Let’s face it, us outdoorsy types aren’t wandering the mountains every single minute of every single day. Sometimes, *sigh* we have to go to the city, whether for work, to catch a concert, or have a nice dinner with the family. As such, wearing those clunky, high-top backpacking boots is a bit of overkill. So if you want to dress urban, but don’t want to look all hipster, then try on a pair of the Ahnu Potrero shoes.
The Potrero shoes from Ahnu are a light hiking shoe made for everyday use, but they still have serious outdoors cred like the following features:
- Nubuck leather uppers
- Canvas embossed suede collar
- Metal hardware
- Gusseted tongue
- EVA midsole
- Rubber outsole
In addition, Ahnu says the Potrero has, “Numentum™ Commute Technology,” which features an “internal midsole consisting of thick, shock-absorbing bottom layer with U-shaped heel stabilizer and cushioning top layer memory foam.”
I’ve been wearing the Potrero for both work and play these past few months. Seeing as how they are urban hikers, I mostly wore them around the house, at Sugar House Park, and in downtown Salt Lake City. They look great with a pair of jeans, and I felt like they fit right in at the brewery and at work without betraying my outdoorsy exterior.
In the great outdoors, however, I found the Potrero to be a bit lacking. Just looking at them, I could tell they were not built for serious hikes, so I relegated them to walking the dog off-trail at places like Tanner Park. The traction does surprisingly well on loose dirt and even wet rocks around my dog’s favorite swimming hole. But the construction is too soft, especially around the ankles, for any serious support when terrain gets rough.
Overall, the Ahnu Potrero are really comfortable underfoot. The cushioning and arch support are top notch, and sizing is true to form. So while I’m not keen on them for major outdoor duty, these shoes are awesome as every day wear. My only gripe is with the tongue. For some reason, the spot where the tongue connects to the rest of the shoe under the laces gets bunched up and hurts the top of my foot after a while. This is only on the right shoe. So either it’s a manufacturing flaw, or my right foot is deformed. Either way, it’s something to possibly look out for if you’re trying on a pair.
The Good: Very comfortable insoles, decent traction for very light-duty hiking, outdoor style in an urban package.
The Bad: Tongue rubs top of foot weird.
Final Word: If you’re an outdoorsy guy forced to live in the city, the Ahnu Potrero shoes will make you feel like you’re in the woods when standing in line at Starbucks.