Sometimes you need hiking shoes on your vacation, but not any old hiking shoes. Let’s say you’re planning to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors, but you’re not going to be hardcore hiking, so you don’t need boots.
And you need shoes with a great hiking sole, but you might want them to double as lightweight, all-around shoes, because you don’t want pack a lot of gear.
In that case, bring along the Lowa Levante GTX Lo shoes. They’re for women (sorry, dudes), and the versatile, multi-function shoes are made on a women’s last.
The uppers are made from split grain leather and fabric, and lined with Gore-Tex that reduces hot spots and keeps out the wet weather. The PU Monowrap frame reduces the overall shoe weight, while retaining lateral stability.
The Supportive DuraPU midsole has great shock absorption and support, and the climate-control footbed has comfort perforations to help improve breathability.
I’ve found the shoes to be comfortable to wear all day on a trip, and the wider toe box is great for those of us who hate having our toes smooshed in hiking shoes. Comfort is essential, not only when traveling, but also in everyday life.
Better yet, the understated colors and design of the Levante GTX Lo shoes make them easy to wear around town, to lunch, to the museum, even to dinner, without having to go back to your hotel to change shoes for a citified version.
Women’s outdoors boots and shoes can often veer into the Skittle territory with colors, so it’s nice to see shoes that can function as hikers, yet “pass” as around-town kicks.
The Lowa Levante GTX Lo women’s shoes come in graphite/jade (pictured), anthractite/rose, and navy/turquois combinations. The shoes list for $170 on the Lowa site.