The Oboz Sawtooth Low has been my hiking shoe of choice for the past two years. I picked them up from REI on the recommendation of Person B, who found their increased toe box width, availability of wide sizes, fancy insoles, and overall comfort to be just as captivating as I now do. In fact, the moment I slipped them on they felt more comfortable than any outdoor footwear I’d ever used before, something which still holds true to this day.
Stats
- Make: Oboz
- Model: Sawtooth Low (non-waterproof)
- Model Year: 2018
- Date Purchased: September 8th, 2018
- Price Paid: $110
- Measured Weight: 454g per shoe in size 11 wide, 39g per insole
- Usage: At least 120 miles, 31,300 feet of elevation gain
I’ve taken the Sawtooths all over the state of Washington, from the alpine wonderlands of Seven Lakes Basin and the Enchantments to the rugged Olympic Coast and the basalt cliffs of the Columbia River. I’ve even taken them caving down at Mount Saint Helens and on several multi-day backcountry trail maintenance trips. In other words, they’ll handle almost any terrain or task you’re willing to throw at them.
The shoes feature a proprietary (read: non-Vibram) outsole with Oboz’s trademark large semi-protruding lugs along the outside. In addition to their approximately 4.5mm depth, these lugs feature an abundance of siping (the little slashes commonly added to winter tires to increase traction) and help the shoe to fare incredibly well on all manner of slippery surfaces, miles of smooth seaweed-covered boulders included. The ends of the outsole curve up to form the relatively narrow toe (1.5″) and heel caps. Above the outsole the outer construction turns to a mixture of leather and mesh with additional leather reinforcement along the toe and around the heel. A layer of semi-rigid plastic surrounds the heel for additional structure. Inside the shoe we find a dual-density EVA foam midsole.
The Sawtooths are also available in mid-height and waterproof flavors, although we won’t discuss these in polite company.
Insoles
Like all Oboz shoes, each pair of Sawtooths includes their in-house O-Fit insole. The typical stock insoles in most shoes are crap which means that every pair of outdoor shoes inevitably ends up paying the roughly $50 Superfeet tax in order to get some decent cushion and support. Not so with Oboz: their insoles are amazing right out of the box and can also be purchased separately. In fact, while testing out other footwear (something I inevitably regret) I’ll usually put Oboz insoles into them in order to improve the fit and comfort. Given that Oboz are already competitively priced, not having to replace the insoles makes them an absolute steal.
Water
Water is the nemesis of the Sawtooths: due to their mostly-leather construction (as opposed to the non-absorbent TPU uppers found on many trail runners) they tend to hold a lot of water and can take over a day to dry out once fully soaked. The material lining the bottom of the inside of the shoe also absorbs water (unlike the closed-cell foam found in the bottom of, say, a pair of Salomon XA Pro 3Ds) which certainly doesn’t help matters. This makes water crossings take a bit more of an emotional toll since you know that if your feet get wet they’re going to stay wet. Minor discomfort aside, it really hasn’t been a serious issue in practice. However, it’s worth noting that during a multi-day rainy trip to Seven Lakes Basin in the Olympics I ended up getting painful chafing on the tops of my toes after the second day. It felt like the leather along the forward edge of the toe vent was rubbing against the skin but it’s hard to say if this was cause or effect.
Each pair of Sawtooths ships with factory DWR treatment.
Wear & Tear
The Bad
Both of the toe caps have separated from the leather, I repaired one of them with Shoe Goo but that only lasted a couple of months. The reinforced leather around the front of the shoe has dried out and partially hardened, but this is my fault due to poor maintenance. One of the shoes has a tear in the outside of the mesh above the toe box but it isn’t actually a hole that goes all the way through. The tread is worn around a third of the way down (I estimate about 1/8″ or just over 3mm remaining). The surfaces of the softer parts of the sole as well as the leather on the sides of the shoes have cosmetic abrasion.
The Good
The leather is intact, the mesh is intact except for the one small tear mentioned earlier, none of the stitching is loose or frayed, and the shoelaces are in perfect condition. After two years of solid use, a lot of it off-trail or in highly abrasive environments, I’d say that’s pretty good. In fact, I wouldn’t be replacing these with the newer model if I wasn’t already springing for new insoles.
Maintenance
Since these shoes are mostly leather you’ll need to engage in the usual leather care: don’t leave them caked in dirt since that dries out the leather and makes it hard and brittle. Instead, clean the shoes after each trip before storing them and apply a leather conditioner such as Leather Honey at the start and end of each season (every six months).
Also plan on refreshing the DWR at the beginning of each season. One product, Revivex Leather Water Repellent, actually doubles as both a DWR refresher and a conditioner.
I replace my insoles at the start of each season or if I have a particularly big trip coming up and they’re looking a bit beaten down.
Newer Model
In 2019 Oboz introduced the Sawtooth II which features some minor refinements in the design. Here’s a side-by-side comparison:
The dark leather reinforcement along the toe has been increased, moving back half a lug. The reinforcing leather on the rear of the shoe now makes a straight line from just forward of the midpoint of the outsole to the low point of the collar before dipping around the heel’s pull loop. More significantly, the amount of hard plastic reinforcement around the rear of the shoe has been drastically increased, covering the whole rear half of the shoe rather than just the rear third (the angle of the shot doesn’t really do it justice).
On the top of the shoe, the number of eyelet pairs has been reduced from 6 to 5. The number of mesh side panels was also reduced from 7 to 5 but individually the panels are much larger – I estimate a small net gain in breathability. Overall these changes reduce the busy appearance of the top of the shoe.
The pull loop on the tongue has been removed and the amount of leather at the top of the tongue has been increased via a gently-forked shape reminiscent of the new heel (see below).
The outsoles (including tread), midsoles, and insoles are unchanged between the two models. On the original Sawtooths, the map molded into the tread is the portion of the Sawtooth Range just west of Redfish Lake and includes Williams, Thompson, Horstmann, and Braxon Peaks. The newer model’s map is just slightly more westward, spanning the area from Regan Peak down to Baron Peak and Baron Lakes.
The most substantial structural differences lie in the collar and heel of the shoe. Oboz describes the new collar as “asymmetrical” and claims it better accommodates the natural height differences between your inside and outside (medial and lateral) ankle bones. In the real world this translates to the heel cutouts along the sides of the collar being more boxy or U-shaped rather than the previous swoosh-shaped ones. The heights of the front and back of the collar are more exaggerated and the front of the collar has been brought slightly rearward.
The top of the heel is now gently forked and the increase in height nets a much larger pull loop as well as increased venting. The stiff plastic wrap around the heel and collar has been redesigned such that there’s more flex at the back of the heel but less on the sides of the collar.
Finally, the leather around the outside of the collar has been slightly lowered to expose more of the breathable mesh.
Competition
Some quick comparisons with other shoes I’ve used recently:
Oboz Arete Low
Oboz’s entry into the world of ultralight hikers (they don’t market them as trail runners so I came up with an alternate term), these are 100% leather free and feature an upper that is a mixture of mesh and TPU. On the plus side, TPU can’t absorb water and the huge amount of mesh reduces drying time, making these shoes drying champs. They’re also over 100 grams lighter or about 75% of the weight of the Sawtooths, an immediately noticeable difference. However, after experimenting with these for a couple months I’ve reverted back to the Sawtooths. The Arete’s lack of leather translates into a lack of structure and I found my foot slipping forward and hitting the front and side of the shoe on downhills, resulting in deep impact blisters on the outsides of my big toes. This was never an issue in the Sawtooths.
For flat, well-groomed trails, Aretes are the clear winner, but for the kinds of places I like to wander into they just don’t cut it.
Salomon XA Pro 3D
I gave these a brief try (two whole trips, if I recall correctly) and despite various combinations of insoles, lacing techniques, and socks I could never get them to feel anywhere near as comfortable as the Sawtooths, even in a wide size. I do recall loving the fancy Quicklace system (a single-pull cord with toggle as opposed to laces you have to tie) and the fact that the closed-foam footbed didn’t absorb water. They also ran a bit chilly due to all the mesh. A similar-sized pair in 11 wide clocks in at 400 grams per shoe, around 85% of the weight of the Sawtooths. The Salomons were noticeably less grippy than the Oboz.
Altra Lone Peak 3.5
Floppy clown shoes for tourist trails. I suppose if sore feet and an inability to go off-trail are your thing these might be worth a look but, having used them for a portion of the Camino and many other hikes, they don’t hold a candle to the Sawtooths. Avoid.