There’s something to be said for a company that is constantly evolving. Constantly striving for better form, better function. It’s one of the reasons our team has always respected the KEEN brand, and the new Marshall collection is no exception. Designed with an athletic mindset to meet the demands of todays fast and light hikers, the Marshall collection is the perfect outdoors partner for light hikers, fastpackers, and worldly scramblers.
The new Marshall collection offers a low cut and a mid-cut, as well as waterproof and non-waterproof versions of the shoe in both men and women’s styles. They represent the next big step in the evolution of traditional KEEN hiking boots and are the fastest hiking option KEEN has ever launched. Whichever version of the Marshall your choose, your reward is a lightweight running-inspired hiker designed to be fast and nimble while looking fresh on the trail.
On Performance and Design…
The Marshall series breathes fresh air into a world of light hikers chock full of drab browns, blacks and greys. We give credit to the KEEN design team for giving the Marshall line a fresh, fun and stylish appeal that blends into the urban environment with ease. At heart, however, these are still KEEN kicks, and the good news is that they perform as well as they look.
Overall, the Marshall collection offer a slimmer, more trimmed down fit compared to some of KEEN’s previous hikers. While there’s still plenty of room for your midfoot and toes, the closer fit promotes an athletic and agile feel that will keep moving through the woods like the evening breeze.
While putting the Marshall collection through the paces, the shoes not only tackled the foothills of Northern California, but the dry and oppressive summer heat that comes along with the region. During the dog days of Northern California’s summer, you need gear that can breathe and circulate what little cool air there is. Not only did the nylon mesh uppers promote breathability, but they kept the Marshall hikers light without sacrificing durability.
Both the men and women’s versions, the upper sports bright synthetic overlays. But these aren’t just there for aesthetic value, they also serve a valuable purpose for your life of adventure. Think of the synthetic overlays as an exoskeleton that adds extra structure and support without the burdensome weight factor.
Meanwhile, the form-fitting mesh added to the overall flexibility and agility of the shoes ensuring a comfortable ride. Coupled with a spot on fit and roomy toebox, we didn’t have to waste any time punishing feet to break in these hikers.
Once on the trail, the durable, high-rebound PU midsole absorbed the bumps and bruises of trail life while the TPU stability shank protected feet from trail debris and added support to reduce fatigue. Of course, because these are KEENs, you get the added benefit of the legendary Patented Toe Protection where the outsoles wrap up and over the toes for ultimate protection.
In our humble opinion, to truly enjoy a well-rounded exploration of nature, you’ve got to endure some rainy, soggy trails. Towards those ends the Marshall is available with the KEEN.DRY ™ waterproof breathable membrane. Whether we were chasing waterfalls, or just looking to keep out the moisture from dewy mornings and sudden showers, the KEEN.DRY system was not only impressive, but managed to turn a few of our test crew’s doubting Thomas’ into believers along the way.
The Critique ….
From lightweight packing to tackling rocky outcrops, KEEN’s high-traction outsole and deep multi-directional lugs offered plenty of grippy traction and excelled on trail terrain. No doubt, this outsole, like the Marshall shoes themselves, is durable enough for seasons of enthusiastic abuse.
Yet as pleased as our team was with traction on dry ground, it admittedly left our team underwhelmed and overly cautious on wet slick rock. On more than one instance, rock hopping across streams and tracing wet and rocky shorelines, our footing felt insecure requiring our team to take an even more cautious approach than normal. While performance on wet rock can be a difficulty for many rubber outsoles, we’d like to see the KEEN engineers develop a rubber that provides more secure traction in wet environments.
Notes from the Trail…
Over the years, there been no shortage of hiking shoes that promise the athletic performance of a trail runner with the benefits of a durable mid-duty hiker. From our perspective, the Marshall collection from KEEN is one of the first hikers to truly deliver on that promise. Despite our qualms with performance on wet rock, the Marshall family has earned rave reviews from our review team in terms of overall performance and comfort.
Bottom Line…
The Marshall family of hikers takes a more athletic approach to crushing trails and bagging peaks. It’s one shoe that will leave you actually looking for more reasons to get outside and explore.
*Gumption Gear Review received the items featured in this review from KEEN at no cost and receives no monetary compensation for this or any related review. The items featured were provided solely in return for our honest views and opinions.