Is The Daylight Hiker Fusion A Good Hiking Shoe? A Complete Review
This summer, my goal is to tackle some pretty big hikes, and I wanted a new pair of minimalist shoes to do them in.
So, I purchased the Daylight Hiker Fusions last week. I wore them around for a day to break them in and took them up the most challenging hike in my neighborhood.
Buffalo Mountain is a 6.4-mile grind. In the 3.2 miles to the summit, you gain 3000 feet of elevation. It is a great hike to stress test new hiking shoes because it’s a hike with three distinct parts: steep uphill forest, steep uphill rock field, and lastly, steep uphill scree (loose rock).
The way down offers as many challenges as the way up, as the steep decline can put a lot of stress on your joints. For the purpose of this article, I had done the hike in my Xero 360s the week before, so I would have my favorite minimalist shoes to compare their performance.
How did they do in comparison to the Xero 360?
To be fair to the Xero 360, it isn’t a hiking shoe; it’s a cross-training shoe. However, it did admirably on everything but the loose rock near the top. You can hop across a boulder field in the 360s if you want to, but you can’t get traction on little loose rocks. In addition, the whole way down was more difficult in these shoes.
The Daylight Hiker Fusion is a hiking shoe and remedied the traction issue. The grip was solid all the way up and down the hike. I’ve owned a lot of hiking boots in my day and a lot of minimalist shoes. However, this is my first minimalist dedicated hiking boot. So let’s talk about what the Daylight Hiker does well.
IS THE DAYLIGHT HIKER FUSION A GOOD HIKING SHOE?
Let’s break it down into a few categories:
#1 Lightweight
The Daylight Hiker Fusions are incredibly lightweight. As I mentioned before, I’ve owned a lot of hiking shoes in my life, and these are far and away the lightest, which matters in endurance sports.
Every ounce you carry below your knees is incredibly important. When carrying weight below the knee, you cannot use your whole body to move the weight. Instead, your calves, tibialis anterior (shin muscle), and hips are forced to bear the brunt of that weight.
And over thousands of steps, those extra ounces add up, and you may find your feet dragging before someone in light shoes. And you don’t want to be dragging your feet on technical terrain trails because it can quickly become dangerous.
#2 Breathable
I bought the Daylight Hiker Fusion as a summer hiking boot, and I’m glad I did. When purchasing hiking boots, people generally look for a quiver killer boot, which means one boot that they can use for every hike. However, the reality of hiking is that it is two different activities in the winter and summer.
If you intend to hike in the blistering heat and the snow. You’ll need two different pairs of shoes.
The Daylight Hiker could fit your summer boot. That is assuming you are not hiking in wet places. The Daylight Hiker is not waterproof. The toe and the low profile of the shoe have some water-resistant features. However, if the top of that boot gets wet where the breathable mesh is, you will get your socks wet.
The Daylight Hiker is excellent for hiking in relatively dry conditions. It will do great in anything but puddles or rain.
#3 Wide Toe Box
This one is kind of a given with Xero shoes as a brand; all of their shoes have a wide toe box, which is excellent for the health of your feet, balance, and proprioception.
You never want to purchase a hiking boot that constricts your toes. Having your toes pushed together can give you blisters and mess with your arches. Your toes need enough space to rest comfortably.
However, you don’t want too much space in your hiking shoes, or going downhill will wreck your toes. So it is a delicate balance that the daylight hiker dances well.
#4 Traction
Traction was my biggest concern when purchasing a minimalist hiking boot. When you think of minimalist shoes, a thin piece of rubber and maybe an even thinner layer of padding under your foot come to mind.
The term minimalist doesn’t instill a lot of confidence that I’ll get the maximum traction.
Traction is so crucial for keeping your balance. The goal of hiking is simple, get to the summit and back safely. The better traction, the safer you are on unknown terrain. Hiking up Buffalo Mountain, I felt like I had a firm grip on the rocks going up and solid footing on the way down.
It isn’t a technical boot, and there are certainly boots more suited for mountaineers. However, the Daylight Hiker is more than grippy enough for your average hiker.
#5 Breaking In
All hiking boots come out of the box a bit stiff. The Daylight Hiker is no different. However, stiff is a relative term. These shoes are lightweight and bendable; they just haven’t been bent yet. As a result, they break in pretty quickly. After a day of wearing them and a six-mile hike, they don’t feel stiff at all.
Most hiking shoes have longer break-in periods; these loosen up pretty quickly.
It is always wise to wear new hiking boots around town for a week before attempting any significant hikes. Unfortunately, I am generally too impatient to do the wise thing in this context.
#6 Looking Good
Whether on the trail or in the workplace, it is safe to assume you want to look good. There are a lot of goofy-looking minimalist shoes out there. The Daylight Hiker Fusion is not one of them. I grabbed a pair of the pecan, and I love the color. I see myself wearing these for most of my summer activities.
Overall, is the Daylight Hiker Fusion worth it?
This shoe isn’t cheap at $119.99, but it appears worth it. The Daylight Hiker Fusion checks all the boxes for a minimalist hiking boot. It is lightweight, breathable, and grippy enough to handle challenging hiking.
This is a summer hiking boot and not a quiver killer. Don’t buy this boot if you are hiking in wet areas or in winter unless you winter in Arizona.
Are you considering a different minimalist shoe? This article covers most of Xero Shoe’s catalog.
