Gear & Tech
Most teahouse trekkers wear more boot than the walk needs, and the ankle-support argument holding that up is thinner than the shops suggest.
By Prakash Tamang · Sep 9, 2026
Most people walking to Everest Base Camp or round Annapurna are in more boot than the route asks for. That is our honest position after guiding these trails since 1998, and the ankle-support argument usually used to justify the heavier boot turns out to have…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The reason almost everyone buys a boot is ankle support, and it is the claim with the least evidence behind it. A review of the literature on shoe collar height, published in 2020 by Lai and colleagues, reports that the evidence supporting high-top shoes for…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Here is the argument that gets far less attention and is on much firmer ground. Soule and Goldman measured the energy cost of carrying loads on the head, the hands and the feet, and found that a load carried at the extremities costs more metabolically than…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The failures we deal with are almost never ankles. They are blisters, and they are toenails lost on the descent, and they are feet that swelled by day six into boots bought in the correct size for a shop on a Saturday afternoon. A boot does not prevent any of…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
For most people on a lodge trek with a porter, a low trail shoe wide enough to accommodate a fortnight of swelling is the right answer, and it is also the cheaper one. If you are carrying your own load, crossing a pass with snow on it, or you know your…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Best overall
Merrell Moab 3 (low)
Wide enough for feet that swell over a fortnight and comfortable from day one — the sole is soft, so it is the wrong shoe the moment you carry your own heavy pack.
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Wide enough for feet that swell over a fortnight and comfortable from day one — the sole is soft, so it is the wrong shoe the moment you carry your own heavy pack.
Not for: You are carrying 15 kg yourself, or you have rolled an ankle before. Take the boot.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Best for long days
Hoka Speedgoat 6
The stack height saves your knees on the endless stone staircases; it also puts you further from the ground, which some people never stop disliking.
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The stack height saves your knees on the endless stone staircases; it also puts you further from the ground, which some people never stop disliking.
Not for: Snow, or any trek where your feet will be wet for hours. There is no membrane here at all.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Best overall
Salomon Quest 4 GTX
Stiff enough to carry weight over a pass and still comfortable on day fourteen — you pay for that in weight and in a break-in period you cannot skip.
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Stiff enough to carry weight over a pass and still comfortable on day fourteen — you pay for that in weight and in a break-in period you cannot skip.
Not for: You are doing Poon Hill or a short lodge trek under 3,500 m with a porter carrying the load. This is more boot than that walk needs.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Best value
Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof
Covers every lodge trek below 5,000 m for a fraction of the money — the sole is softer and the upper wears out faster, which is fine if this is a one-trip boot.
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Covers every lodge trek below 5,000 m for a fraction of the money — the sole is softer and the upper wears out faster, which is fine if this is a one-trip boot.
Not for: You are carrying your own load over a 5,000 m pass, or you expect this to be your boot for years. Buy once, properly, instead.
Check price on Amazon Read the full reviewIf you buy through that link we earn a commission. It costs you nothing and it does not change what we recommend — the rental and advice-only entries in our gear guide earn us nothing at all.
Snow is the simplest one. A trail shoe has no membrane and no insulation, so an early-morning crossing of a high pass in October leaves you with wet, cold feet for hours, and cold feet at altitude are a genuine safety issue rather than a comfort complaint. If…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
In the autumn and spring seasons, usually not below the snowline. A membrane keeps water out and also keeps sweat in, and a non-waterproof trail shoe dries in an afternoon while a wet boot stays wet for two days. Above the snow, take the membrane.
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Road-running shoes have a smooth outsole and a soft, unstable platform on uneven ground. They are the one footwear category we do actively argue against. A trail shoe costs about the same and is built for the surface.
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Half a size up on whatever you would normally take. Feet swell over consecutive walking days at altitude, and a shoe that fits perfectly in the shop is the shoe that costs you toenails on the descent to Lukla.
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
No. Thamel rents down jackets and sleeping bags well, and we tell people to rent both. Footwear is the exception, because fit is the whole product and you cannot break in a stranger's boot in a day. This is the one bit of kit to bring from home. If you are…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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