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Outdoor Footwear is a hodgepodge category where you will find footwear for many different activities from hunting, to hiking, to scaling mountains. In addition, there are a lot of boots and shoes that have an outdoor look but are really designed for staying on the sidewalk. If you are honestly just looking for an outdoor look or for handling snow on your way to work, you don't want a pair of mountaineering boots as you won't want to wear them all day long and they don't walk easily on concrete. In this review, I've put together 5 brands that make all around outdoor boots, that are economical and work well in an urban environment.
The North Face - The North Face is an outdoor and winter brand, but it is hard to assign a forte to their collection, They have a great deal of winter boot, but also hiking boots, and climbing boots. They meet the criteria for being one of the largest brands in outdoor footwear because all of their footwear is designed for outdoor wear, but I would not recommend them if you are looking for a specific style because there are so many other brands with a larger focus on one style. The one clear place where The North Face stands out is in their tread. They have a lot of shoes and boots that are just perfect for walking on snow and ice. If you plan to stick to the snow laden city streets, check out the north face, but if the now you encounter is covering a glacier, invest in a pair of Lowa or Asolo mountaineering boots.
Teva - Teva has become a name brand primarily through their sandals. They've pioneered the sport sandal making them a leader in the sandal category, but they make much more than sandals. All of their non-sandal footwear is outdoor in nature and starts at $70 a pair and goes as high as $135 a pair. There are only two pairs of hiking boots in their entire collection as the rest of the collection is trail runner and other casual outdoor styled shoes. While you will find teva footwear making a large contribution to the outdoor footwear category, they really should say as your go to source for sport sandals. The rest of the collection will give you an outdoor look while comfortably walking city streets.
Timberland - Timberland is one of the largest footwear brands around. They have over 350 current styles of footwear just for men and this collection is quite diverse. They are probably best known for their work boots, but I generally recommend other brands for work boots, but their second best known style is hiking boots. Men's Timberland boots start around $65 a pair and go up as high as $150 a pair, but the vast majority of their higher end boots are work boots. Timberland footwear is a good choice for economical hiking boots that I would compare most closely with Merrell Hiking Boots, except that you will get more work boot influences in Timberland footwear because that is more of their forte. These boots wear more like a work boot rather than a hiking boot and so if you want an outdoor look but are going to wear them out working or just during the winter months as you head to work, these may be a good choice.
Patagonia - Patagonia is more than a footwear brand, they also have a large collection of apparel. Collectively they provide a good outdoor look, but much of their footwear collection is clearly not intended for hiking trails. Through Patagonia you can find outdoor styled sneakers and other casual footwear. For example, if you want a high top sneaker that can comfortably weather winter streets whether covered in snow or not, Patagonia has a lot of good choices.
If you are looking for a hybrid between outdoor wear and city life, these four styles make good choices. Their styles offer the advantages of comfortable casual living with the outdoor look and some of the advantageous features of outdoor footwear.
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