Teva Arrowood Mid Waterproof - Women's Review

Hands-On Review of the Arrowood

In our testing metrics, the Teva Arrowood was an average performer across the board. When it came to comfort and support, they were harder to break in and didn't provide all that much support underfoot. They were also quite tight for a wider foot, which resulted in an uncomfortable feeling. As far as weight goes, the Arrowoods rocked, but their smooth soles made them fall short in the traction category. They are durable and very water resistant, though they don't cover much of the ankle, so water can still get inside the boot.

Comfort

At first, the Arrowood Mid were fairly painful on our wide-footed testers. Over time though, they did stretch a bit to become more comfortable. Much like the Oboz Sapphire Mid and the Ahnu Montara, these boots lack adjustability in the toe box. This makes it difficult to make room for a wider foot, which boots like the Salomon X Ultra do very well. The Arrowood felt very thin underfoot, especially on the ball of the foot, which was painful when walking on hard surfaces. The Keen Terradora Mid has a similar sole design, and also felt painful after a long day.

Support

You can tell by looking at them that the Arrowood has a different design than a traditional hiking boot. The front of the boot is rockered so that the shoe propels you forward as you walk. This rocker shape adds cushion and support in the heel but falls short in supporting the toe and arch of the foot. Similar to the Keen Terradora Mid, the Arrowood does not have very much support the midsole or toe. A boot with much more support in this area and a similar rockered design is the Hoka Tor Ultra.

Weight

The Arrowood is one of the lightest models in our fleet. This boot weighs in at 1.33 pounds, which is nearly a pound lighter than our longstanding favorite, the Lowa Renegade, which are incredibly durable and supportive. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Arrowoods, which are lightweight, but fall short regarding support, traction, and durability. For a lightweight boot that offers a bit more, we like the Ahnu Sugarpine WP, which weigh 1.46 pounds and have better traction and more support.

Traction

The tread pattern on these boots shows that problems with traction may arise when walking on rugged terrain. Unlike the majority of the boots in this review (think Keen Targhee II Mid or the La Sportiva Nucleo High GTX), the Arrowood lacks an aggressive tread pattern or significant lug depths. This means that when the terrain gets serious, these boots tend to skid out and lose traction. They work much better on flat ground and dirt trails, rather than talus, similar to the Vasque Monolith UD in this way.

Water Resistance

The partial leather upper and gusseted tongue on the Arrowood make it a reasonably waterproof shoe, but the mesh fabric that makes up the majority of the upper is not very water resistant. In the end, we found these boots to work fine in moderately wet conditions, but if you are planning on walking through water, an all leather boot like the Lowa Renegade is a better bet.

Durability

The boots became more comfortable with time and wore in well to fit our feet. We saw minimal signs of wear and tear, even on the sides, where our wide feet seemed to press into the uppers. The only downside we saw in the design is that the toe box is mesh, rather than leather. This area is often where wear shows first, and leather tends to last longer than mesh. An example of this is the La Sportiva Nucleo High GTX, which has a full leather upper and was one of the most durable boots in our lineup. Since the Arrowoods do not have very aggressive tread, the soles are another place where we could foresee wear to show up. The Arrowood's soles are fairly thin and lack the heavy-duty lugs of boots like the Oboz Bridger Mid Waterproof, which make them more susceptible to wear.

Best Applications

These boots are best used for light to moderate hiking. The soles are not designed for rugged terrain, though the uppers are waterproof enough to endure wet conditions. These boots are some of the more stylish models in this review; they would make a good shoe to wear both in town and on the trail. The Ahnu Sugarpine and the Ahnu Montara have a similar design and function.

Value

For $150, the Arrowood Mid is a fairly affordable option for a waterproof, leather boot. They are well-made and showed minimal signs of wear. For perspective, the Keen Terradora WP are around the same price and are a much less durable boot. This shows the relatively good value of the Arrowood.

Conclusion