Best Waterproof Shoes for Scotland

My husband loves his Oboz.

Before visiting Norway I bought a pair of grey Skechers “Max Protect” water repellant shoes that worked great. Super comfortable as they have tempurpedic-like memory foam in the soles.

You can buy a pair on Amazon right now for about $70.
Often, waterproof shoes are just a layer of thin gortex on the top and tongue of the shoe. Merrell also makes excellent waterproof shoes in grey, black and brown.
If you’ve already broken in a good pair of walking shoes and it has a synthetic top & tongue, you can easily and inexpensively waterproof the shoes with silicone waterproofing spray bought on Amazon.

The silicone spray also will waterproof a nylon windbreaker.
Have a great trip!

This won’t help you since they are women’s, but I take these along with me on all our trips. After getting wet shoes/feet on a trip, I swore I would never go thru that again. Not only have these kept my feet dry, but also warm and comfy, and I have worn these in a couple of heavy all-day rain. They are rubber, so I can squish them into my bag.

Kensie Carmella Fleece Lined Anti-Slip Rain Shoe Black NWT from Poshmark. I bought them at Costco.

I like Allbirds and ON. Allbirds has their "Mizzle"line:
https://www.allbirds.com/products/mens-wool-dasher-mizzles-natural-black-chasm-teal?price-tiers=msrp%2Ctier-1%2Ctier-2%2Ctier-3%2Ctier-4
Note- not waterproof, water repellent.
And I have some waterproof ON low hiking boots.
If you're not doing serious hiking and just a lot of city walking the Mizzles are cozy, too.
No screaming logos, very low key, although in Switzerland I got several compliments on my ONs!

I have been wearing Timberland Stormbuck Oxfords for decades - they have provided great support, a moderately lugged sole, extremely comfortable, and waterproof - and that is Timberland's take on waterproof, which means you can stand in a puddle, sink into mud, ford a shallow stream, etc.

I was crushed when I learned that they had been discontinued, but now there is a worthy replacement - the Redwood Falls Oxford. Same level of support and comfort, waterproof, and very good looking - available in a number of colors. It's also available as a Chukka if you prefer something a bit higher.

If you want something with more cushioning, you might try the Timberland Mt. Madsen low hiker, which is rather unobtrusive, but has a more casual look, with a more aggressive lugged sole.

. For travel, I like shoes that are nondescript, without loud branding. I don't want them to shout "American" or "Tourist".

Don’t worry about this - so many walking shoes these days are brightly coloured and branded, and you’ll see everyone wearing them.

Personally I like Merrells - I look for Goretex hybrid or “approach” shoes, and wear them in cities too.

Here's the men's version of the women's shoe I recently bought.
https://www.altrarunning.com/en-us/hike/mens-olympus-6-hike-low-gtx/AL0A85NM.html?dwvar_AL0A85NM_color=000

I second Margie's recommendation for Oboz. I found their hiking boots to be waterproof in Scottish rain. They did, however, need to be broken in for about a month, which of course I did at home before my travels. After that they were comfortable to wear all day. (Note: I wear women's shoes.)

Here's a third rec for Oboz. They offer both water-resistant and waterproof shoes, and I love them with a passion. They have very good structure and support, are very comfortable and very sturdy. I have a tendency to shuffle a bit when I walk and have had problems tripping in the past wearing other shoes. Since I've started wearing Oboz, I have never had that problem. I bought my first pair before a trip to Germany and loved them so much, I've since bought 3 more pairs.

They do not have "loud" branding on them, either. I especially like that the company is based in Bozeman, MT (hence the name). FWIW, I wear women's shoes, but the first time I wore them, I ran into a guy I knew who was wearing the same exact shoes in a different color. :-)

You can find them on their website, but also at places like REI, sporting goods stores, Zappos, Sierra Trading Post and Amazon.

I’ll suggest looking at the Keen brand.
https://www.keenfootwear.com/collections/keen-dry-waterproof

Love the brand. Own 8 different pairs from slip ons to sandals. Pricey but very durable. Simply another brand to research.

I was a huge fan of Oboz until they changed their toe box, but that may not affect you. I currently wear Asolo and my husband wears Merrill’s.

We are big fans of Merrell Moabs. We have both the boots and the walking shoes. They work really well for me because of a stiff sole and wide toe box. (I also have orthotics in them for arch support).

Trotter, I've heard that but I think it's just for the Sawtooth model, and there is some dispute about it. Regardless, they do have other hiking shoes besides the Sawtooth.

Agree with few others, Merrill Moab's work for both of us, men & women's styles. I prefer low hiking boots, there are water proof models and they have a removable insole if you need custom orthotics (size up 1/2 a size).

On has a lot of styles with extraordinarily cushy soles, of which some are waterproof. Look for the shoes with perforated soles. On is a Swiss company; expect to pay over $150. I choose the style that's nearest to all black every year and walk close to 800 miles in Europe, then demote the shoes to use at home only. The styles I've used over the years have been lightweight and not all-leather. I don't think they're very suitable if you're doing much walking in rural areas; the synthetic parts of the uppers are easily snagged on brush at the edge of a trail.

I really appreciate all of this information. Many of the shoes mentioned are sold at REI. The Seattle flagship store is in Seattle, a short drive from our place. I will check them out (I could have gone there today, but Noooooo).

Of the brands mentioned, I haven't had good luck with either Allbirds or Keen's over the years, but of course that's an issue of personal fit and comfort. Other folks swear by them.

Re: Oboz. It was mentioned that Oboz recently changed their toebox. How so? Did it get larger? Smaller? I need a reasonably generous toebox.

Re: ON. I heard recently that ON had been purchased by another footwear company but can't remember which one. Does anybody know? If such a purchase occurred, has anybody noticed whether the quality has improved or worsened?

Thanks again,
Mike

My current On shoes were purchased about 18 months ago, I think, so they're not recent enough to comment about the latest changes. The company does tweak things, though. They changed the last significantly between Pair 1 and Pair 2 in a way that made the shoes tighter over the arch. A few years later, they altered the material on the inside of the heel, at the top, and it wore out in the first week of use. They subsequently fixed that.

My feet are medium width, and I find the toe-box plenty roomy. It's hard to say about sizing since the shoes are made to the European standard, but I normally wear size 6-1/2 and my On shoes are labeled as equivalent to US size 7. That no doubt provides extra wiggle room for my toes.

I have a slightly higher than average arch. At the recommendation of folks at the shoe store that first introduced me to On shoes, I replace the original inner sole with an Aetrex 7700. That adds some arch support and extra cushioning, but it takes up a bit more space inside the shoe. This is an issue for me, especially with the waterproof shoes, because you can't do anything to loosen them across the arch; the tongue is solidly attached to the rest of the shoe. The shoes are completely comfortable for standing and walking, but extended sitting isn't good. For long train and bus rides (multiple hours) and certainly for transatlantic flights, I slip my feet partly out of the shoes to alleviate the tightness across the arch, which otherwise becomes somewhat painful.

If you're thinking the arch issue sounds beyond annoying, you are correct, but the shoes are so wonderfully cushiony for walking that I'm willing to put up with the arch situation. I've started using the original, thinner On inner soles for transatlantic flights, which makes quite a difference. I swap them out for the Aetrex inner soles my first night on the ground in Europe.

The tight arch makes the shoes a bit awkward to put on, so I sometimes travel with a lightweight, plastic shoehorn.

Mike, regarding the Oboz toe box. I had the Oboz Sawtooths but don't remember which iteration. When it came time to replace them the new iteration's toe box was slightly smaller. Now, was it me or them? Was I wearing different sox? Had I stretched out the old pair? Had they changed the lasts? I simply don't know. And different styles may fit you differently. I certainly could have tried a different style of Oboz but found the Asolos and was happy with them. Since you have access to REI talk to the staff, let them measure and fit you. Who knows, maybe Oboz is good for you. I'm only sharing my personal experience.

Mike, that's a good idea about going to REI. They will have a number of brands there, including Oboz, and you can try them all out. I'm a huge proponent of getting fit into shoes, as I have a wider toe box, narrower heel and a higher arch, so it's hard to find shoes that fit all that.

My husband and I both ordered Merrell Kiruna 2 waterproof hiking boots for our recent photo tour to Patagonia in austral autumn. The boots were comfortable from the get go right out of the box and needed no breaking in period. The boots were insulated as well. We were standing in low water and our feet never got wet. I liked that Merrell offered free shipping and free returns so I felt we had nothing to lose if we didn’t like the fit/feel of the boots and needed to return them. I just ordered another pair of Merrell’s for our upcoming trip to Morocco.