Outdoor footwear is the best. Having the credentials to scale mountains makes navigating obstacles in day-to-day life an absolute breeze. Puddles? No problem. Slick pavements? With ease. Loose leaves? You’re kidding, aren’t you?
There’s something reassuring about wearing a shoe designed to deal with the great outdoors, even when your idea of adventure is a trip to the pub. All that rugged construction, grippy rubber and weather-resistant know-how might have been developed for the mountains, but it works just as well when you’re navigating the decidedly less treacherous terrain of your hometown.
Even if we lived in a futuristic hellscape, in a world devoid of green spaces and inclines, we’d still be reaching for outdoor footwear. It’s practical, hard-wearing, and for the most part pretty stylish. Approach shoes, low-hikers, mountain clogs – we love it all.
To show our appreciation for outdoor footwear and all the times it’s kept our toes dry, warm and firmly planted, we’ve put together a list of some of our favourite outdoor footwear silhouettes around at the moment.
Creek Angler’s Device x Quiet Mountain Cafe x Blue In Green Hiker
These are absolutely ridiculous; just get a look at that ripstop toe guard! Usually, when more than two parties are involved in a collaboration, things start to crumble – but this Creek x Quiet Mountain Cafe x Blue In Green Hiker is flipping the script. Tremendously good – and they’re launching this Saturday.
Merrell 1TRL Agility Peak 6 RPT
For the Agility Peak 6 RPT, Merrell 1TRL have imagined what a volcano might look like in footwear form – and the result is meltingly good. Beneath the molten-inspired design lies serious trail DNA, keeping you firmly on your feet whether you’re tearing through woodland trails or tackling slick city pavements.
The shoe of the moment. KEEN’s Jasper has been getting plenty of love on social media lately, but we’ve always had a soft spot for its humble, low-profile design. And this beautiful tan and blue colourway only deepens our affection for KEEN’s poster boy.
There’s a whiff of eccentric European charm about Hanwag’s Rotpunkt. It might not be the most conventional-looking approach shoe – with a silhouette that looks like it’s stepped straight out of an alpine teleportation device circa 1983. But in our eyes, it’s those quirks that make it so great.
Contrary to what the name suggests, the kind of person wearing Scarpa’s Mojito is probably the least likely to be drinking one. We’d wager the geography teachers of the world who swear by these are more partial to a pint of deep brown ale – Timothy Taylor Landlord, maybe.
Diemme combining its innovative approach to footwear with a heritage fabric like tweed is exactly the kind of fusion we love. In a world dominated by synthetic, lightweight performance fabrics, the Tweed Modica feels like a genuine breath of fresh air
