Keen Humbolt and Targhee Shoes
By James Sharp and Jon Sharp

Ah... shoes. If you are on your feet for any length of time, shoes can make or break the experience. Whether hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, or working an eight-hour shift, taking care of your feet is job number one. Keen knows this and has rapidly become one of the premier sandal brands in the U.S. It just so happens that they make other types of shoes too. Earlier this year they sent us a pair of the Targhee lightweight hikers and a pair of the Humbolt running shoes to try out. Having used their sandals for over a year, I couldn't wait to try out their shoes.

Humbolt
Targhee

Humbolt
Keen approached the job of creating a trail-running shoe buy trying to keep it as much like their sandals as possible. Almost the entire upper is made of a soft and stretchy mesh material. There is webbing extending from the sole to secure the laces. This webbing also wraps around the heel—which means tightening the laces tightens around the heel as well. As with most, if not all Keen shoes, there is a large rubber bumper over the front of the shoe—extending up from the sole. The soles is made up of many triangular lugs spaced closely together. There is a large Achilles cutout in the collar.

Right away, the first thing I noticed was how comfortable this design was. The mesh is nice and stretchy and gives the shoe somewhat of a non-binding feel. Also, these shoes are light, and the mesh accentuates this feeling.

The second thing I noticed was how loose these shoes felt. I had difficulty getting them tight, not because they fit big, but more because of the really thing and stretchy nature of the mesh uppers. Upon tightening the laces more, I was able to get the Humbolts to feel more secure. The downside, however, was that I felt pressure from the webbing across the tops off my toes. This could have been alleviated with lace locks—so that I could tighten the shoe, and still leave the toe-box loose. However, without lace locks I got around this issue by not crossing the laces over the middle of the shoe at the lowest point. I merely went from the lowest loops straight up the side to the second set of lace loops (through the webbing) before crossing over the middle. This kept things tight with the shoe, but loosened up the toe-box more to my liking.

When stagnant, the mesh doesn't seem as breathable as you'd expect from true mesh. Keep in mind this is a close-holed mesh. Once in motion, however, I could readily feel the airflow—which is quite nice on a warm summer day. The Humbolt excels at light-weight (without much load) fast hikes or runs. They have plenty of padding and the lug pattern on the sole provides very good traction without being uncomfortable on smooth surfaces, such as asphalt. One place I didn't like these shoes was on very steep ascents. I felt the webbing that wrapped around the heel of the shoe would often provide undue pressure on the back of my foot. Most of the time, I didn't notice, but it became readily apparent on the climbs.

Summary: The Humbolt is a trail running shoe designed to go light and fast. If you add too much weight to your pack, and slow it down to a hike, the Humbolt won't feel nearly as comfortable—nor as cool.

Targhee
The Targhee is a trail shoe, through and through. It features an aggressive out sole with tall lugs for traction in the loosest soil. The toe has Keens trademark bumper to fend off roots and rocks and to keep your toes in good shape. The toe is also rounded, something that I find very comfortable. The collar is nicely padded and is notched — naturally — at the Achilles tendon. The upper is leather and mesh and the liner is synthetic. The insole and outer sole provide the right amount of cushion for all day use. Initially I found the toe box to be a little too low, necessitating the use of a thinner sock — something along the lines of a Coolmax sock.

This Targhee review starts with the Targhee and ends with the Targhee 2. There is little different between the two models, but enough to warrant the "2" designation. First off, the Targhee wasn't waterproof, while the Targhee 2 uses the eVent waterproof barrier to keep moisture out. Oddly enough, I think that the Targhee 2 breathes better than the Targhee as well. Keen also made a subtle change in the toe box increasing the overhead room and, consequently, increasing the comfort with normal cotton socks. Overall, the fit and finish of the Targhee 2 is much better than I saw in the Targhee. From here on out, I'll be talking about the Targhee 2, as it is the shoe that is for sale now, but keep in mind that if you see the Targhee in the bargain section, there is a reason it is there. The Targhee 2 is the shoe to get.

These are comfortable shoes. I've used them day in and day out. The rounded toe provides ample room for my toes to move around in and they never felt cramped. The out sole provided plenty of traction, regardless of the terrain — in mud, scree, hard pack... you name it, traction was never an issue. The sole appears to be long lasting as well. Despite heavy use, there is minimal wear.

Bear in mind, however, that this is not a backpacking shoe. It is a lightweight hiker, and is suitable for day trips where the loads are kept to a minimum. The sole isn't stiff enough for heavy backpacking — though there is a stiffener — and since this is a low top shoe — there is a Targhee Mid 2 that is taller — there isn't enough ankle support for demands of loaded hiking. Keeping that limitation in mind, the Targhee does very well in it's intended environment. There really is little I'd change, other than making the shoe a little more breathable, though the Targhee 2 doesn't do as bad a job as the original Targhee.

Summary: The Targhee 2 is a very comfortable shoe. I've used the shoe for everything from walking around town to hiking in the mud. It's served me well on the trail and on the street. I appreciate the roomy toe box and grippy outsole. The tread lugs are spaced well enough to resist packing up, but still provide ample traction. Keen fixed everything I didn't like in the original Targhee when they updated it to the Targhee 2. This is a very good lightweight hiking shoe.

James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com whose expertise is much broader than just lights. Both he and Jon Sharp have a blog.

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Keen Footware
info@keenfootwear.com