Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Ahnu Mens Moraga Mesh shoes > Test Report by jerry adams

AHNU MORAGA SHOES
TEST SERIES BY JERRY ADAMS
LONG-TERM REPORT

INITIAL REPORT - March 28, 2015
FIELD REPORT - June 11, 2015
LONG TERM REPORT - August 06, 2015

TESTER INFORMATION

I started hiking about 45 years ago. My first backpack was 40 years ago. I currently try to do one backpack trip of 1 to 5 nights every month (which can be tricky in the winter). Mostly I stay in the Western half of Oregon and Washington. In recent years I have shifted to lightweight - my pack weight without food and water is about 12 lb (6 kg). I make a lot of my own gear - silnylon tarp-tent, bivy, synthetic bag, simple bag style pack.

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Ahnu
Year of Manufacture: 2015
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.ahnu.com/
MSRP: US$120
Measured Weight: 35 oz (990 g) for a pair of men's size 13 US

The Ahnu Moraga shoes are lightweight breathable shoes for hiking.

It's a little unclear that they're breathable, because they say the uppers are breathable mesh, and also that the uppers are water resistant leather. On the summary page it says they're waterproof. The uppers have some mesh panels with leather strips between. I'm pretty sure they don't have waterproof membrane like eVent or Gore-Tex because they don't mention it and I can blow through the mesh panels.

The uppers include mesh, leather, rubber, and webbing strips. Lots of sewing to keep them all together. There are webbing loops at the heels to pull the shoes on.

The soles are made of rubber with a proprietary Ahnu lug pattern. The rubber goes up the sides of the shoes - 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) from the ground at the heel, 1 inch (2.5 cm) at the middle, and 2 inches (5.1 cm) at the toe.

The laces are some sort of synthetic braided line. They seem to have enough friction to stay laced. There are leather strips with 5 metal eyelets on both sides for the laces to go through. There's a sixth hole on each side, without an eyelet, above the top metal eyelet. I assume I could put a lace through it but I don't think I will. There's a webbing strip down the middle of the tongue with a loop for the laces to go through to keep the tongue from going sideways. The tongue is gusseted on both sides to prevent debris from getting into the shoes.

There's padding in the tongue and around the ankle at the top of the shoes.

There are two Ahnu logos and two symbols on each shoe, plus a logo on both soles.

Inside the tongue is printed the size and other info. The shoes are made in China.

The insole is a fairly stiff foam, with some fabric on the top surface. Typical of other insoles I've had.

The shoes have a yellow fabric lining inside.

Its 3.75 inches (9.5 cm) from the ground to the top of the shoe on the side at the lowest point. Its 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) at the rear. The sole is 1.375 inch (3.5 cm) thick at the heel, and about 0.5 inch (1.3 cm) thick at the ball of the foot.

The shoes are sort of a smoky gray/black color with some yellow accents.

The warranty is good for one year from date of purchase.

Top of insole, top front, sole front:



Bottom of insole, top rear, sole rear:



Outside, inside:

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

The Ahnu Moragas look very well made. All the stitches are perfect. All the panels and strips are even. The soles are evenly glued to the uppers. The insole looks good. The uppers are evenly stitched to the bottoms (underneath the insoles).

I briefly tried on the Ahnus and they feel good.

The Ahnus look good. I think they'd be good for city wear.

The 35 ounces (990 g) is very lightweight compared to most other boots and waterproof breathable shoes, but is a little heavier than most breathable shoes. I usually wear mid height boots, so these will seem pretty lightweight.

Summary

The Ahnu Moragas are lightweight breathable trail shoes.

They have mesh/leather/rubber uppers and rubber lug soles.

They're very lightweight compared to other boots and waterproof breathable shoes, but a little heavy compared to other breathable shoes.

They're comfortable so far, but testing will reveal this.

I'll be using them on about 16 nights of backpacking on four trips, split between the Field Report and Long Term Report periods. I'll be wearing merino wool socks and wearing lightweight gaiters on the outside. I'll be carrying up to about 20 pounds (10 kg). I'll also do some day hiking. I may try some thinner synthetic socks.

I'll do some rain, wet snow, and wet brush, but since these are breathable I probably won't do a lot of that. I'll go down to 32 F (0 C) or so and maybe up to 80 F (27 C). I'll do a range of trail and a little cross country and rough trail.

FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

April 1, 2015 - 44 mile (71 km) 4 night backpack on Badger Creek in north central Oregon. 5000 feet (1500 m) elevation gain. 28 to 50 F (-2 to 10 C). Mostly dry and on regular trails. One day I walked through several miles of snow.

I wore my gaiters over the Ahnus most of the time:


April 17, 2015 - 33 mile (53 km) 2 night backpack to Enchanted Valley in the Olympics in northwest Washington. 40 to 65 F (4 to 18 C). 3200 feet (1000 m) elevation gain. Dry and on regular trails.

May 20, 2015 - 42 mile (68 km) 4 night backpack on the Zigzag ridge on Mount Hood in north central Oregon. 40 to 65 F (4 to 18 C). 7000 feet (2000 m) elevation gain. Fairly rainy for several days. Several miles on snow. On and off trail.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

During my Field Report period I did 10 nights of backpacking, 119 miles (192 km), and 15000 feet (4600 m) elevation gain. I did a wide range of hiking - up, down, level, trails, off-trail, smooth, bouldery, brushy, and snowy. Temperatures were 28 to 65 F (-2 to 18 C). Mostly, it was fair weather but I did a few days of rain and walking through wet brush and snow.

On the Badger Creek hike, I walked through several miles of wet snow and the shoes got totally wet. My socks were a bit "squishy" but I don't think I could have wrung much water out of them. I then walked a couple more hours and spent the evening camping. The shoes and socks mostly dried out but were still very damp at the end of the day.

On the Enchanted Valley trip, there was no rain or snow so my feet stayed quite dry. I had to quickly step into a stream once but very little water got into shoes. My socks were pretty dry at the end of each day.

On the Zigzag trip, it was quite rainy for two days and a little rainy for two more days. Lots of walking through wet brush and melting snow. My socks were very wet at the end of the day and my feet were wet and wrinkled. I switched to a dry pair of socks for sleeping and wore them the next day. The first pair of socks dried fairly well on the second day so I could wear them that evening and for the third day. After that, I had a couple days with no rain, and the socks were only a bit damp at the end of the day so I wore them the rest of the trip.

I did a fair amount of uphill walking and walking on rough surfaces. The Ahnus were comfortable.

The lug soles were aggressive enough to provide traction on muddy and snowy surfaces. On the Zigzag trip there were some steep snow slopes to walk on. On all three trips there were slippery muddy places.

I never got a hint of a blister. The cushioning was comfortable.

The shoes are a bit scuffed up as expected, but show no signs of unusual wear.

The laces are okay. They never came untied. They seem like they may be wearing out a bit - I'll know better after the Long Term Test.

The shoes are a little difficult to get on and off. There's no open eyelet at the top so it's a little difficult to loosen the laces to take them off and tighten the laces when I put them on. This is minor though.

I wore medium thick Merino wool socks.

SUMMARY

Over-all I liked the Ahnu Moraga shoes.

They were comfortable on a range of surfaces wearing a backpack.

The soles provided good traction on mud and snow.

I liked the breathability in dry weather because my socks stayed fairly dry, but when it was rainy or walking through wet brush/snow my socks got very wet and my skin wrinkled. The Ahnus performed as I would expect a breathable shoe to in wet conditions, but I would still prefer a waterproof breathable shoe for wet conditions.

Since they're shoes rather than mid height boots like I usually use, they were lighter and more breathable, which was good. I got a little more dirt and stuff in my shoes, but this was minor. I wore gaiters which minimized this.

During the Long Term test I'll do a little more warm weather testing, which is where these shoes will really shine.

LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

June 20, 2015 - 4 night backpack in Three Sisters Wilderness in central Oregon. 47.5 miles (76 km). 6500 feet (2000 m) elevation gain. 32 to 75 F (0 to 24 C). Dry. Rocky trails, steep up/down/level, and some off trail.

Relaxing:


July 29, 2015 - 5 night car camp at Cape Disappointment in southwest Washington. 25 miles (40 km). No elevation gain. 55 to 75 F (13 to 24 C). Dry. Paved trails and some sandy beach.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

During the Field Report and Long Term Report periods, I did a total of 191.5 miles (308 km), 21500 feet (6500 m) elevation gain, and 14 nights of backpacking. Temperatures were 28 to 75 F (-2 to 24 C).

During the Long Term report period I did some good hiking on rocky trails, steep and level places, some off trail. Also some walking on paved trails and the sandy beach. The Ahnus were comfortable, not a hint of a blister.

During the Long Term report period it was totally dry - no rain, wet brush, or streams. It was somewhat warm. The Ahnus were perfect for this. At the end of each day, my socks were only slightly damp from sweat.

The Ahnu's lug soles were good. They were stiff enough for walking on rocky surfaces carrying a backpack.

The shoes are showing just a bit of wear. The soles are barely worn. There are a few scuff marks as expected. I see no broken threads on the stitching. The insoles and laces show a little wear, but I think they're less than half worn out.

During the Field Report period I thought they were a little difficult to get on and off, because the top eyelets aren't open. I didn't find this to be a significant problem during the Long Term test period. I'd rather have the top eyelets open, but I wouldn't let this affect my buying decision.

SUMMARY

Overall the Ahnu Moraga shoes were great.

They were comfortable on a range of surfaces from rocky to sandy to paved, steep or level, day hike or backpack.

They showed no premature signs of wear compared to other shoes I've had.

I like that since they're shoes, they weigh less and they're more breathable.

The only negative was that since they're breathable, my feet got wet if it was rainy, I was walking through wet brush, or I was walking through streams. It took a full day for them to mostly dry out.

And since they're shoes, dirt and rocks got into them a little, but wearing gaiters mostly prevented this during testing.

In the future, I might wear them around the city or wear them on fair weather backpacks. I really like them so they won't just sit on the shelf. If I wear them around the city, I'll just clean them off a little.

Thanks to Ahnu and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me test these.

Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Ahnu Mens Moraga Mesh shoes > Test Report by jerry adams