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As a steadfast mountaineering shoe lover, Explorer Claire was shocked at how peachy she felt in KEEN’s Targhee IV Mid Waterproof Mountain climbing Boot.
KEEN is an outside footwear model with an enthusiastic identify and a few enthusiastic claims on its Targhee IV Mid Waterproof Mountain climbing Boot. The family-owned enterprise originated in Portland, Oregon, and has been a staple within the American marketplace for over 20 years.
The Targhee IV is the most recent iteration of the Targhee mannequin and is available in scorching stating that it’s ‘the last hiking boot you’ll ever purchase’.
KEEN’s mountaineering machine
In an industry-first, KEEN is providing a Delamination-Free Lifetime Assure, which means that they’re extremely assured the only real of this shoe won’t ever come off. But when your Targhee IV does, you’ll be eligible for a full alternative or retailer credit score.
So what makes this shoe totally different? KEEN.FUSION. It is a course of KEEN developed the place warmth and stress work to fuse the only real and the higher a part of the boot to turn into one complete piece – and the mechanical bond is outwardly stronger than glue.
Typically stress creates diamonds. Different occasions, a mountaineering boot
They even examined it by placing it by way of 1,000 miles of use (about 1,609km) and a ‘pull machine’ that tried to power the shoe aside. It didn’t break down.
So when the time got here for me to want new mountaineering footwear, the promise of this boot completely strayed me from my loyalty to mountaineering sneakers and path runners. However after testing them on numerous tracks across the Gold Coast, will it keep that means? The quick reply is type of. Right here’s the lengthy reply.
Why am I the fitting particular person to do that evaluate?
I’ve been mountaineering ever since I slapped on P plates (which wasn’t yesterday, and even near it), and have taken the lengthy, painful technique to discover the right footwear for me. My knees are dreadful, my ankles are weak, and I’d a lot reasonably trudge by way of a puddle than attempt to keep away from it.
Admittedly, I’ve cried greater than as soon as on the path attributable to ache and discomfort attributable to insufficient sneakers so my wants are considerably particular: supportive sufficient to minimise knee ache and ankle slip-ups, waterproof sufficient to stop moist socks, and sturdy above all else (as a result of everyone knows that mountaineering shouldn’t be a free exercise). From what I’ve examine KEEN’s Targhee IV Mid Waterproof Mountain climbing Boot, this sounds proper up my Achilles.
Spoiler alert! My Achilles was happy with this selection of shoe
Fast Specs
Weight: Between 900g – 1kgish a pair, relying on dimension
Shaft peak: 91mm – ladies’s
Heel peak: 22mm – ladies’s
Drop: 14mm – all sneakers
RRP: $329.99 AUD
Efficiency
Breathability
Total, I’d take into account this boot to be an superior all-rounder, however perhaps not one for excessive ends of climate. It claims a breathable inside membrane as a part of the KEEN.DRY waterproofing, nevertheless it was fairly toasty in there (and bone dry after puddles, would possibly I add). I wouldn’t select this for mountaineering in sweaty, sweltering circumstances.
The waterproofing was actual good
It was nonetheless breathable sufficient to fare properly in late Gold Coast autumn (a Tasmanian summer time?) with sporadic rain and sunshine, and common max temperatures of about 24˚C. This, coupled with the very fact it isn’t insulated, means it’s not the pair to take out in a blizzard both.
However that leaves an enormous spectrum of climate the place the KEEN Targhee IV can shine.
Stability
As to be anticipated with a mountaineering boot, it’s usually stiffer than its mountaineering shoe/path runner counterparts, and the KEEN Targhee IV is not any exception. It has a thermoplastic polyurethane outsole, which I utilized a very good quantity of power to with a purpose to bend with a relevé movement whereas strolling uphill. Although, I’ll give it some grace because it’s probably nonetheless breaking in.
Possibly sneakers tackle the persona of their wearer: cussed
Its stiffness mightn’t be finest for extremely technical trails, nevertheless it makes up for that by being extremely grippy. The outsole has a multi-directional lug sample that carried out splendidly in each dry and moist circumstances. I’ll go so far as saying it’s received one of the best traction I’ve ever skilled in a shoe – I felt like a gecko.
The beginning of my gecko costume…
Sturdiness
I took the KEEN Targhee IV out for 1.5-hour bushwalks each morning throughout 4 days. The paths had been a combination of engineered and pure, moist and dry, steep and flat. It had no issues withstanding these circumstances (me, aimlessly strolling into rocks, scrub, and puddles), with the nubuck leather-based higher remaining impressively intact. I additionally discovered that grime didn’t readily cling and it was straightforward to wash.
Nevertheless, to actually put KEEN’s lifetime delamination assure to the check, it wants an extended interval of commentary. So I’ll come again and replace this with my ideas in six months. However for now, I don’t foresee sturdiness being a difficulty – particularly with that guarantee.
Consolation
I used to be shocked with how able to go this shoe was straight out of the field. I stored ready for the burn of chafe and blisters to look nevertheless it didn’t – and that was one in every of my most important aversions to mountaineering boots.
One other was them being too heavy. My pair of dimension 6.5 got here in round 950ish grams (if we will belief my outdated scales), putting it within the midweight enviornment. There are positively lighter pairs on the market, however the weight was by no means entrance of thoughts whereas mountaineering and I don’t see it inhibiting my actions with a heavy pack on.
Mild sufficient to relaxation on this vine with out harm
Match
My little piggies are ultra-flexy and splay very extensive, so the KEEN Targhee IV’s toe field was a welcome sight – however not fairly extensive sufficient to stretch them out to their full alien capability. I felt comfortably cosy within the forefoot, a contact free within the heel, and well-supported for my excessive arch because it didn’t cramp as soon as.
By way of sizing, I did discover it ran a tad giant. They’re nonetheless wearable in my case, however I’d advocate making an attempt half a dimension down out of your ordinary and seeing how that feels.
Cushioning
I used to be a bit cautious at first as a result of this isn’t a chunky zero-drop shoe, and I are inclined to gravitate in direction of that attributable to knee ache. I usually really feel knee aches after half-hour of mountaineering with the unsuitable footwear and I by no means felt that after with KEEN’s Targhee IV.
They felt increasingly comfortable every put on too
I’m tipping that is due to the midsole, because it options KEEN’s LuftCore know-how, which ‘embeds a lightweight, air-injected core into higher-density foam’. Mainly, a pleasant, shock-absorbing foam surrounded by a harder foam layer.
Design
By way of aesthetics, I used to be fairly shocked at how a lot I preferred the look of KEEN’s Targhee IV in actual life. To be frank, I believe most mountaineering boots are fairly ugly. However there’s one thing cool and basic concerning the light-brown tone of the Brindle Nostalgia Rose (this seems like a child identify Jamie Oliver would choose) colourway and the sporty facet profile.
The ladies’s model has one different shade, a lightweight gray/teal referred to as Alloy Granite Inexperienced, whereas the boys’s has darkish olive and darkish brown decisions.
Sustainability
Apart from KEEN.FUSION providing extra longevity out of the Targhee IV, there are just a few different sustainability factors this shoe want to make:
- It makes use of ‘ethically sourced leather’. KEEN is a part of the broader Leather-based Working Group (LWG) dedication, which goals to advertise accountable environmental requirements within the leather-based {industry}. How strictly LWG certification is assessed is unclear, however KEEN states that they don’t supply leather-based hides from Brazil to keep away from contributing to the Amazon’s deforestation
- It recycles 5.5 plastic bottles per pair. That is used to create the laces, mesh, and webbing – not the entire higher. There’s a small paper icon on the shoe to let as properly
- It makes use of pesticide-free odour management. As a substitute, it makes use of probiotics, which KEEN says prevents seven tonnes of hazardous chemical compounds from coming into the atmosphere every year.
I respect KEEN’s stage of transparency and powerful sustainability commitments regardless of not being a B-Corp or Honest Commerce licensed. They’ve outlined this of their 38-page Impression Report from 2023 and Code of Conduct.
Highlights embrace:
- Ongoing rejection of utilizing PFAS (‘forever chemicals’) in merchandise
- Utilizing 100% renewable energy of their places of work and shops
- Donating 1000’s of sneakers yearly
- Manufacturing in step with their Consciously Created protocols throughout all factories
Whether or not they’re not B-Corp or Honest Commerce licensed attributable to standards or private selection, it might’t be denied that KEEN is a model that positively does its bit to be higher.
Value
KEEN Australia’s web site has the boot model priced at $329.99 AUD. I checked to see if that price is comparable on the US web site and it’s virtually $150 AUD cheaper, so I’m assuming it’s costlier in Australia to make up for delivery and distribution. Not precisely certain.
For my part, that’s some huge cash for any sort of shoe. However not any sort of shoe can take care of you whilst you’re out on the path, and I imagine that the KEEN Targhee IV can positively do this – and for a very long time (with a lifetime delamination guarantee to safeguard).
I’m eager on KEEN
I’ve spent much less on price range sneakers previously however paid extra in penalties. I’ve additionally spent extra on premium sneakers that had been unsuitable for me and nonetheless paid extra in penalties. If the options of the KEEN Targhee IV fit your toes, then I believe the worth level is properly inside the bounds of cause.
Although, there’s a barely cheaper different within the shoe model of the Targhee IV, priced at $299.99.
Remaining Ideas
I’ll positively hold flogging trails in KEEN’s Targhee IV Mid Waterproof Mountain climbing Boot – firstly, to see how that guarantee goes, and secondly, as a result of it’s genuinely an excellent shoe. It gained’t ever totally exchange mountaineering sneakers for me, however now the reverse is true. After I require extra sturdy safety from the weather and heat in milder temps, I’ll be lacing up the KEEN Targhee IV and not using a second thought. It would truly be the final mountaineering boot I ever purchase.
Time to leap in additional puddles!
