Spyder Pathfinder Shoes Review

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Spyder is well known for their quality outdoor gear on the snowy slopes. They have been innovative and creative with their gear and supported everything from the professional athletes to beginners. Recently introduced was a new line of hiking shoes. Knowing they would be quality, I ordered the Spyder Pathfinder shoes.

They are marketed as a light hiker and I thought they looked pretty stylish. I ordered them in Cream/Lt Blue for hiking and have a second pair that I keep clean and wear as a casual shoe with jeans. I absolutely love them.

Constructed for Quality and Function

Spyder makes high quality gear but I was a bit skeptical about the shoes when I ordered. I thought that maybe Spyder was “stepping out of their lane” when they are well known for jackets and snow gear. Much to my relief, I found that the shoes not only looked great, but were super comfortable. I ordered them for a backpacking trip and didn’t have much time to break them in before trekking up to 12,000 feet near Aspen, CO. No worries about the break in period. They were well fitting and comfortable right out of the box.

They are well constructed on the upper with a soft mesh. The tongue is attached to the sides of the shoe which was helpful in keeping it in place. The shoes have nice lacing ribbons that tighten the shoe evenly along your foot. The tough rubber rand was effective in protecting my toes from the rocky trails and challenging terrain. The laces were difficult to keep tied. They repeatedly came undone but it was easily remedied with a double knot.

I would call the toe-box area a normal fit. I have narrow feet and they were roomy but not excessive. If you have wide feet, you may want to try these on before buying them. The most notable part of the fit was the heel area. There was plenty of room for my ankle bones on the sides and the high back protected my Achilles tendon. There is a nice pull loop to assist in putting on the shoe. The heel cup is quite pronounced and really prevented this shoe from sliding in the heel area. I did 4 days of backpacking without a single hot-spot or blister.

Spyder Partnered with Michelin for the Sole

Michelin has long been known for their tires with exceptional tread. It can only be called brilliant that they would design a shoe tread. The Spyder Pathfinder sports a multi-directional lug pattern with side bars for shedding mud. Spyder even included some concentrated tread in the arch area. I played around testing the traction and figured that the small tread in the arch was for stepping on logs and preventing the sideways slide that some treads allow. It wasn’t something I had seen before and thought it very innovative. The Pathfinder really excelled on rocks when I really needed some extra grip. I’ve been wearing them for over a month on quite a few long hikes and can barely see any wear.

The Spyder Pathfinder vs. Mud

I should have taken a picture of the shoes when I was really deep in the mud. I did a full muddy soaker over the top of my shoes. What better way to see how well they clean up. I removed most of the mud out from the shoe mesh without too much effort. These shoes cleaned up so easily with a dip and swish in the lake. The light mesh material shed water easily and dried quickly once I stopped hiking for the day.

I was a bit disappointed that Spyder didn’t design these shoes with a removable insole. The Pathfinder’s sole is glued tightly to the bottom of the shoe and I wasn’t getting it out without ripping it. I felt like the clean up could’ve gone better if the sole was removable and let more air into the shoe for drying.

Technical Specs?

This is one area where I felt like Spyder did not do a great job. There was very little information about the shoe on their website except that they had partnered with Michelin on the soles. I am a tech nerd. How much do the shoes weigh? What materials did Spyder use? I did e-mail Spyder through their website and received a response 6 days later. They indicated, “They do not have a rock plate and the weight of the shoe is .65 lbs.”

• Women’s sizing: half sizes from 6-10 and size 11.
• Women’s colors: Cream (with light blue), Peach, or Black.
• Men’s sizing: half sizes from 8-12 and size 13.
• Men’s colors: Atlantic Blue, Grey, or Black.

As I mentioned earlier, the width of the shoes are what I would call “normal.” They weren’t excessively wide or narrow. They had plenty of length for a hiking shoe so that your toe didn’t jam into the end. I normally order a half size up in my hiking shoes (a size 10.5 instead of my normal 10). Since Spyder didn’t offer the 10.5 in women’s, I read other reviews and decided to order the 10. I made the right choice and the shoes fit perfectly. The lack of a rock plate did not effect my comfort in these shoes. They are very tough and protected my feet nicely.

A Great Addition to My Outdoor Gear

Spyder didn’t just create a stylish pair of hiking shoes with the Pathfinders; they also made them incredibly functional. They fit well right out of the box and didn’t need a break-in period to be comfortable. The materials are soft and supportive and cleaned up nicely after a muddy backpacking trip. Spyder has truly showcased their brand by partnering with Michelin to create these grippy, durable shoes. They seem very durable so far and they have quickly become my go to hiking and casual shoes. The price was reasonable at $140. You can check them out at spyder.com or amazon.com.