The Outdoor Participation Trends Report found that outdoor participation increased by 6.9 percent since the pandemic began in early 2020, with more than half (164 million) Americans ages six and older participating in an outdoor activity in 2021. According to the report, the second most popular outdoor activity is hiking. When you’re out on the trails, you need a hiking boot or shoe that is lightweight but still offers support and protection from the elements, whether that’s a creek crossing or a rock scramble.

Xero Shoes’ barefoot-inspired, comfortable lightweight hiking boots allow your feet to move, bend, and flex naturally so you can cover any distance of trail comfortably. Stiffness and weight don’t necessarily translate to comfort: all of Xero’s hiking boots/shoes weigh in under 14 ounces (each). Hikers love our hiking boots because they’re so comfortable, with a foot-shaped design, wide toe box and non-elevated heel.

Xero Shoes’ Lightweight Hiking Boots

Daylite Hiker Fusion All-Purpose Water-Repellant Boot

Built for those times when you don’t need a heavy technical boot, but want the advantages of a grippy lugged sole with added protection, durability, and ankle protection.

TerraFlex II All-Purpose Hiking Shoe

An update from Xero Shoes’ original TerraFlex, the upgraded welded upper increases mid-foot flexibility, wicking mesh keeps your feet cool and dry, and an aggressive lugged sole provides confident traction.

 

Xcursion Fusion Rugged Waterproof Hiking Boot

The lugged FeelTrue® sole gives you great traction, while an embedded TrailFoamTM layer provides extra protection and comfort. The Xcursion Fusion features a fully waterproof X-Dri® technology, with a seam-sealed inner bootie and water-resistant membrane and includes a welded upper.

Whether you’re heading to the mountains for a hike, escaping to a faraway beach or exploring a city on your bucket list, you need a travel-friendly shoe that’s versatile and comfortable, no matter where the day takes you. And due to their minimalist design, Xero Shoes are so lightweight they can bend in half, making them easily packable in even the smallest luggage, saving precious weight.

Instead of packing multiple shoes for every activity, reviewers boast that these travel-friendly Xero Shoes are the only ones they pack on a trip!

Best Xero Shoes to Pack for Travel

For a shoe that you’ll use not just for all the city exploring on vacation or walking during airport travel days, but when you want to sneak in a workout. The HFS is an all-around favorite that’s much more lightweight than other running shoes.

We recently returned from a three week trip to France traipsing through airports, through the train station, climbing spiral stone steps up to the top of a castle and up the many, many steps Mount Saint Michel, tramping over numerous uneven cobblestone streets, over some rocky areas in Normandy, through vineyards, and through oak orchards following a truffle-hunting dog. Some days were a bit long with tours both in the morning and the afternoon. But through it all my feet felt wonderful; liked they’d been massaged all day! For the first time I’d never had the feeling of “I can’t wait to get back to the hotel or ship to kick my shoes off.” Even on the airplane, I didn’t take off my shoes – a first! All that traipsing around and my shoes hardly look like they’ve hardly been worn. –Diane O,

“These are my travel shoes now. Perfect for runs and the gym, super comfortable on flights, great for walking and exploring. The black color blends in well enough to work for pretty much every situation, in my opinion. I wear them with jeans or dress pants… I just can’t stand to wear any other shoes anymore…” – Daniel J .

Want a comfortable, no-frills shoe that you can easily slip on and off? The Aptos Casual Hemp Canvas Shoe is a great pick for sightseeing or recovering from a day of active travel.

“I am on a trip from Arizona to Helsinki Finland right now and can’t say enough good things about my new shoes! I stepped into my Aptos shoes and didn’t suffer the usual blister or rubbing that I have always had with a new pair of shoes. These are so comfortable and work so well for me. I can now travel without fear of damage to my sole lol.”Barb P.

Just got back from a trip to Europe and a pair of black Hana’s was all I took with me. Perfect walking shoe. Classy enough to dress up for some nicer dinners. Just comfortable all around. If you wanna save space in your bag, skip the sneakers and get a pair of these. And yup, these are my everyday shoes at home too! –David T.

The TerraFlex II Hiking Shoe is an all-purpose hiking shoe for adventure travelers that fill their vacations with hiking, trail running and more!

I wore these shoes every day during an extended 26 day work trip overseas…They are perfect travel shoes as they are light weight and easy to pack and most importantly, comfortable! The performance during the hikes was really impressive- great grip in some pretty steep and snowy situations. While city walking, I was happily surprised that they kept my feet dry even on rainy days when I was dodging puddles…. – Rhonda W.

Hitting the beach or a tropical vacation and still want to get in your workouts? Whether you’re beach running or creek crossing on your hike, the Aqua X Sport Water Shoe sheds water easily so you won’t have to worry about wet feet.

I traveled to Japan with these and they got me through days relaxing on the river, road runs in the pouring rain and a hike to the peak of Mt. FUJI. The hike up Mt. Fuji consisted of heavy rains, mud and Rocky trail and the Aqua X Sport performed better than I could have hoped. Thanks Xero! – Kirk B.

If you’re headed to a warm-weather destination, pack the Z-Trail EV Sandal, which can withstand hours of walking or paddling without any blisters. At just over 4 ounces, you’ll barely realize they’re in your luggage.

“I bought these before a 2 week trip to Greece. I wore them the entire time and my feet were never sore. They were the perfect adventure travel shoe.” – Aaron O

This sandal has been my day to day sandal used while travelling in Italy and it’s perfect for all types of activities.  – Pascal P.

Plus, several research studies tout that daily activity or just walking in minimal footwear strengthens feet. And if you’re headed out for a super long trip, Xero Shoes has a 5,000-mile sole warranty, even for our performance shoes. (For reference, most performance footwear only lasts 300-500 miles.)

However, we want to say that any of Xero Shoes are great for travel!

Inc. magazine today revealed that Xero Shoes ranked No. 1498 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

This is the fifth year in a row that Xero Shoes makes the listing, as the company has grown by 316 percent over three years, from 2017 to 2020, and added 20 jobs.

Says co-founder and CEO, Steven Sashen, “Given how challenging the last few years have been, we’re grateful that both our incredible team and passionate customers have allowed us to continue growing at this rapid rate.”

Xero Shoes has been a recipient of several other 2021 awards: Sashen was named on the 2021 Titan 100 list featuring Colorado’s top 100 CEOs and C-level executives. Xero Shoes ranks number three in BizWest’s Mercury 100 and number 11 on Colorado Biz Magazine’s Top 100 Women-Owned Companies. Xero Shoes is the official footwear sponsor of the USA Olympic Artistic Swimming Team and USA Olympic Archery Team.

Not only have the companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but this year’s list also proved especially resilient and flexible given 2020’s unprecedented challenges. Xero Shoes in particular has overcome supply chain challenges while still growing their revenue by 88 percent in 2020.

“Being named to the Inc. 5000 demonstrates our team’s resilience and commitment to provide the best customer experience to our community,” said Lena Phoenix, Co-Founder and CFO of Xero Shoes.

Among the companies named by Inc. 5000, the average median three-year growth rate soared to 543 percent, and median revenue reached $11.1 million. Together, those companies added more than 610,000 jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

Grab the press release about this achievement at https://ctdev.guruslabs.com//press/

Xero Shoes is proud to be the footwear supplier for USA Artistic Swimming and USA Archery.

I know what you’re thinking: swimmers don’t wear shoes.

True, but they need shoes to get to and from the pool and, hopefully, when they’re on the podium.

Plus swimmers need strong feet and research from Dr. Sarah Ridge showed that merely walking in minimalist shoes like Xero Shoes build foot muscle strength (the study used a different, similar, brand).

Archers, find that a thin, flexible sole gives them a more connected feeling to the ground, which can help, too.

We wish all the Xero Shoes athletes the best of luck in the Tokyo Olympics… and beyond!

Discover the comfort, fun, and benefits of Xero Shoes here

Did you know we are the footwear provider for a couple Olympic teams?

Yup.

We got a write up about this in the Denver Business Journal.

We provide footwear for USA Artistic Swimming (formerly “synchronized swimming”) and USA Archery.

Here’s a fun pic of the swimmers wearing their Colorado.

No, they don’t actually wear our shoes when they’re competing. They did this for fun.

We also got them some Z-Trail sandals to wear to and from the pool, some Aqua X Sport water shoes, and some HFS for when they are (HOPEFULLY) on the podium any time they win a competition

And here’s a pic of archer, Brady Ellison from his Instagram. He’s in the Mesa Trail which, while it was designed for trail running, gives great grip for archers (and, we hear, golf, Frisbee golf, and ultimate Frisbee, too).

While we love the idea that we’re on a world stage along with multi-billion dollar brands, we’re happier that these athletes think they’re performing better thanks to Xero Shoes.

Look for Xero Shoes when you’re watching the Tokyo Summer Games.

And BEST OF LUCK to the Xero Shoes wearing athletes.

Are you Canadian? Know anyone in Canada?

If so, you’ll be happy to hear that MEC is now carrying Xero Shoes.

At the moment, you can find the Mesa Trail and HFS on their website:

If you don’t know, the Mesa-Trail is our lightweight trail running shoe. Grippy, comfy, breathable, with a wide toe box and non-elevated zero-drop heel for proper posture.

The HFS is our road runner (though people are wearing it all day, every day, for practically everything). Also super light weight and, as always, with a wide toe box and zero-drop sole.

Some ask, “What does ‘HFS’ stand for?”  Well, it could be a LOT of things — Hyper Fast Shoe, Highly Flexible Sole, Happy Feet Shoe, or what many have said when they first put it on “Holy ___ ___!”

Both are backed by our 5,000 mile sole warranty.

Whether you run, or lift, or hike, or just workout indoors (like many of us during Covid-19), we know you’ll love these shoes.

And we’re glad it’s now easier for our friends up north to Live Life Feet First!

BIG CONGRATS to Dave Cavanagh

Dave is a multiple-time “walk on” to American Ninja Warrior. He was, finally, invited to compete in the recent try-outs in Baltimore and… well… check out how he did.

And check out the shoes he’s wearing!

Yup, those are our best-selling running/fitness shoe, the Prio.

 

Dave is heading to Las Vegas for the finals and we’re all rooting for him!