills for a lot of trail stuff, but have other brands for technical mountaineering.  Salomon, a good brand, works for pedaler, doesn't feel right to me.

Solomon, Vasque, Lowa, Merrill for general hiking.

For more mountaineering I like Scarpa.

For hunting Crispi or Kennetrex

I’ve found Asolo Fugitives to feel very light and easy to walk in, and Lowa Camino GTX to be a little more comfortable even though they’re heavier. LL Bean Crestas are very comfortable for me as well, a very classic-looking all-leather hiking boot that’ll take some time to break in but will absolutely be worth it. They also make leather & nylon models, both these and the all-leather ones have a GTX membrane. Some people say it makes their feet sweat but not mine, I can wear them on a hot summer day and have dry feet the whole time. These are all $300-$350 boots, if you’re not looking to spend that much Keen and Oboz make good boots and shoes but they’re definitely tier 2 by comparison. Traction isn’t as good, especially on wet rock, and the soles wear down pretty fast. I have 3 pairs of Oboz, 2 insulated boots and a shoe that does very well as long as water doesn’t go over the top. I don’t buy into the “quick drying is better than waterproof” theory, but everyone’s feet are different and I don’t do many stream crossings. I’ve had Keen, Oboz, and Salewa non-waterproof shoes that I’ve gotten soaked and much prefer waterproof boots. Gaiters work for short immersions.

Boots vs trail runners? Boots for me, every single time. I’ve worn combat boots or steel toes at least 5 days a week for the last 38 years so I’m just used to the weight and feel of boots. The few pairs of trail runners I’ve bought in the past 15-20 years didn’t impress me and I gave all but 1 pair away. That pair became camp shoes for car camping.

Not an avid hiker but I have two pair of keens that I love.

I wear trail runners, Altra lone peaks in particular.  They don't require break in at all, I bought a pair and then did a 30 mile hike with no blisters. I did construction for 15 years and wore Keen steeltoe boots because of the toe box now I am in EMS and wear safety toe boots. Switching to lightweight trail runners hasn't an issue at all.

After burning down many keens, I got some Zamberlan vioz. I love them.

If you want to do serious miles on trails,  get trail runners.  I used to use asolo's,  finally tried the runners and would never go back.    If you're worried about ankle support then your probably carrying too much weight.

The only time I would go back to boots, is if I was going off trail and HAD to carry more than 30lbs.  Like if i'm hunting or packing out game after hunting.  I've done hundreds of miles with boots in the military and after,  no thanks.

I've worn Merrell MOABs for years, but unfortunately I went up a size an Merrell doesnt make a size 16...so I've switched to Keens, large toe box, pretty comfortable.

This is my vote to keeping Meindl in business.  If you were a fan of the Cabela's Meindl's, (Cabela's branded Meindl boot) then you'll be happy to find that they are still available at Meindl USA.   Rock solid hiking and hunting boots.  

Meindl USA

If you liked the Perfekt Hikers from Cabela's, they are rebranded as the "Comort Fit Hiker".  Must be a licensing issue.  They added a toe rand and describe them as the "perfect" hiking boot.  

A few more really good/ high end brands that I haven't seen mentioned are:

Kenetrek, Schnee, and Hoffman.  Not cheap but have good offerings.

One of my favorites all time boots is the Kenetrek Hardscrabble.

Thanks!  I think anything high end though is gonna be wasted on me.   Mid 50's and not a serious hiker.  Mainly just walking around in the woods, creeks etc.

I like Keens. They fit my feet well and hold up very well.

Their quality has gone down from what I have been reading.

I have two different pair from when Cabela's sold them.  Denali and a backpacking model.  Wore both a lot and they are still serviceable but the one thing I learned about the Denali is that if you are using them in snow your feet will be cold regardless of sock choice.  My dad experienced the same.  I prefer the backpacking model.  Hard to tell what current offerings would be similar...  Best I can tell is that the Himalaya actually looks like a cross between both the Denali and backpacker.

After using the Kenetrek Hardscrabble for a few years now I can say it's a better boot than ether pair of my Meindl's.

I just put away my Kenetrek Guide boots for the season. Got 'em last September, and they've been great. My OTB Bootistans will last the rest of this year and maybe the following. After that, I'm thinking the Hardscrabble might be the replacement. What else can you tell me about those?

Depending on the user they might require a decent break in period.  My dad says his took several miles.  I think for me it only took a few but they may require a break in period depending on the user.  I ordered mine December of 2020 and have used them for 3 hunting seasons averaging anywhere from 50 to 100 miles per season.  I use the Kenetrek brand boot wax and the stuff works great.  I treat them before and after hunting season, and maybe once in the middle depending on how much I am wearing them and if it looks like it needs it.  I have no reason to believe that I won't get several more years out of them when using them for hunting only.  I don't always wear the hardscrabble though if it gets cold with a lot of snow I switch over to the grizzly or now I also have a pair of Hoffman.  The Hardscrabble is probably my favorite pair of hunting boots.  But they are expensive, and I like them so much that I won't use them for anything but hunting.  If I am going for just a few mile hike I will put the wear and tear on my older Meindls or a pair of Danners.  Same if I am just hunting in my back 40 and not walking far, I will wear one of my older pairs.

I have a new pair of Shnee Beartooh 200g boots I got on sale this past December for $240.  Haven't worn them enough to comment on them.  I wanted a pair of lightly insulated boots something between none, and a pack boot.  I only gave them a shot because they were on sale and almost half of what a Kenetrek boot would cost me.

My feet struggle with cold temps, so I go insulated once it gets cold.  I did some damage to my feet back in 2014 on a very wet/ cold remote hunt in the Rockies.  Ever since then my feet struggle with the cold.  My feet got wet and cold, and I pushed on for a long time when I should not have.  After that hunt I had pins and needles feeling in my feet like they were asleep for about 3 days.  Been fucked since and that event made me a bit of a boot and sock nut when it comes to off grid use.  I have too many different pairs of boots,

Thanks for that!

Break-in's not an issue since I'm frequently on my feet in the house, around the property, or in town. I'm not the gentlest on hiking boots, though I've managed to get over a decade on my last two pairs. The sole wears down to racing slicks before the upper gives out. That's what has me looking at resole-able boots. The cost of the Hardscrabbles might put me in the same situation as you: wearing something else if I can get away with it.