Hiking/Scrambling Shoes
Scarpa Zen Pro
$169, 2 lb. 1 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 38-47, 48
backcountry.com
Even as shoes have gotten more technologically advanced, it’s still the rare breed that crosses over nimbly between comfort for hiking many miles and performance for steep, off-trail scrambling. But thanks to unique construction and materials, the Zen Pro proved itself that kind of unusual hybrid on dayhikes up to eight miles in Utah’s Canyonlands and Arches national parks and for approaching rock-climbing routes in Idaho’s Castle Rocks State Park.