Keen women’s Aphlex waterproof boot review 4.5/5 (2)

Keen women’s Aphlex waterproof boot review

I’ve recently been testing out KEEN’s Aphlex Boots in Plum/Shark on the mountains of Snowdonia in rain, snow, mud and even a little sun and here’s what I thought…

From the first time I tried the Keen Aphlex Boots on, I instantly liked them. They are extremely comfortable, supportive but also don’t feel bulky. Another little bonus was that I didn’t even get one blister from wearing them on their first outing on Snowdon!

The Keen Aphlex boots are very lightweight and it almost felt at times that I was wearing trail running shoes, but with the added support around the ankles that boots give you. I was very impressed at how much ankle support they really give you considering how lightweight they are. If I made any errant steps or slightly tippled over, the boot would just automatically tilt my foot back to its original position without letting my ankle go over.

Another little feature that I love is the moulded TPU heel and toe protection – just a little added protection without making the boot too heavy or clunky!

What they say:

Structure, stability and suspension define this women’s hiking boot, designed for all-around trail comfort while you head further past the horizon. It’s reinforced at the heel and toe, and the high-traction, low-profile lugs let go of debris for lighter travel

PRODUCT FEATURES + SPECIFICATIONS

– *Cleansport NXT™ for natural odor control
– Dual density compression-molded EVA midsole
– KEEN.DRY ® waterproof breathable membrane
– Lightweight mesh and synthetic upper
– Molded TPU heel and toe protection
– Multi direction lug pattern for increased traction
– Non-marking rubber outsole
– S3 for structure, stability and suspension
– Speed lacing hooks
– Stability shank
– TPU Phlexoskeleton for weightless lockdown

Like I mentioned, I’ve been testing the boots out in all sorts of weather conditions, and as you can imagine, Snowdonia is wet most of the time so the KEEN.DRY has definitely been tested to the max! There was one hike, in particular in the Carneddau area where I was pretty much walking through boggy terrain for a good few hours and my feet still felt dry and relatively warm at the end of the hike. I really like that the boots have Cleansport NXT too – they definitely smell fresher than the other boots that I tend to use that don’t have this feature!

By now, the boots have also witnessed many different types of terrain and surfaces; wet and dry rocks, trails, snow, scree and even a little ice and I was very impressed with the multi direction lug pattern on the soles. But of course if you were to a lot of scrambling on steep terrain, they don’t quite offer the same climbing tread as you might find in approach style shoes. But, they were perfect for days on the hills!

Nia Jenkins

Nia is a keen mountaineer and loves spending any spare time in the hills. She is a member of the Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue team since 2015 and there she has gained numerous qualifications and training. She summited Mt Kilimanjaro in 2014 and reached Everest Basecamp in 2015. She will be going on an expedition to Mt Blanc in 2017 and is hoping to reach Everest summit one day!