The Adidas Terrex Trailmaker took the prize as the best lightweight Adidas hiking shoe! Not only is it way lighter than the other Adidas hiking shoes in the lineup, but it incorporates supportive cushioning along with a good amount of ground feel, and it caters to the wide-footed hikers among us.

GTX is an abbreviation frequently applied at LOWA that some customers may use in a store when asking for “LOWA GTX”. But just what do these three letters mean, and what do they have to do with shoes? The answer is quite simple: The abbreviation stands for the brand GORE-TEX.

An on-point and waterproof low-rise hiking shoe.

The upper. Open mesh that is tough, and durable, but that allows water out and your foot to air-dry better than any other shoe I've used in 15 years of mountain running. There's not much to the upper construction – no heel cup for example – but that only adds to their genius sock-like fit. No rubbing, no hot spots.