Looking back at the history of hiking shoes, we can see the dawn of outdoor footwear.

When people think of hiking shoes, many associate them with running shoes or outdoor footwear, but that's not the case. The history of hiking shoes is inextricably linked to the Alps. In the mid-19th century, hiking, trekking, mountaineering, and other outdoor activities gradually became an indispensable part of life for young people in countries surrounding the European Alps. As outdoor sports became more popular, related products also gained traction. Consequently, shoemakers in these mountain towns, who previously manufactured ordinary shoes, began creating shoes more suitable for outdoor activities. In the process, they combined their exquisite craftsmanship with their understanding of outdoor sports, thus creating a new breed of footwear.

Even today, many classic European hiking boot styles remain largely unchanged from a century ago, with only minor improvements in craftsmanship and materials. Due to this history, many top outdoor shoe manufacturers are still concentrated in the Alps of France, Italy, and Austria.

The exact year when outdoor sports shoes first appeared in China is impossible to verify, but backpackers born around 1980 should remember that in the early 1990s, all sorts of hiking shoes flooded the market. The prevailing belief at the time was that the more colors of the plastic on the sole, the better the quality of the hiking shoe—the origin of this notion is unclear. Although called hiking shoes, they are not the same as outdoor shoes in any way. Later, military boots inexplicably became popular, generally called "military hooks," probably because of their high-top design resembling a hook.