6 Best Gore-Tex Hiking Shoes

Can a Gore-Tex hiking shoe be lightweight, comfortable, and supportive? It sure can! Our best overall Gore-Tex hiking shoe is the Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX, which takes first place for its instant comfort straight out of the box, perfect cushioning, and first-rate support.

Weighing in at just 13.3 oz (378g), its featherweight translates to more mileage on our hikes before our feet get tired. When we compared it to our lab-tested waterproof hiking shoes, we found it is 5% lighter than average. It even sneaks in below the average for non-waterproof shoes. Impressive for a completely watertight shoe! We even tested its impermeability by standing in a stream, and our feet stayed totally dry. That’s a win for the Gore-Tex!

Loose ascents and uneven trails are a breeze in this shoe, and the stability is rock-solid. The heel counter keeps our feet firmly locked into the shoe so we evaluated it in the lab. We awarded it 5/5 for stiffness (5 being the stiffest). The Active Support System of quick laces and a shank in the midsole provide a tonne of stability, making it our go-to shoe for our rough, rocky hikes.

This shoe finds the perfect balance in the midsole - not too soft and not too hard. What this means in practice is that we get a good amount of ground feel whilst still keeping our feet protected and supported. We measured the midsole for softness by pressing a durometer to it. No surprises there - it showed 32.5 HA, the average for hiking shoes.

We measured the width of the midsole in the lab, finding it to measure 108.2 mm at the forefoot and 84.2 mm at the heel. Since the average is 109.7 mm and 86.8 mm respectively, we don’t recommend the Salomon X Ultra 4 to hikers needing a wider shoe.

In a combination of lab tests and getting out on the trail, we found the Hoka Anacapa Low GTX to be the Gore-Tex hiking shoe with the best cushioning. With a midsole so plush that it feels more like a running shoe, it doesn’t neglect the stability required for a quality hiking shoe either.

The heel quite literally stands out on this shoe, giving us soft landings and much smoother transitions as we walk. Our all-day hikes were much more comfortable, thanks to the superb cushioning. When we pressed a durometer to the midsole in the lab, it registered 23.3 HA - 29% softer than the other shoes we tested. As if that weren’t enough, the insole measures 6.7 mm, 31% thicker than average. There’s no doubt about it; this is a really comfortable shoe!

With such a plush shoe, it is possible for the stability to be compromised, but the Hoka Anacapa Low GTX has it covered. The widest platform ever to have passed through our lab, the 113.2 mm wide forefoot and 93.1 mm wide heel compensate for the softness of the midsole, making it next to impossible to roll our ankles when hiking on rough trails.

To top it all off, this is an excellent waterproof shoe, the fully gusseted tongue and Gore-Tex/leather combination keeping our feet completely dry (and blister-free!) even on the wettest days. This all comes in an extremely lightweight package - they tipped our scales at 13.9 oz (393g), 6% lighter than average.

Hoka’s characteristic rocker, while muted, is live and kicking in this shoe. It makes us walk faster, sometimes even breaking into a run. For hikers looking for a less lively shoe, we recommend exploring alternatives.

Swift R3 GTX gets the "best stability" medal because, in the world of Gore-Tex hiking shoes, we don't want just superb waterproofing but also a super stable platform that allows us to hike over wet and slippery terrain with no ankle twists, slips and falls. And the Swift R3 GTS nails it! 

There are numerous elements contributing to the overall stability of this shoe and we thank our lab tests for documenting all of them. The most important one, for sure, is the torsional rigidity test that showed us why this shoe feels as stable as a hiking boot. Because we weren't able to twist the shoe, we rated it with 5 out of 5, 5 being the stiffest. 

Not just that, but we also loved the stiff heel counter - it scored 4 out of 5 on our stiffness test and no wonder: we were able to feel it locking our heels. Boot-like stability means safe and happy ankles and that's what we experienced, no matter how slippery the terrain got! 

All the stiffness might sound scary but the shoe is actually quite flexible, 7% more than the average! We loved this because it let us enjoy the outdoors in more natural strides. 

When it comes to the grip, in the lab, our durometer showed 85.9 HC when we checked the softness of the rubber. It is just around the average of 86.1 HC. However, when combined with 4.4 mm lugs that shine, especially on downhills, we were blown away by the traction. Talk about feeling secure in wet weather! 

Gore-Tex membrane rocks. Under the microscope, it's as tight as it gets, no wonder - but it also means no air can escape. We pumped smoke in the shoe and watched how it barely let anything out, mostly below the laces and not through the toebox. We don't recommend this hiking shoe for hot summer days.

For a lightweight, Gore-Tex hiking shoe, look no further than the Merrell Moab Speed GTX. 18% lighter than its waterproof competitors, its breathability and plush cushioning make it a superbly comfortable companion for those damp days on the hill.

Tipping the scales at just 11.4 oz (323g), this shoe is 2.5 oz (72g) lighter than the average for this category. We found it most noticeable on our longer hikes when our legs had plenty of energy to spare at the end of the day.

Puddles, streams and wet grass are no match for the Merrell Moab Speed GTX’s impermeable lining. As an added bonus, our feet didn’t even sweat while hiking! In the lab, we pumped smoke into the shoe to test for breathability. Smoke exited fairly easily through the breathable tongue, which explains the air circulation in the toe box. We awarded it a 3/5 for breathability - an improvement on the waterproof hiking shoe average of 2.3.

The Merrell Moab Speed GTX is a master of protection. We measured 4.2 mm of extra material under the heel compared to average, and 0.6 mm below the forefoot. Rather than feeling clunky, it is neatly balanced by a softer midsole, which absorbs impact. Our durometer readings showed a squishy 22.5 HA, significantly softer than the average of 30.7 HA. Such plush cushioning keeps our feet feeling fresher for longer.

In our experience, this is not the best choice of shoe for cold conditions. After 20 minutes in the freezer, we tested the shoe for flexibility by pushing it to 90° with a force gauge. Requiring 75.4N of force, it is 39% stiffer than average and requires warming up to perform as we expect.

After comprehensive lab tests and putting a number of waterproof hiking shoes through their paces, we declare that the Merrell Moab 3 GTX is the most comfortable Gore-Tex hiking shoe! They are delightfully comfortable straight out of the box, keep our feet completely dry on our wet hikes, and are designed with wear and tear in mind.

The thick padded tongue, measuring 14.6 mm (3.2 mm thicker than average), and the extra padding around the heel area make an excellent first impression from the word go. Our feet bend and flex naturally while walking in this shoe, so in the lab, we bent the shoe to 90° to test for flexibility. Our force gauge measured 30.3N, making this shoe 30% more flexible than average! In practice, this shoe gives a really comfortable ride and a natural feel to our strides.

The Gore-Tex lining is perfectly implemented, and our feet stayed bone dry, even on our rainy hikes with stream crossings. The 4.8 mm lugs are 0.5 mm deeper than average and grip well on gravel and smooth rock. They shed mud well, making them overall a great choice for wet-weather hiking.

We experienced minimal wear on the Vibram outsole after several hikes, so we brought the shoe into the lab for assessment. We measured the outsole thickness at 7.1 mm, a little thicker than the average 6.8 mm. Our durometer measurements also proved the outsole to be 83% harder than our other lab-tested shoes. They also have a solid heel and toe bumper to protect both the shoes and our feet from abrasion while scrambling over rocks. These shoes just keep on giving!

Such a workhorse of a shoe has to show some sort of weakness. The indestructible Merrell Moab 3 GTX is on the heavy side, weighing in at 15.9 oz (450g). We don’t recommend it to hikers looking for something fast and lightweight. 

The finest hiking shoe we can confidently turn to for toe freedom and for conquering below-ankle-level streams is the Teva Grandview GTX Low. While this wide-feet-friendly shoe repels water, it simultaneously promotes air to circulate, leaving us with dry feet, both from sweat and moisture. 

Our caliper obtained a 103.8 mm width across the widest part of the Grandview GTX Low’s toebox. Placing it next to the average, we found that it’s 3.8 mm above. The numbers didn’t lie as we felt that there was no toe squeezing happening in this shoe. The broadness of this shoe didn’t stop with the fit. The midsole was 116.6 mm in the heel and 93 mm in the forefoot and it also measured more than the average by approximately 5.1% in both sections. On our treks, this translated into a great deal of stability.

We had fun testing this shoe out in wet settings as we didn’t end up dripping wet. To better visualize how extremely waterproof this shoe is, we put it under our microscope. We saw that the upper is closely knitted, safe from water seeping through. Air, or should we say smoke, is a different story. It can pass through the upper, attaining a 3/5 breathability rating.

This shoe beat the average in terms of weight. We recorded 15.56 oz (441g), which is 13.1% heavier than most hiking shoes. If you are partial to light hiking shoes, seek other GORE-TEX options.