Protection

4.3 Leather overlays across the sides, heel, and ankle and a thick, rubber toecap fortified the ipstop nylon upper against crumbling Tapeats Sandstone on the Grand Canyon’s Miner’s Route. “My feet felt well-armored,” says a tester.

Support

4.0 The ½-inch-thick polyurethane (PU) underfoot is thinner than some in this test, yet it feels dense and springy with a close-to-the-ground responsiveness,” says a tester who wore the Marshalls on a five-day trek across Grand Canyon’s Tonto Plateau. However, testers carrying more than 40 pounds on rocky routes wished for more support under the arch and ball to prevent foot fatigue.

Traction

4.3 Testers loved the Marshalls for scrambling and frictioning on sandstone slabs. Credit the smooth-bottomed outsole (no heel brake) covered with broad, wing-shaped lugs that stuck to snowy patches of trail and class 4 rock.

Comfort/Fit

4.6 The slipper-like feel made the Marshalls as popular for walking the dog as hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. A roomy toebox accommodates swelling and fits both low- and high-volume feet. Break-in not required.

Overall Score

4.5

$140; 2 lbs.; keenfootwear.com


The Scale: 1=save your money – 5=perfect gear.

*Overall score is not an average of others scores; It’s a gut-level assessment of performance and value.