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Ahnu has discontinued this model of the Montara shoe.
REASONS TO BUY
Durable construction
REASONS TO AVOID
Poor arch support
Little cushioning
The Ahnu Montara III is a heavy-duty hiking shoe built to last for miles. While the stiff sole does provide some good lateral stability, it has some of the worst arch support out of any model in this review. We noticed it only slightly with a light daypack, but once we had more than 20 pounds on we could feel our arches collapsing with each step, leading to an uncomfortable day out. Other shoes we tested have more comfortable and supportive soles that will support your feet even with a heavy pack.
This shoe is a good choice for wider-footed ladies who are looking for a stiff-soled model. There's not a lot of arch support, so if you do have flat feet this will be a good choice for you as well.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Ahnu Montara III has an EVA midsole and a Vibram Megagrip outsole. There's an eVent waterproof/breathable membrane, and the upper is nubuck leather. We found them to run a bit wide, so they may not work if you have a narrow foot.
Performance Comparison
This beefy hiking shoe is made for hiking hard trails, however, they were very wide and had little arch support, and as a result, they didn't score very high on our tests.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Comfort
We had a hard time rating this one for comfort because of the poor fit for our feet. Looking purely at the cushioning underfoot, there is a good amount in both the heel and forefoot. It wasn't as plush as some shoes we tested, but it certainly wasn't the least cushioned shoe, either. However, because the cut is so wide in the size that we tested, and the arch support so lacking, we didn't find this shoe very comfortable in the end. If you have wider feet or flat arches, this shoe might be comfortable for you, and as such, we decided to give it an average grade for comfort.
There is an adequate amount of cushioning on this shoe and it protected our feet from sharp rocks.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Support
The Montara has fairly good lateral support, but when it comes to the arch, this shoe feels completely flat to us. The insole does have some decent shaping to it, but the wider fit and the difficulty we had tightening the shoes very closely made it hard for us to secure the shoe properly and as such it feels like there's hardly any arch support. We particularly noticed this when we took these shoes out with a heavy pack and felt our arches collapsing with every step.
The Montara's insole (right) is flat and wide, with little shaping of the arch. The Oboz Sawtooth's insole (left) has more structure and support.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Traction
The Vibram Megagrip sole on the Montara is sticky and works well on bare rock, but the lugs are on the shallow side, and we didn't get good traction on unconsolidated dirt. Other shoes have better traction on all surfaces thanks to their deep lugs and sticky rubber.
The rubber on this shoe is sticky, but the lugs are on the shallow side and didn't always get purchase on loose trails.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Weight
While not as light as many shoes that we tested, the Montara is light for a full leather shoe (1.5 pounds). If you are looking for the lightest leather shoe possible, the Montara is a good choice.
The Montara is light for a leather pair.
Credit: Cam Mckenzie Ring
Water Resistance
This shoe has a waterproof nubuck leather upper and an eVent waterproof membrane, and those do help to keep the water out. However, the ankle opening is only 3.25 inches off the ground, which makes it more likely for an errant splash of water to get into the Montara and get your feet wet. We also had some leaking in the tongue area during our water resistance tests, unlike most of the other "waterproof" models in this review that did not leak at all.
The gusset doesn't extend very far up the tongue, and water leaked into the shoe from the top during our bucket test. The outer leather and eVent membrane did their job of keeping the water out, but there is no stopping it from the top because of the tongue design.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Durability
We gave the Montara a high rating for durability. This shoe is well constructed, and though we couldn't put it through a full 250 miles or so for this review, we were impressed by how well it stood up to the miles that it did see. We also found very few durability complaints from online user reviews.
This pair has all of the features of a well-made shoe, including a reinforced toe and double stitched seams.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Value
The Montara is on the higher end of pricing for the hiking shoe market. They are well-made and durable though, so they'll be a good value if they fit you properly. Other shoes scored higher and sell for less, so make sure the fit is right if you choose this shoe.
The ankle on the Montara is cut lower than the Oboz. If you have lower than average medial or lateral malleolus bones (the round protrusions on your ankles) you may appreciate the lower cut, but we thought it made the shoe less stable and less waterproof.
Credit: Cam McKenzie Ring
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the Ahnu Montara III is not our favorite pair of hiking shoes. They are lacking in comfort and stability and don't have the best waterproof capabilities either. They are a poor fit for our feet, but perhaps they'll fit yours well.
