GEAR | Hiking In Scotland & Wales In The New KEEN Terradora Boots – Review

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Keen Terradora ladies hiking boots

What are they?

KEEN Terradora Waterproof Women’s Boots £109.99

Features

  • Cleansport NXT™ for natural odor control
  • 4mm multi-directional lugs
  • Breathable mesh lining
  • Cushion panel takes pressure off the achilles
  • Dual density PU footbed
  • ESS stability shank for support
  • KEEN.DRY ® waterproof breathable membrane
  • Lightweight breathable mesh and synthetic upper
  • Low-density EVA midsole

Keen Terradora ladies hiking boots

Ladies KEEN Terradora Walking Boots

National Trust for Scotland

The verdict

As well as looking incredibly funky, the first thing I noted about the boots was their low profile and that they are extremely light. The size 6 fitted me perfectly, leaving enough space for my thick Merino hiking socks. Despite their mid-ankle height, they still felt very supportive when I first tried them on, but the real test was yet to come, and with two consecutive weekend hikes planned, one in Wales and the second in Scotland, it was the perfect opportunity to see what the Terradora boots were really capable of.

Keen Terradora ladies hiking boots

Once out walking, the reduced weight of the boots became really notcible, making my feet feel as light as a feather. My first walk in Hafren Forest took me through a shallow part of the river, up plenty of short steep sections and up some slippery sections too. Following my recent ankle ligament injury I was initially concerned about the grip of the soles, and I also wasn’t sure if they would provide enough support around my ankle.

Keen Terradora ladies hiking boots

The back of the ankle looks pretty low on the boots, but they provided ample support and I didn’t slip once; and trust me, if there’s an opportunity to trip over or slip when walking, I usually find it.

The Terradora boots use Keen’s own Keen Dry technology, which I found performed well. I traipsed through shallow streams, splashed through puddles and as I reached the peak of Ben Lawers, the heavens opened, but my feet stayed dry the whole time.

Keen Terradora ladies hiking boots

During my much longer solo hike up Ben Lawers in Scotland, I spent over 5.5 hours walking, a lot of that uphill. On the way back down it was raining, and I have to admit to being worried about the steep descent over loose rocks – would the boots be up to it?

To say these are the most comfortable boots I’ve ever hiked in would not be an exaggeration

Normally on my way back down a mountain my feet tend to push forwards, squishing up my toes against the front of my boots, which puts pressure on the front of my toes leaving them feeling sore by the end of a walk. At the end of my longer walk though, whilst my feet did feel a bit tired, I found the padding in the KEEN footbeds to be superb, and I got no pain in my toes at all. To say these are the most comfortable boots I’ve ever hiked in would not be an exaggeration, they are exceptionally comfortable, hands down the best I’ve ever tried.

Ladies KEEN Terradora Walking BootsHigh up on the mountain in between Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers

In terms of grip, although the the soles don’t look like anything special and I was concerned that they’d not be able to cope on steep terrain and loose rocks, I didn’t slip once. After the end of my 11.4km solo hike the muscles in my thighs felt tired, but my feet did not.

Me at the summit of Beinn Ghlas Mountain, ScotlandStanding on my first summit, Beinn Ghlas in my Keen Terradora boots

Final thoughts

Having been on two decent hikes in them now, including reaching the peaks of two mountains in Scotland, I can not praise the performance of these boots enough.

It’s fair to say that when it comes to hiking boots many look alike and don’t really offer anything new in terms of looks, but the Terradora boots don’t just look funky, they deliver on performance too. If you are looking for boots that are lightweight, supremely comfortable and offer excellent performance, then the KEEN Terradora boots won’t disappoint.

These boots were definitely made for walking!

Hiking Ben Lawers in my Ladies KEEN Terradora Walking BootsTaking a break before pressing on to the second summit of Ben Lawers

A big thank you to KEEN for supplying the featured product. We were not paid for this review.Save

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Where to next?

Shell Robshaw-Bryan
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