I've been wearing my Keen Jasper Zionic hiking shoes for two months straight — and I'm never taking them off again

The Keen Jasper Zionic is my new go-to recommendation for the perfect “everything” shoe. Yes, this shoe is ideal for hiking thanks to the grippy 4mm rubber lug sole and the unbeatable arch support, but also perfect for urban use. Most hiking boots are too technical or heavy to be functional in everyday life, but not the Jasper Zionics.

Keen describes them as a hybrid shoe, and that’s exactly how I see them. Yes, they’re some of the best hiking shoes I’ve ever worn, but they’re also the best casual sneakers I’ve ever worn. I could walk for hours and hours without getting a single twinge of pain.

If you need a pair of reliable, comfortable, and stylish “everything” shoes, it has to be the Keen Jasper Zionic. I’ll talk about everything in full in this Keen Jasper Zionic review.

Keen Jasper Zionic review: Cheat sheet

• Who are they for? Anyone who needs a versatile trail-slash-city shoe
• What do they do well? So supremely comfortable, breathable, grippy, and also stylish
• What do they cost? $150 / £150
• What are the weaknesses? They’re not waterproof

Keen Jasper Zionic review: Specs

Keen Jasper Zionic review: Price & availability

The Keen Jasper Zionic is available for $150 in the U.S. and £150 in the U.K.. You can buy these shoes on Amazon U.S. (men’s) and Amazon U.S. (women’s), although Amazon doesn’t have the full color range. You can also find them at Nordstrom for $150 (men’s) and Nordstrom for $150 (women’s).

I would recommend getting them on REI, as it has the largest color variety. You can get the men's version for just $112 right now, and the women's for just $89.

In the U.K., you can buy them for £150 (women’s) at Schuh and £150 (men’s), also at Schuh.

If you’re thinking the name “Jasper Zionic” sounds familiar, that’s because Keen also makes the Jasper shoes, which are still sold alongside the newer Zionics. The Jasper style is available for $129 on Amazon U.S. and $130 at Nordstrom.

The primary difference between the Keen Jasper and Keen Jasper Zionic is the sole. The Jasper has a low-profile sole, whereas the Zionic has 4mm rubber lugs. I would choose the Zionics purely for this extra grippiness, as I am a very clumsy person who lives in a very wet country (read: the U.K.), and I need every bit of grippy help.

Keen Jasper Zionic review: Design

The Jasper Zionics are, in my opinion, some of the coolest shoes I’ve ever laid eyes upon. The hikers come in a vast range of colors. If I listed them all here, we’d be here until sunset (or sunrise, depending on when you’re reading this).

Outside of the standard white/black/brown colorways, Keen makes the shoes in pink, red, green and more. I tested the green/gold flame combination, which wasn’t my first choice, but I love it with all my heart now.

Aesthetics aside, the Keen Jasper Zionics are, first and foremost, functional shoes. The hiking/urban hybrid trail shoes have design elements from both use cases, such as a supported ankle, 4mm rubber lugs for grip and a wide toe box with tongue-to-toe lacing.

I’m usually a women’s size 6 in footwear, and the Jasper Zionic size 6 fit me perfectly. In my experience thus far, Keen shoes are generally true-to-size, but you might want to size up if you’re going to wear thick hiking socks or predominantly hiking in summer (to allow for foot swelling due to heat).

Regardless of whether you’re hiking in summer or winter, though, you’ll enjoy the wide toe box. I loved being able to stretch my toes out during long hikes or city-wide jaunts. Also, if you’ve got wide feet, this should provide additional comfort, but I can’t personally attest to this.

The lacing makes the shoes comfy for both wide and narrow feet. I have narrow feet, yet I was able to lace the shoes tightly enough, which was my only qualm with the 4.5-star Keen Hyperport H2 sandals. The laces are swappable, but the coloring matches the color on the inside of the shoe, so I’d recommend keeping Keen’s original laces.

I needed to double-knot the laces to keep them from coming loose, but this is also a requirement on my other trail shoes, the Hoka Speedgoat 5 GTX, and my old-but-still-good Merrell Accentor boots.

As I’ve said earlier, what separates the Jasper Zionic from the Targhee IV is the intended function. The Jasper Zionics are hybrid trail-slash-city shoes, so they are much lighter, more breathable and less technical. Comparatively, the Targhee IVs are waterproof and sturdier, so they would be the better choice for hardcore hiking.

Keen Jasper Zionic review: Performance

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but I wore the Jasper Zionics every day for two months. I wore them hiking, walking, commuting, driving and basically any other activity that befell me.

I love that I can drive in them: I can’t drive in my Merrell hiking boots as the sole is too heavy, so you won’t need to swap your hiking and driving shoes if you take the Keens on a hiking trip. There’s a reason I didn’t take them off: they’re so darn comfortable.

Even though my testing period is technically over, I’m still going to wear the Jasper Zionics every day. I love them. Not only are they supremely comfortable, functional and supportive, but they’re also cool, grippy and make me feel like I’m walking on clouds.

Despite only being "shoes" and not "boots," I was impressed with the heel support. To preface, I don’t have weak ankles, I don’t need uber-supportive shoes and I have no issues with my feet, so if you need more supportive shoes, I’d recommend the Keen Targhee IV boots (not the Keen Targhee IV shoes I mentioned earlier, which are more hardy Jasper Zionic alternatives).

The Jasper Zionics have a moulded heel support that cushions around your Achilles. As I’ve said before, this isn’t the advanced ankle support you’d expect from boots or specialist footwear, but I found the support was more than enough for me during both urban and trail wear.

As an approach-style shoe, the Jasper Zionics have incredible arch support. The shoe actually feels like it was moulded to the curve of my feet. I don’t have flat or high arches — just bog-standard arches — so if you have specifically flat feet, you might be better off with Scarpa, which tends to have more flat-foot-oriented soles.

Hiking

To test the Jasper Zionics for hiking, I went to the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. This is a mountainous park with muddy trails, forests and waterfalls. As the Jasper Zionics don’t have Keen’s proprietary KEEN.DRY membrane, I wasn’t expecting my feet to stay dry (I took my Merrell boots as backup just in case).

Thankfully, it was a sunny weekend, so my feet didn’t get overly wet. Even so, I was still impressed by the leather upper when I was adventuring on the waterfall trail.

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As you can see, my shoes are dry, even though the ground is slick and wet. Even when I went underneath the waterfall in the background, my feet stayed dry.

Actually, despite having no “real” waterproofing, my feet never got wet on the inside. Sure, on a few occasions during rainy weather, the outer material was soaked, but this dampness never leaked through to my socks.

I wouldn’t say these are suitable shoes for very wet weather, but if it’s drizzling or just a little rainy outside, I’d be confident wearing them for longer periods.

If it were storming or snowing, though, I’d wear my Merrell Accentor boots due to the higher ankle.

Everyday

I think where the Jasper Zionics really set themselves apart from the rest of Keen’s range is their versatility. I’ve worn hiking boots and shoes during everyday tasks before, and have always regretted that decision after hours of trudging around the city in heavy shoes. Not with the Jasper Zionics, though.

As I said before, the Jasper Zionics are hard-wearing enough to see you through slightly rainy weather. I had no problems throwing these shoes on in the morning before work, wearing them all day at work and then commuting back home in the rain. My feet never got wet inside.

But you don’t feel like you’re wearing technical shoes. The Jasper Zionics are so lightweight that I feel like I could be wearing any normal sneakers, like Converse or Vans. But my feet feel so much better than if I were wearing those shoes, of course.

Thanks to the curved sole, my arches never ached, and thanks to the heel support, my ankles never felt like they were rolling. I could rush about the city running errands without regretting my footwear choice, or go straight from the office to leisure without feeling like I was dressed too technically.

These are incredibly versatile trail-slash-city hybrid sneakers that could be the only pair of shoes you need. Heck, I wore them every day for two months just to prove that they are the only pair of shoes I need.

Keen Jasper Zionic review: Verdict

As I said earlier, I wore the Keen Jasper Zionic shoes every day for two months, and I will wear them for two months/two years/two decades more. I love these shoes with all my heart, and I cannot recommend them enough.

Thanks to the 4mm rubber lugs, the Jasper Zionics are grippy, even on slick rocks and sidewalks. But the soles aren’t heavy in the slightest — the arch support and lightweight rubber made me feel like I was walking on clouds. The material is also super lightweight and breathable, despite not being “technically” waterproof.

If you want one pair of shoes that can be worn for hiking, trekking, working, city errands, and everything in between, look no further than the Keen Jasper Zionics. My only regret is that I didn’t get them earlier.