Keen Targhee III Low - Women's Review

A tough leather upper paired with a solid grippy base makes the Targhee III Low a crowd favorite. It is durable enough for long hikes and backpacking trips while also providing great support and reliable traction with a minimal break-in period.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Comfort is highly subjective because our feet are all different shapes and sizes. That said, several of our testers representing a variety of foot shapes found the Targhee III Low to be pretty comfortable straight out of the box. Many people recommend it as an ideal shoe for wider feet, given its roomy design from front to back. However, our B-width reviewer also had no problem achieving a perfect fit by adding aftermarket Superfeet insoles, which can change a shoe's volume and the final position of the foot inside. Plus, since the Targhee has a very firm — yet highly supportive — footbed with minimal cushioning, we think an extra insert is likely to help you achieve the most comfortable trail-ready fit, regardless of width.

Although the spacious toe box of the Targhee III might be too wide for folks with a narrow foot (at least before an insert is added), for many, this is a top selling point. We have found that roomy toe boxes often prove far better on long hikes than those of a narrower build, providing plenty of room for feet to swell and helping to avoid unnecessary squishing and hot spots. And with laces that move freely through fabric grommets, you can easily adjust the Targhee to a perfect fit.

Given these shoes are constructed with leather uppers, they are among the less breathable in our review. The tongue is also a bit narrow and required additional adjustments for a comfortable fit, regardless of foot width. And for one tester, the ankle collar sat just low enough to cut into her ankle on varied terrain. But overall, we were impressed with these shoes and the seemingly wide range of foot shapes and widths they can comfortably accommodate.

Support

Compared with other shoes in our review, the Targhee III Low provides above-average support. To evaluate hikers for how much support they offer, we laterally twist each shoe as if we were wringing out a sponge. The Targhee showed high rigidity when twisted both laterally from big toe to heel and back again from pinky toe to heel.

Rigidity translates into excellent side-to-side support, resulting in less foot and ankle fatigue. It also means that your foot will have to work less to recover should you start to roll your ankle. The Targhee had medium rigidity in the front foot. This means the shoe will provide slightly less support directly under the balls of your feet but will also grip better on steeper terrain. While this could translate into foot fatigue over time, we found them to be sufficiently supportive in the field and on longer hikes.

Traction

The Targhee III Low performed quite well in this category, proving that their proprietary sole with multi-directional lugs works as intended.

We were impressed with how well these shoes kept up with whatever terrain challenges we threw their way. Scrambling on granite summit blocks? Check. Crusty wind-blown snow? Check. Sloppy and muddy trails? Check. Regardless of terrain, we never felt limited, an impressive feat for shoes that aren't necessarily designed for technical days.

Weight

When we receive shoes for our reviews, we always weigh them on our own scale rather than trusting the manufacturer's listed weights. The Targhee III Low weighs 2.1 pounds in a women's size 10 US for the pair. This is heavy compared to the competition.

Weight is often a trade-off with durability and features, so the heft of the Targhee III is likely due to the leather uppers and burly tread. This shouldn't be an issue as long as you don't need to carry these shoes on your back. On our feet, we never even noticed a difference. But the added benefits in quality of construction and performance sure make those extra few ounces seem worth it.

Water Resistance

To evaluate water resistance, we subject each pair of shoes to a 5-minute submersion test, where we wear them in 3 inches of water. With Keen's Dry waterproof membrane, we weren't surprised that the Targhee III Low did well in this metric.

This shoe proved to be highly waterproof across all our tests, though it did absorb a little water in some cases just around the ankle collar (a vulnerability shared by all low-rise hikers). But unless you are doing a river crossing, in which case water will likely breach almost any low-rise shoe (or even a boot), this isn't a concern.

Durability

With burly leather uppers and a thick tread, the Targhee III Low is built to withstand bumps and bruising wherever the road may take you. A beefy outsole is topped with a hefty rubberized toe cap to protect and secure your base. And a series of leather and performance mesh reinforcements are double-stitched across the top, including around vulnerable outer edges and under the lacing at the top of the tongue (where one is likely to use extra pressure to secure the shoe using the runner's loop eyelet).

There is a reason why this shoe is popular with distance hikers; they are designed to take a beating. Over the course of our testing period, regardless of how variable the terrain was, we were impressed by how little signs of wear (aside from dirt) these shoes sustained.

Should You Buy the Keen Targhee III Low?

If you are in the market for a durable and comfortable waterproof shoe, the Targhee III is a great option at a mid-range price. It provides decent stability and excellent traction on most terrain, though it would not be our first choice for technical scrambling. With aftermarket insoles, this shoe can accommodate a wide range of widths and foot shapes, so it isn't just for folks with wide feet. Looking for more stability and ankle support? The mid-height version of this shoe retails for only a little more.

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