A review mode post about hiking shoes.
I bought a new pair of shoes for our three-month New Zealand and Japan trip in 2023. My requirements for these were:
- Comfortable for long days of walking
- Suitable for the warm February in New Zealand
- Suitable for the colder March and April months in Japan
- Nice-to-have: low shoes, not too expensive.
In January 2023, I did some research and eventually bought these Meindl Laredo’s. They were quite expensive, but considering their durability, they were actually quite affordable.
Further benefits:
- Great, comfortable fit.
- Very durable.
Main drawback:
- Ugly. Which, of course, is subjective.
I walked about 2 million steps on these shoes in February, March, and April. Flawless. The only problem was that a crack in the rubber between the sole and the shoe began to appear in one of them. I returned to Bever to get this fixed, but they replaced the boots for free.
With the new pair, I walked another 3 million steps during the rest of the year and a few months in 2024 until the Vibram sole wore out. Unfortunately, the sole can not be replaced in this model, so I had to trash the pair.
