You’ve still got a handful of miles to go before reaching the car when the blue skies turn grey and release enough rain to make you consider building an arc. Good thing that you laced up your Patagonia Scree Shield Mid Waterproof boots; built tough with a waterproof suede leather upper for protection and rubber rand and toe bumper for durability and protection; the Scree Shield mountain kicks can stand up to a beating … or ten.
When Patagonia offered our team the opportunity to review the Scree Shield Mid Waterproof hikers, we grabbed the box and promptly handed them off to one of our most experienced Alpinists’ to put them through the paces. After all, when you’ve got over 200 summits under your belt you know the in and outs of being a good hiker.
On Performance and Design…
You don’t like limits, so don’t settle for boots that can’t handle changes in the terrain or conditions on the trail. The Patagonia Men’s Scree Shield Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots combine the lightweight comfort of hikers with the technical features of aggressive approach shoes. Burn through the miles on the flats or scramble to the base of a vertical face. Either way, these Patagonia kicks are ready to move.
While the casual hiker may not pay much attention to minor details like a shoe’s lacing system, it’s still a crucial feature to ensure proper fit. Which is why the Patagonia design team paid plenty of attention to this feature in the Scree Shield. Our field guru loved Patagonia’s Dynamic Fit lacing System ensuring the user can lock in a precise fit that helps keep the foot secure and ready to breeze over rugged terrain like it’s nobody’s business. Fit bonus… these durable day-trippers also stabilize the foot and help control pronation with a 15% recycled EVA foot frame.
With your foot securely in place, your tempo is bound to increase. And the faster you ascend a trail, the more stability you need from your boot. Towards those ends the Scree Shield Mids have injection-molded TPU InStep support arms to lock the heel in place. The result was tremendous performance with no heel rub, whether heading up steep and slick surfaces or scrambling up never-ending sequences of stairs in the Marin Headlands. And because what goes up must come down, a solid fit in the toebox kept the toes comfortable on the descents.
Scree-skiing is fun—but only when it’s done on purpose. So the Patagonia Scree Shield Mids features multi-surface, high-density TPU studs in the outsole’s forefoot designed to minimize slips and keep you upright. A gender-specific Vibram® Release trail running outsole, with its TC5+ rubber, effectively grips the trail. It’s an outsole designed to serve the user well, and readily bit into dry and wet granite as well as wet sloppy surfaces with confidence time and again.
The Critique…
Whether scrambling up a technical trail, or hiking along the local fire roads, the Scree Shield Mid performed admirably. While our field tester loved many of the Scree Shield’s features, there were a few tweaks that he’d like to see in future iterations that would make a solid performing shoe an excellent one. Additional cushioning and support in the heel and contours of the footbed would ensure greater comfort over longer outings. In addition, our field tester felt some additional stiffness of the topline and some slight adjustments in the fit to better accommodate a variety of ankle anatomy types would also be a great benefit to future iterations of this hiker.
Bottom Line…
Think of the Men’s Scree Shield Mid Waterproof hikers as your lightweight, waterproof means to a potential trail, ridgetop outcrop, or massive rock wall. Lace them up, point them towards the hills, and let them loose.
Manufactured by Patagonia the Men’s Scree Shield Mid Waterproof is available from Patagonia.com for $175. Sizes 7 – 12, 13, 14, 15.
*Gumption Gear Review received the Patagonia Scree Shield Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots at no cost and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The items featured was provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.