I’ve long considered the Teva brand synonymous with sandals. That goes back to my middle school years when my dad proposed we take a guided raft trip. Despite minimal prior experience with watercraft of any kind, we decided a 5-night, 6-day trip down the Middle Fork of Idaho’s Salmon River was the adventure for us.
Then we went shopping. My dad bought his first pair of Tevas. I, on the other hand, went with a pair of water sandals from a renowned maker of basketball shoes. My dad’s sandals ended up being the same brand — even the same style — as those of our raft guides. I, on the other hand, ended up with deep, painful blisters just a couple of days into the trip.
Given my personal history with Teva, not to mention the fact that over the years, Teva has leaned into its reputation as the “founder of the modern sport sandal category,” I was surprised to see a press release about Teva launching a hiking shoe — and I was quite keen to try them out.
Now, after 3 months of using the Teva Trailwinder Low on trails around Colorado, I’m glad I did. The shoe is a comfortable, lightweight trail companion perfect for short, fast hikes on a variety of terrain types.
In short: The Teva Trailwinder Low proves itself to be a capable, fully enclosed shoe (despite coming from a brand that considers itself the architect of the modern sport sandal). There’s room for improvement in the midsole’s durability, but overall, this shoe seems poised to propel the sandal brand further into the fast-hike/trail-runner category.
If you’re shopping for hiking shoes, compare the Teva Trailwinder to others on GearJunkie’s Guide to the Best Hiking Shoes.
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Lightweight, breathable design -
Versatile for trail running and hiking -
Reliable grip on rocky terrain -
Comfortable, responsive midsole
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Midsole lacks durability -
Limited ability to tighten forefoot region -
Long drying time
Teva Trailwinder Low Hiking Shoe Review
As the story goes, the Teva brand was born in 1984 on the banks of the Colorado River. A raft guide with two spare watches attached the watches’ Velcro straps to his flip-flops, and voilà: He had a pair of water shoes that wouldn’t be whisked off his feet and float downstream.
Like any good brand, Teva has expanded and evolved. It has added different strap configurations and burlier outsoles to its sandal line-up. In the late ’90s, Teva even introduced its first closed-toe hiking shoes. They just never reached the icon status its sandals have.
Teva’s Fall 2024 lineup included the Trailwinder Low and two other dryland companions, the Ellwood Mid and winterized Auroris. The brand is clearly trying to boost its credibility in non-water terrain.
Initial Impressions
The Trailwinder Low is billed as a shoe “intentionally designed to be the perfect low-mileage, fast-hike style that also provides all-day comfort.” That’s precisely how I use my hiking shoes: For dawn patrol outings and after-work workouts on local trails.
When I first pulled these shoes out of the box, I didn’t notice anything striking about it. The shoes are lightweight, though not featherweight. They have a standard stack height of 32 mm in the heel and 26 mm in the forefoot for a women’s size 7.
The Trailwinder also has traditional shoe laces (not a Boa or a proprietary quick-lace system). And their uppers use a run-of-the-mill mesh fabric, albeit one made from fully recycled polyester.
When I flipped the Trailwinder Low over, however, I noticed something different from my other trail shoes. The 6mm lugs, each of which loosely mimics the shape of a goat’s hoof, feature a new-to-me tiered silhouette. I assumed that the design would add an extra dose of grip on uneven terrain.
And I was right.
“The chevron shape is optimal for varying trail and hiking terrains,” Nick Deneffe, senior product line manager, performance for Teva, told GearJunkie. “It enables the lugs to dig in like an excavator scoop, to dig through terrain when climbing, and to brake on the descent to keep you from slipping.”
Deneffe explained that the tiered design allows the lugs to penetrate the ground and maximize surface contact, which in turn maximizes traction and grip with every step.
Traction in Action
I first tested that claim in Boulder on the iconic First/Second Flatiron Trail, which gains just over 1,000 feet of elevation in just under 1 mile. The trail isn’t long. But it is rocky and rooty and involves a brief section of light scrambling.
The Trailwinder Low performed beautifully. I was able to maintain my footing and felt solid and stable throughout the hike. The mesh upper ventilated effectively, so my feet didn’t overheat despite hot temps. I felt light on my feet as I charged the terrain. Color me impressed.
The proprietary Spider Rubber traction found on the Trailwinder Low continued to perform well on successive outings up the First/Second Flatiron Trail and on other hikes around the Front Range. About a month into using them regularly, I began noticing a bit more slippage. However, that could partially be attributed to dusty trail conditions after more than 30 days of zero rainfall. My friend in Hokas was slipping more than I was.
While the Trailwinder Low isn’t designed for winter outings (they aren’t waterproof), I tried them out after Boulder got its first snow of the year, just for good measure. Minus not being waterproof or insulated, I loved these hiking shoes on a flat, snowy trail run over gravel. The burly lugs ate into the 2 inches of fresh snow quite well.
They also worked effectively on a steeper trail in dense, slushy snow. I only slipped minimally, though my feet were soaked by the end of the hike. The shoes then took about 2 days to dry out. The updated waterproof GORE-TEX iteration is set to come out in fall 2025 and should remedy the latter issue.
As for their performance on more rugged trails once it gets icy? The lugs are burly, but they’re still made from rubber, not metal. When wearing them on packed, snow-turned-to-ice trails, I didn’t trust the lugs to keep me upright. But I wouldn’t trust the lugs on my Hokas, Salomons, La Sportivas, or Oboz to keep me upright, either.
What I did like, however, is that the Trailwinder Low’s smooth exterior profile made it easy to slip on my Kahtoola Microspikes.
Comfort
The Trailwinder Low weighs 1 pound, 2 ounces for a pair of women’s size 7s, within the standard range for hiking shoes. Compared with other shoes on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Hiking Shoes for Women, the Trailwinder would be the lightest shoe on the list.
The shoes never felt cumbersome or heavy like a more traditional boot would have. The cushy midsole was a welcome addition for both short, fast trail excursions and as a general around-town shoe.
One day, I wore them for more than 7 hours straight during a service project followed by a hike. I can confidently report that my dogs weren’t barking. These shoes indeed live up to that promise of “provid[ing] all-day comfort.”
Fit
Look inside the Trailwinder Low, and you’ll see two swathes of a stretchy polyester/spandex blend fabric secured below the footbed and attached to the tongue.
Dubbed the NAVILOCK internal bootie, it “keeps the tongue in place, the foot secure, and provides added support in the midfoot,” Deneffe says. “If we didn’t have that feature in there, you would notice less support, a looser fit, and probably not have total confidence over certain terrains.”
I’m willing to believe that the NAVILOCK internal bootie provided bonus support around the midfoot. But actually, I found myself wanting even more support in certain instances. All was fine on gravel and wide, flat parts of the trail. When moving quickly across rocky sections, however, the fit didn’t feel loose exactly. But my foot didn’t feel totally secure either, even after tying the laces down tight.
Perhaps a more robust construction around the ankle, or even an underfoot chassis, would help. However, that would inevitably come with a weight penalty.
Durability of Teva Trailwinder
Teva is, without question, more accustomed to building shoes for water excursions than for rocky terrain. It has focused on that environment for the past 40 years. So perhaps it’s not surprising that there’s room for improvement when it comes to durability.
Overall, the shoe has held up well these past few months. The mesh upper, reinforced rubber around the lace eyelets, and the laces themselves show no signs of rips or fraying. Inside, the footbed still has a nice spring to it. And the Spider Rubber outsole is, for the most part, just dirty, not chewed up.
The LITE-COMF midsole, however, began flaking off in the region above the outsole just a month in, and it’s gotten even worse with time.
Notably, the midsole’s functionality remains intact. To be fair, I primarily wore the Trailwinder Low on especially rocky trails around the aptly named Boulder. If I’d been on dirt or gravel trails, the midsoles certainly would have fared better. Still, I was surprised at how quickly the rubber began showing wear and tear.
Teva Trailwinder Low Hiking Shoes: Conclusion
Overall, the Teva Trailwinder Low is a hiking shoe built to go fast on low-mileage days. They could probably even double as running shoes in a pinch. They’re also a great option for trips where packing space is at a premium.
I’d like to see the Teva Trailwinder Low improve slightly in stability department. I’d also like to see a lot of improvement in the midsole’s durability. But overall, the comfort, breathability, and especially the traction of Teva’s first hiking shoe make me excited to see what other trail footwear Teva will introduce in the future.
