Keen Pyrenees Waterproof hiking boot | Tested and reviewed

Keen is a US bootmaker originally hailing from Portland, Oregon. However, the brand is well-known throughout the UK and Europe, having built an excellent reputation based on value, fit and comfort. Is its Pyrenees Waterproof hiking boot one of the best three-season options around, though?

Well, the Pyrenees is one of Keen's best-selling hiking boots, being specifically geared towards European preferences. As such, it’s an all-leather boot made from premium nubuck, backed with Keen's own waterproof membrane.

When it comes to styling, it combines fairly traditional (in my opinion, very handsome) looks with a modern, cushioned platform underfoot.

Like most of Keen’s range, it has an accommodating fit with an exceptionally roomy forefoot and toebox, making this a boot well worth trying if you have broad feet and have to struggled to find decent-fitting footwear in the past.

It’s also a solid option if you value rugged durability and decent cushioning for long miles and/or multiple days on the trail, yet still want a stable, supportive platform for carrying a bigger pack.

Design and features

The Keen Pyrenees Waterproof Boot is a chunky, rugged-looking boot with uppers constructed from double-stitched panels of premium nubuck leather, backed with the brand’s own in-house waterproof membrane, called Keen.Dry.

The ankle cuff is well padded and leather-lined for comfort, with a cutaway rear section to reduce pressure on the Achilles, especially when going downhill. The tongue is also nicely cushioned. An integrated tongue gusset extends to the second-most pair of lace hooks, ensuring a good flood height.

You also get good-quality all-metal hardware, combining traditional D-ring eyelets with speed hooks at the top of the boot for easier on/off, aided by a rear leather pull tab.

It’s a shame that there’s no locking lace hook at the base of the ankle though, which would enable you to adjust the lacing around the ankle and across the top of the foot separately. Still, it’s easy to get a secure fit with no slip.

Even when descending steep, grassy hillsides, your toes don’t hit the front of the boot. Oh, and as a nice added extra, Keen also supplies an extra/alternative set of laces with every pair.

The front of the boot has Keen's signature oversized toe bumper, intended to deflect impacts and improve durability. Underfoot, you get an EVA foam midsole and a sculpted removable foam footbed, which is a step up from the flimsy insoles supplied as standard with most boots.

The outsole uses the brand’s own rubber compound, with an unusual lug pattern comprised of multi-directional angled blocks and wide channels. There’s a slight heel brake to help downhill traction, but the edges of the sole are unusually rounded, with a soft transition rather than a hard edge.

On the scales, this is a mid-range boot in the three-season category. It’s obviously not as light as a fabric-based, mid-cut trainer hiker, but nor is it as hefty as a more traditional high-ankle, all-leather boot.

The manufacturer’s stated weight is 564g in a men’s UK 9 or 529g in a women’s UK 6 (though our women’s test sample was actually significantly lighter than that at 480g). This puts in it the same weight bracket as similar leather rivals like the Danner Mountain Evo 600 and the Scarpa Moraine Pro GTX.

All in all, it feels like a sturdy yet well-cushioned boot, with plenty of toe flex for an easy walking action. The heavy-duty toe cap and leather uppers give good protection and durability.

The chunky heel and midsole do a good job of soaking up impacts from hard ground, though there’s less material under the forefoot to help improve overall ground feel.

Performance and comfort

The boot is built on Keen's broad and accommodating ‘Original Fit’ last. The heel and midfoot are well sculpted, while the forefoot is much broader than average. The toebox is also noticeably wide, giving loads of room for toes to splay.

It should accommodate multiple different foot shapes, but works especially well if you have broad, blunt feet. If you find that your toes scream for more space in most boots, it’s definitely worth trying the Pyrenees.

The extra room also means that this boot should accommodate even the thickest of walking socks, which is another benefit worth noting if you like extra cushioning to ward off blisters or foot fatigue – or tend to suffer from cold toes.

Our female tester Ellie found it a very comfortable boot straight out of the box. Even the nubuck leather uppers were soft and supple form the get go, requiring almost no break-in.

Similarly, the soft midsole is also a welcome change from most firm, solid backpacking-style boots. That’s because it employs EVA foam rubber rather than denser PU. The downside is that this will be less resistant to long-term compression.

Having said that, it's still a stable boot to hike in, thanks to a partial shank in the midfoot, a rigid heel counter and supportive leather uppers. In contrast, there’s plenty of flex at the toe to ensure a natural, rolling gait and plenty of spring on toe-off.

In terms of performance on test, the waterproof lining and all-leather uppers did the job, as expected. Ellie’s feet stayed dry even when crossing boggy ground and streams, and only the boot’s flood height (it isn’t gusseted right to the top) limits its puddle-conquering capabilities.

Inevitably however, there is a drawback. This combination of materials means they are quite warm (a plus in cool spring/autumn conditions, a minus in high summer).

Traction from the sole unit is adequate for most hiking scenarios. The Pyrenees comes with 4mm deep lugs, which is about average, and the broad front section puts plenty of rubber in contact with the ground.

However, the tread pattern is unusual, and though it doesn’t tend to clog, it doesn’t always provide the most reliable grip on the softest, slipperiest mud.

Nor is it so well-equipped for more technical scrambly sections, due to the rounded edge and blunt toe, which makes precise placement tricky. It's better to reserve this boot for mostly dry trails and paths.

You might have noticed that in this review that we haven’t mentioned any of the common high-end ‘ingredient’ brands you often find in outdoor footwear, like Gore-Tex or Vibram. That’s because Keen relies on its own in-house tech rather than such partnerships, which tends to keep the price down.

Sustainability

Keen is vocal about its commitment to sustainability. As such, the Pyrenees uses leather from environmentally preferred tanneries certified by the LWG (Leather Working Group).

The boot is finished with a PFAS-free water repellent treatment, meaning it's free from the harmful perfluorinated compounds (so-called ‘forever chemicals’ that have been shown to bio-accumulate in the environment, contaminating landscapes, water sources and organic material). T

he inner also contains an Eco Anti-odour treatment to help reduce bacterial build-up without using chemicals.

The brand also offers a one-year warranty for its footwear, which covers manufacturing and workmanship defects.

This particular boot is manufactured in Thailand. Keen partly traces its supply chain including all of the final production stage, and has a Code of Conduct for partner factories, but none of its supply chain is certified by labour standards.

However, the ‘Good on You’ directory currently rates the brand’s overall sustainability performance as just 2 out of 5, or ‘not good enough’.

Price and competition

With an RRP of £160/$180, the Keen Pyrenees is competitively priced, particularly for an all-leather boot. We’ve also seen it on sale at deep discounts (admittedly in limited colours, quantities and sizes), which makes an already good value boot an absolute steal. A good target price is £145 – if you can find them cheaper than that, you’ve done very well.

In fact, we’re struggling to think of many genuine three-season boots that offer such versatile performance at this price point, which is why the Pyrenees is our overall best value pick in our three-season walking boot test for 2025.

One rival would be the Vasque Breeze (our best value choice back in 2023), but as Vasque announced it will be shuttering its doors back in October 2024, it’s now pretty tricky to pick up a pair.

The Pyrenees would also be the better choice for walkers with broad feet who’ve struggled to find accommodating boots in the past, as it’s very generous in the forefoot and toebox.

If you want an even burlier and more protective boot with similar construction, you could look at something like the Lowa Renegade or the Altberg Tethera. But both are heavier and pricier than the Pyrenees.

On the flipside, if you want a lighter and more flexible boot, multiple options come into play from brands like Hoka, Inov8 and Merrell. You’ll mostly have to sacrifice long-term durability and overall protection, though.

The exception to that is possibly the Merrell Moab Speed 2 Mid Leather WP, which still has leather uppers for more reliable lifetime performance and solid waterproofing. But as a mid-height boot, it’s still easy to overtop it in deeper puddles and boggy terrain, and it lacks the more supportive higher ankle design of the Pyrenees.

For more technical mountain use, we’d recommend looking at the AKU Trekker Lite III (a former ‘Gear of the Year’ winner), the Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX (our 2024 ‘Best in Test’ pick) or the Salewa Mountain Trainer 2 Mid GTX (our 2025 ‘Best in Test’).

These are all very capable three-season options well suited to bagging summits and scrambling along ridges. But they all feel firmer underfoot and are more expensive than the Keen option.

Verdict

A versatile and value-orientated boot with good cushioning, durable leather uppers and an accommodating fit.

About the author

This boot was tested by hiking fanatic Ellie Clewlow, with input from her partner Matt Jones, both of whom live in the heart of Snowdonia National Park. Ellie spends a lot of her time out on the trail and has hiked the Pennine Way, Cambrian Way, West Highland Way and Great Glen Way. She’s also hiked in Iceland, the US, Hawaii and New Zealand

Matt is a vastly experienced gear tester and self-confessed outdoor kit geek. Matt’s been one of our main gear testers for the last couple of years and is the first person we call with any complicated kit queries that need in-depth and forensic analysis.