Best hiking shoes/boots/whatever for women?

I’m moving to a mountain area pretty soon and want to spend a lot of time hiking…I’ve never done more than a few hours though and always in sneakers. I want to invest in some good footwear for this but I’ve no idea what to get. I’ve heard trail running shoes are more comfortable than boots but that the latter have better ankle support. So any advice (especially from those with size 9 1/2 W feet) would be greatly appreciated!

footwear is always tricky. i would suggest waiting until you move, then check out the outdoors-type stores in the area. ask local hikers, store employees, etc., what they use. it’s going to depend heavily on the type of trails (rocky, well-maintained, overgrown, sandy?), how wet the area is, and the quirks of your own feet. for just day-hiking you really don’t need boots (and i don’t even wear boots for multi-day backpacking trips). see if you can find a shop with employees who have been trained in how to actually fit a shoe properly, and make sure they will accept returns on used footwear, in case they sell you a pair that make you bust out in blisters. the problem with most sneakers is that the the treads on the shoe tend to be very shallow, which doesn’t give them much grip on mountain trails. good luck!

The North Face: Women’s Arnuva 50 Trail Running Shoe

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