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I'm looking for a new pair of light weight walking boots to replace a pair of worn out Scarpa Nitro Hike GTK boots. I'm not totally sold on the looks of the apparent equivalent in the Scarpa line up now (the Maverick GTX I think) so was thinking of trying something from further afield.
Two of the options I've found are from Adidas' Terrex line but I've no experience with them myself and the online reviews seem to cover the usual, unhelpful, ground of "best thing I've ever put my foot in" to "fell apart as soon as my dog farted on them" (ok, I may have made those up but you get the idea). Looking about it seems pretty much all of the boots I've been looking at have similr glowing/disparaging reviews so I was wondering if anyone here had any first hand experience with the Terrex boots they would like to share.
If it makes any difference the specific models I'm looking at are the Terrex Skychaser XT Mid and the Terrex Free Hiker GTX and they would likely see use in fairly tame environments most of the time what with me living in Suffolk.
I've got a pair of Terrex trainers, the sole feels very hard underfoot and although the sole is thick it has little give and very little cushioning effect.
Grip wise it works well in loam conditions but not quite so good on clay and certainly not wet wood.
They have taken a battering, maybe 2 years of near daily use and still hold shape and sole isn't totally worn out. These have fairly open mesh on tops and some microfabric type sides and are absolutely not water resistant, if anything they soak up water, but they do dry fairly quickly.
Doesn't necessarily correlate with any experience in their boots I know but hopefully helpful if you are buying blind.
I got a pair of the Free Hiker GTXs last week. So far I've worn them for a walk in the Black Mountain (Fan Brycheiniog and Picws Du) and couple of walks around Gower. They're trainers with a high, stretchy ankle cuff. Little to no ankle support. Very comfy. They're replacing a pair of Berghaus Supalites and in comparison are much lighter with much better cushioning, but less ankle support and a less stiff sole. The cuff does a great job of keeping debris out of the shoe. I'm liking them so far, but they're not a walking boot.
There was a recent thread that might also be of interest: https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-some-lightweight-summer-walking-boots/
I have a pair of Terrex Goretex Trail shoes i use to ride in the winter. They are fine, bought cheap from Sportshoes. I'm not sure I'd be happy if i'd paid full whack. OK. nothing special.
Terrex shoes (one trail pair, one biking pair)
So far I really like them. Trail pair is easily on par with my merrells and salomons. They're both pushing for at least two years old, maybe more
I've had couple of pairs of boots and shoes over the years. Firstly they do size up really small - like at least half to full size from normal. They were OK, but not exceptional, which is probably why I've bought boots and shoes from other brands. The difficultly with some Adidas stuff it's hard to be sure whether it's made just for fashion/style or for serious outdoor use / abuse. If you sign up to the Adidas App you can get 25% discount if you hunt around for a code.
Had some Terrex GTX shoes a while back, they've been relegated to rough work shoes now as they've since been replaced for general duties. They're still comfortable and the only gripe I had were that the soles didn't seem to be the non-marking type so a few black marks needed removing from floors.
Since gone back to my usual Merrells but I wouldn't discount buying another pair in future.
I love the Terrex goretex mids..
I go through 2 or 3 pairs a year though (i go through 2 or 3 pairs of any shoes).
I walk a very long way in my job and they are nice and light, quite supportive, sort of waterproof and i find them very comfortable (although i have custom made carbon based footbeds based on 3D scans of my feet..)
We like them in this house. We've two pairs at present.
Sadly my widening feet don't fit them anymore, they are quite narrow.
I have loads of terrex shoes, mainly because I KNOW they will fit me; they just suit my feet.
I get through a pair of mids every year (Swift atm), and also have a set of skychaser GTX among others. Most of the terrex range falls firmly into the 'lightweight' category which means they have a finite lifespan, I normally find the tops start to wear as I wear the soles out.
The skychasers are a trail running shoe, most of their mids are good honest lightweight boots. Depends what you want from them, but I always wear the lightest shoe I can get away with, which means trail running shoes even for a full days walking in the mountains, unless it's wet when I'll go to the skychasers, or boots as it gets colder.
I guess that mostly sounds promising (apart from the narrow foot fit). I may give a pair a try while they still have 25% off with the adidas app.
I've got some GoreTex Skychasers. They are nice, light and grippy in most local conditions - I can drive in them fine but they are stiff enough, if you know what I mean. They do come up narrow despite erring on the larger size, but the speed lacing thing means it hasn't been a problem. They are mostly my strolling / pub beer garden boots though, rather than for work or proper outdoors 🙂
I have some similar to these
https://www.adidas.co.uk/terrex-swift-r2-gtx-shoes/CM7492.html
They've been good. Used them on quite a few long walks - 10 days in Oman where I decided boots would be too hot. Done a few scrambles in the lakes and other long walks.
In the NE I walk on the moors a lot so boots cope better. I had thought that my next pair of lightweight boots might be the mid version. They would be fine for week+ walking holidays. I found they size up a little small. I'm a 9 normally but went 9.5 in these.
I bought some Terrex Swift Solos thinking they could replace my 5.10's. They definately dont , Very stiff sole and not that grippy. Dont get me wrong good as a shoe for XC rides or even gravels spins and great for walking just not very grippy.
I do like them and wear them for walking the dog , very waterproof as well. The Adidas Terrex stuff I think really is good quality.
I've got three pairs of Terrex AX3 (I think AX3...) shoes; two with the cinch pull system and one laces, one of them in Goretex and all three with the Continental soles - they're the reason I bought the second two pairs. For me, extremely comfortable and the sole is one of the most easy clearing (as in it doesn't clog with mud) of any walking shoe or boot I've ever had. Very grippy on wet rock when walking the dogs on local beaches. Colleague at work had a pair and rated them so I bought a the first pair at full price in an outdoor shop; he found they wore very quickly but all his walking was on pavement in a town - mine seldom see pavement or tarmac.
Second two pairs bought direct from Adidas with 30% discounts that I quickly found online using Google, never used the app.
Two pairs of skychasers in the house, both ripped or delamination at the bunion joint, one pair done less than 100 miles other pair around 150, Adidas not great customer service, offered us a 20% discount but no refund or exchange as they were no longer stocked...meaning the colour scheme had changed.
Shame as good on rock and excellent in the mud. Cushioning good enough.
...mmmm....mine just let in water so badly I went back to wearing walking boots......no vote of confidence from me.
I have loads of terrex shoes, mainly because I KNOW they will fit me; they just suit my feet.
I bought some Terrex trail running shoes, and never again - they definitely didn't fit me! The usual thing: they felt great in the shop, but went out for the first decent run in them and they took all the skin off both little toes 🙁
Ended up using them for <10k runs, which they were fine for. Definitely not ideal if you like a wide toe-box.