Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased these for a 3 day backpacking trip. I typically wear hiking shoes, however, the terrain we were to be hiking this year was listed as "rugged" and "very difficult" as it was comprised of rock, rocky inclines, long stretches of cratered-rock (that seemed to resemble the surface of the moon), some mild rock climbing, and the presence of venomous snakes. All the reviews of the trail encouraged one to wear hiking boots. I was a little late in committing to hiking boots, and I only wore these for a 3 mile walk before hitting the trail with my 28 lb pack. One of my other hiking companions was accustomed to hiking in running shoes. To our surprise we found that we had both selected the same hiking boot (Keen Women's Targhee II Waterproof Hiking Boot) to wear on this trip. She literally pulled her boots straight from the box before hitting the trail. So, neither of us had broken our boots in. Our first day on the trail turned out to be the most arduous; we both hiked in our new Keens for over 7 hours across incredibly rocky, rugged terrain. Neither of us ended up with a single blister that day or any day of the trip. Our husbands were shocked (and sporting blisters in their broken-in boots). The boots fit beautifully out of the box and held traction wonderfully on the trail. I have a wide foot, and I struggled with a good fit in other brands of hiking shoes; however, the Keen boots fit perfectly without any hot spots, foot numbness, or bruising. The lacing design works well to keep the toe box loose while allowing me to tighten the boot at the ankle. I was pleased to find that I did not notice any increased drag or feeling of a weighted foot despite being accustomed to wearing hiking shoes. The only problem I experienced was sweaty/smelly feet when I switched to my clean socks, REI mid-weight hiking socks, on Day 2. My feet were hot and growing dangerously damp from sweat (a problem I usually don't have and haven't had with these socks in hiking shoes). However, when I switched BACK to my Darn Tough Boot Socks (which I had worn on Day 1) and kept them for the Day 3 hike out and our Day 4 day hike, I experienced none of these problems. I recommend you consider your sock weight carefully with this boot if you are hiking in warmer weather. Each of our days had a high of about 75 degrees F. We were (fortunately) unable to test out how well waterproofed these boots were as we had gorgeous weather the entire trip. I will update my review when we next hike in rainy weather and after they have had to stand the test of time. As of right now, they only have about 40 miles on them.