9 Best Lightweight Hiking Boots For Women - Top Models

In this text, I present 9 best lightweight hiking boots for women, all of them mid-cut type, non-insulated, and with flexible soles. They are suitable for 3-season hiking, mountaineering, and backpacking tours. The list includes the following boots given in alphabetic order:

All boots in the list are presented in detail in my separate reviews, so please follow the links to read more. These are truly top models. Some of them have been on the market for many years now, like the Keen Targhee II boots that have been around for longer than a decade. Some of the models are award-winning, like the Lowa Renegade boots.

The boots given here are non-insulated. This implies they are designed for 3-season hiking tours, but they can surely be used for relatively short snow walks and for glacier passages with strap-on crampons.

Before you continue to the specific posts where these boots are described in detail, I would suggest reading the following section. It might help you to choose the type you need.

Here is a video about choosing hiking boots, have a look:

How to choose proper boots for you

The term boot implies that you have some ankle support and this is what distinguishes them from shoes (apart from price and durability). This ankle support depends on the shafts height and on their construction. All the models here are mid-type but even in this case, you have considerable differences in the height.

If you are in search for a pair of boots, you might consider some of the following features which boots may offer:

versatility,
protection from elements,
durability,
comfort,
stability,
price,
weight.

Versatility

By versatility, I imply the following. If you are not an outdoor fanatic and make some tours only occasionally, you might want to choose boots that could be used in everyday life, for walks in rain, for works in your garden, etc. In such a case you would not want to buy some heavy and bulky mountaineering boots which have only one purpose. I am sure that all models given above are very versatile and you will not look funny if you use them in your daily life as well.

But these boots are in the same time top tools in their class and they will serve you well in your outdoor adventures. This holds even if you go outdoor frequently and need a strong and durable pair of boots.

Protection from elements

This implies that your boots are waterproof. All models given above satisfy this requirement. My mountaineering tours are mainly in the Alps, and in such an environment having waterproof boots is a must. Almost all of them are with Gore-Tex membrane, except the Keen Targhee II boots that are with a specific Keen’s waterproof membrane.

Such waterproof membrane implies that the boots are also breathable. Regarding the breathability, it is never perfect with any waterproof membrane, but I would say that in general, you can expect more from synthetic and mixed leather-synthetic boots than from purely leather boots.

Another issue related to this is the construction of the cuff and the tongue; do they have a gusseted tongue or not. It is good to have it gusseted because you will be safe in passing through shallow water streams or through very wet grass, and it also prevents debris from entering the boot.

Durability

The general rule here is the simpler construction the better. All-leather boots with not many seams are usually more durable, having rubber toe caps adds to it a lot. But consider also all other criteria before you decide, see for example about comfort below.

Comfort

Practically all models given here offer out-of-box comfort. So you do not need a long period of breaking the boots in, something that is so typical for hard mountaineering boots where you would need to walk at least 100 kilometers before you say that you have comfortable boots. So this is partly related to versatility mentioned above, you need boots that you can use as soon as you buy them, and regardless of the environment.

But there is a downside of this; such boots are typically with softer sole structure and this may imply that they are perhaps less good for a very hard terrain. Harder boots are better in this sense and you will feel less fatigue during your tour.

Typically, synthetic or combined synthetic-leather are more comfortable and with a shorter break-in time than all-leather boots. Consider the Adidas models above if this is your primary concern.

Stability

Here, you can speak about:

more or less good ankle support,
torsional stability,
good or bad grip and how it depends on the type of terrain.

From the images above you may realize that Lowa Renegade and Vasque Breeze have higher cuffs and you can expect a better ankle support. So if you need boots to use together with a heavy backpack, these models might be your first choice.

You can follow the link of the Vasque Breeze boots to see that they have a torsion control chassis. This element of the mid-sole is usually visible from the side. Perhaps an even more advanced structure of this type you will see in the Salomon boots.

On the other hand, if this is about going light and fast, with a small pack, or/and for trail running tours, I would warmly recommend the two Adidas models.

Price

Buying a pair of boots is an investment. If you want a quality tool, you will have to pay for it. But the prices of the models given above are very reasonable.

In the moment of writing this text, their prices are in the range from $115 for the Salomon boots to $220 for Lowa Renegade boots. All others are in between, please follow the links above to see the current prices, they are updated daily.

Weight

Weight usually implies more material, like:

higher cuffs which imply a better ankle support,
rubber toe and heel caps (see Vasque boots or Keen Targhee boots),
more thick rubber sole and deeper lugs.

So in my view, these features only add to the quality of boots, and a bit more weight I do not see as a big issue. But if it is about well-maintained trails and not so rugged terrain, less weight may definitely be better so think about Adidas models.

Conclusion

To summarize this text about best lightweight hiking boots for women, the models given here are indeed top quality, from renown brands, and with very reasonable prices. All of them are waterproof and breathable. They all are rather versatile but you should still follow criteria given in the text in order to choose a pair that best suit your need.

Need something insulated, for winter conditions? Please see this list of five top models for women.

If you need a pair of waterproof backpacking and hiking boots for men, please visit my another text.

Thank you for reading, I hope this text has been useful. It will be great to hear from you, there is a comment box below. Have a nice day.