Magellan Canyon Hiking Boots Review

As an avid backpacker and an individual who doesn't know when to turn around or how to stay on the trail, I put my footwear through some considerable abuse. Regular tennis and walking shoes won't last a month on my feet when adventuring so I opt for the durability of hiking boots. I've owned numerous pairs from several quality brands over the years and loved them all, but one pair stands out from the rest and it happens to be the cheapest of them all.

After a hike through tall, wet grass that left my feet soaked, I decided to purchase a pair of waterproof hiking boots. I didn't plan on wearing them too often, so I grabbed the cheapest pair I could find, the Canyons made by Magellan (Academy's brand). The Magellan Canyon is a hi-top brown leather hiking boot. It's nothing fancy, just a traditional leather boot with a rubber sole and round laces. The tongue is connected to the boot at the bottom and the sides to provide a waterproof seal. The top of the seal is nearly 5 inches from the bottom of the boot, meaning you can stand in water 4.5 inches deep and keep your feet dry. The boots looked decent enough and matched my specifications. I purchased them for $50 and began planning my next trip where the boots would be used.

Breaking them in: Leather boots must be broken in before you can wear them for any length of time. The leather is stiff and doesn't yield while you walk. I wore the boots to work every day for two weeks to break them in. At first, my ankles were a little tender, but this was only noticeable at the end of the day. After three days of wearing the boots, the leather began to loosen up. By the end of the week, the boots were much softer. The second week was a much more pleasant experience as the boots were flexing with my ankles. Halfway through the second week, the boots felt like I'd had them for months. They were surprisingly comfortable for tall, leather boots. My toes had wiggle room, but the boots didn't slide or shift when I walked. They were a great fit and offered plenty of support. I could stand for most of the day and my feet didn't suffer for it. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of comfort from such a cheap pair of hiking boots.

The first test: The first trail I tackled while wearing the Canyons was a 3.5 mile winding path through small hills and hardwoods in Southwest Louisiana. I loaded my frame pack with 35 lbs. of water bottles and set out, testing my new boots while simultaneously conditioning for the my next backpacking trip. The boots gripped well on the loose leaves and dirt and my footing was quite stable throughout the trail. On crooked sections of the trail and while stepping on large oak roots, I found the Canyons to offer much needed ankle support. They were stiff enough to prevent ankle-rolling yet flexible enough to not hinder my longer strides and vertical steps. It's been my experience that this balance of ankle support and flexibility is rare in boots that cost less than $150.

When I finished the trail, my feet felt great. My ankles had taken no abuse and I was ready for more. The boots had turned out to be exceptional and even their claim to be waterproof had proven to be true. I was pleasantly surprised at the performance of the budget boots.

The second test: The next big test was a 22 mile trail that included the grass covered levee that originally soaked my feet and convinced me that I needed a pair of waterproof boots in the first place. It was time for revenge and I hoped that the Canyons were up to the task. With a 20 lb. backpack and more hills than I'm accustomed to, the boots had their work cut out for them, but they proved worthy. Over the next 3 days and 2 nights I walked through mud, stepped through swamps, crossed access roads, hopped ditches and traversed hills. In the mud, the boots gripped well and kept me from slipping. On the damp levee, they kept my feet dry. I was stable while ascending and descending hills and at the end of each day of hiking, my feet were fine. No blisters, no moisture, no discomfort. The cheap pair of boots had surprised me once again by outperforming my previous pair of hiking boots that cost three times as much.

The final test: The boots had seen mud, water, dirt, grass and even sandy beaches, but when I took them to Enchanted Rock near Austin, TX they encountered something new entirely. The rock, a 425 foot tall granite dome was the first hiking trip where my boots would see an unyielding surface and steep inclines in one day. I climbed over boulders the size of trucks, walked up the steep surface of the granite dome, explored caves, climbed down piles of rocky rubble I had no business playing on and waded through cacti patches that were waist high. I crawled on my belly beneath boulders and slid down rocky slopes. By the end of the day my boots had dozens of lacerations where sharp rock had gouged into the leather. They were finely scraped and covered in dust. They had sustained more damage in a single afternoon than they had in over a year of adventures. But during my day of playing on boulders and climbing up and down rocky slopes and through crooked caves, the Magellan Canyons had held up. They didn't slide over the slick granite, causing me to take a spill. They didn't flex too much and allow me to roll an ankle which would have ended my adventure prematurely. They didn't leave my feet sore from walking over rock for hours. They kept my feet safe and comfortable.

I've had my Magellan Canyons for two years now. They've seen hundreds of miles of hiking trails, hills, and dry river beds. I've worn them canoeing and to the beach. I've hiked dozens of miles of railroad tracks. I wear them every day to work, then I wear them to the movies. They're on my feet when I hang out at the bar or take my girlfriend out on a date. I've walked around the floor of a convention for 11 hours in these boots. And when the weekend rolls around, I slip them on and hit the trails. My $150 pair of hiking boots is sitting in the closet, waiting to be used. They have a long wait since I just purchased another pair of Magellan Canyons in case this tattered, worn, burnt, scratched, stained pair with frayed, burnt, melted laces ever does give out.

They're the best pair of hiking boots I've ever owned. Period. They're well worth the $50 I paid, and certainly worth the $150 I paid for the pair that they replaced.