9 Italian Hiking Boots Brands: Our Top Picks

9 Italian Hiking Boots Brands: Our Top Picks

Italy is renowned all over the world for its beautiful natural sights, which are ideal for those who love to spend time outdoors, hiking, camping, backpacking, or practicing outdoor sports. We have previously seen some of the best Italian hiking trails here.

But the country is also the place where many famous outdoor brands are born, some of them with many decades of history. We have seen some of these outdoor clothing and jackets brands here, so definitely take a look at that selection if you want to learn more.

Today we will continue with some other brands from Italy, this time we will review some popular brands that design high-quality shoes for hiking, trekking, mountain adventures, etc.

Among the product line of these brands, you will find different styles, designs, and features, for every personal taste and experience level.

Without any further ado, let’s begin!

Contents:

1. La Sportiva

la sportiva website
La Sportiva official website

La Sportiva produces shoes and boots since 1928. It was founded by Narciso Delladio and in the beginning designed products for lumberjacks and farmers in the Val di Fiemme (Trentino, Italy).

Later they began creating shoes for sports like hiking, and trail running, and for mountain enthusiasts in general.

Must read: La Sportiva vs Salomon Shoes: Which Brand is Better?

After that, seeing the strong demand for these products, the company specialized and refined its technologies, and nowadays they offer not only a wide range of shoes and boots, but also technical apparel for various sports and outdoor activities.

Among the main technologies and materials they use for their shoes, we can find the FriXion® technology, Gore-Tex® and Nano-Cells™.

Today La Sportiva is one of the leading brands in the outdoors market, offering its products to more than 70 countries in the world.

La Sportiva Fast Hiking Series With Gore-Tex Surround Technology

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2. Zamberlan

zamberlan website
Zamberlan official website

Zamberlan makes shoes and boots for hiking, mountaineering, and hunting. Giuseppe Zamberlan started his work as a shoemaker in 1929, with a big passion for mountain activities.

He tried to create shoes that were secure and comfortable, and from the beginning, he collaborated with Vitale Bramani, the founder of Vibram®, with an aim to create and use soles that were made of rubber, instead of leather.

In the 1970s the son of Giuseppe, Emilio took the place of the father and with the help of his wife, the brand started to become internationally recognized.

Read also: 10 Best Hiking Boots Brands You Should Try this Year

In the following years, the brand has collaborated with Vibram and Gore-Tex®, and has also created some of its own technologies like Hydrobloc® which is a method of treating leather so that it maintains its natural properties of being breathable and waterproof.

In the 1980s the company created the LADY LITE shoe that is specifically designed for women’s feet and it had an immediate success.

Nowadays, Zamberlan is a renowned brand selling its products all over the world. It has been a part of many sports and outdoor initiatives, has collaborated with climbers and sponsored mountain expeditions, and has won many international awards.

Don’t miss: Zamberlan vs Scarpa Boots: Which Brand is Better?

Zamberlan Brand Video

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3. Garmont

garmont website
Garmont official website

Another Italian brand is Garmont, born in 1964 in Montebelluna (Italy) and highly focused on hiking boots, but you will also find shoes for everyday life in their product line.

Read next: 11 Best Hiking Backpacks Brands: Our Top Picks

They use mainly Vibram soles to make the shoes comfortable and high performing, and Gore-Tex for its waterproofness and breathability, two very important features of quality outdoor gear.

We personally like their great attention to detail and their anatomy-based designs.

Read also: European Hiking Boots and Shoes: 9 Brands that You’ll Love

Garmont - Who we are

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4. ASOLO

asolo website
ASOLO official website

Asolo‘s history begins in 1946 with the Zanatta family which started designing and producing mountain shoes in a small shop situated in “Nervesa della Battaglia”, Italy.

After WWII ended, their shoes began gaining popularity and sales increased. The success continued with the next generation of the Zanatta family through the 1960s and 1970s, which continued the work of their parents with the same passion and dedication.

The “ASOLO” brand was created in 1975 by Giancarlo Tanzi and was accompanied at the time by some innovations like the use of Cordura materials and Gore-Tex fabrics.

In 1998, the third generation of the Zanatta family took control of the company, bought the “ASOLO” brand, and continued producing quality shoes following their traditions.

Today the brand is renowned worldwide for its high-quality outdoor boots and shoes, they have won several awards and have contributed to the market with innovative technologies such as Asoflex, AFS, Asoframe, Asosorb, etc.

In their product line, you will find shoes for hiking, backpacking, and for everyday life in the city, for men, women, and children.

Don’t miss: 8 German Boot Brands for Hiking and Outdoor Activities

NEW MATRIX 2 0 2015

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5. AKU

aku website
AKU official website

AKU was founded in the 1980s by Galliano Bordin and is focused on creating quality shoes not only for the wild outdoors but also for urban wear.

You can wear their boots and shoes on your next mountain adventure or for going on a walk in your favorite city park. They offer minimal designs with simple lines but are modern and stylish at the same time.

Among the technologies they use, we can mention Gore-Tex® and Vibram® again, along with PrimaLoft® for cold weather gear.

Special attention in the brand’s mission is placed on the sustainability of the production means, for example in their Zero Impact leather technology.

Read next: French Hiking Boots and Shoes: Our 5 Favorite Brands

6. SCARPA

scarpa website
SCARPA official website

SCARPA has been founded in 1938 in Asolo, Italy by Rupert Edward Cecil Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh.

With more than 80 years of history, the brand today produces boots and shoes for many outdoor activities from hiking and trail running, to climbing and backpacking.

One of the most important points of their mission is that of creating products by listenings to the needs of the end customers. They have done so since the beginning by collaborating with various athletes (around 200) like the Austrian climber Heinz Mariacher, to test their products.

This testing process has proven to be successful over the years when it comes to guaranteeing comfortable, high-performance, and durable shoes.

During the last few years, SCARPA has grown to 900 employees, they offer a very wide range of products and, as they say on their website, “the Research and Development Department is the true engine of the company”.

Must read: Scarpa vs La Sportiva Shoes: Which Brand is Better?


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7. Gronell

gronell website
Gronell official website

Gronell, based in Roverè Veronese (Italy), offers “Made in Italy” mountain, backpacking, and hiking footwear.

The brand was founded in 1957 by Nello Grossule who had a passion to create quality shoes for his customers in his little town. In the coming years, thanks to his dedication, experience, the refinement of the production process, and the use of only quality materials, Gronell becomes recognized all over Italy.

Today the company is run by his sons Fabio e Mario Grossule who continue following the family tradition which, along with the use of modern technologies, has helped them grow the brand.

Some of the main materials and technologies used by Gronell are natural leather, SympaTex, and Vibram.

8. Fitwell

fitwell website
Fitwell official website

Fitwell is another brand based in Northern Italy which produces a wide range of boots and shoes.

In their product line, you will find shoes for expeditions, alpinism, backpacking, hiking, work, and for everyday life.

The brand’s history begins in 1979 with Giuliano Grotto who created the company “ONESport”, which later, in the 1990s was bought by a French group.

It is during that time that the “Fitwell” brand appears and quickly regains the popularity of ONESport by following its tradition and experience.

Nowadays, Fitwell’s handmade and “Made in Italy” products are present in more than 20 countries.

Making of Fitwell foowear - 10

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9. Andrew Shoes

andrew shoes website
Andrew Shoes official website

Andrew Shoes was founded in 1981 and is based in Montebelluna, Treviso, Italy.

Since the beginning, they have been focused on creating high-quality and innovative products, while keeping all their production process in that same region of Italy.

They use reliable and widely known materials and technologies like natural leather, Vibram outsoles, SympaTex laminates for faster moisture wicking, as well as their own production techniques.

Andrew designs shoes mainly for hiking, trekking, hunting, fishing, and working in the woods, thus covering many outdoor activities for both work and leisure time.

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And that concludes our selection for today. We hope that we gave you some new ideas on where to shop for your next hiking or mountain shoes.

Do you know any other Italian brands similar to these? Let us know in the comments below.

2 Comments

  1. There are many other Italian brands for hiking boots like:
    – Dolomite
    – CMP
    – Salewa
    – Tecnica

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