I’ve got fat feet, but I walked an entire winter in these rugged hiking boots with no blisters whatsoever

I have rather wide feet. I’m from and live in the U.K., where, as children, we all wear uniforms to school. And that includes shoes. Whenever I went to get my feet measured for school shoes as a kid, the sales assistants always commented on just how wide my feet were — way to give a kid a complex, huh.

As such, fat-footed as I apparently am, I’ve never found hard-shelled, ultra-rugged winter hiking boots comfortable. Until now. Enter the Keen Revel IV Polar: a pair of rugged hiking boots offering bags of grip, plenty of warmth and protection, and Keen’s notoriously spacious ‘Original Fit’. I’ve been putting the Revel IVs through their paces all winter, and every single one of those paces has been taken in glorious comfort and warmth.

I’m in love with the Revel IVs, and if you’re after a new winter hiking boot, especially if you have hobbit feet like me, I’m here to tell you these are some of the best hiking boots for you too. Find out more in my full Keen Revel IV review.

Keen Revel IV Polar review: Specs

Keen Revel IV Polar review: Price & availability

The Keen Revel IV Polar cost $189 for the mids and $220 for the high variant at Amazon. In the U.K., that’s £155 for the mids and £165 for the highs. This makes them pricey, although it puts them at more or less the same price point as other premium winter boots like the Merrell Moab Speed 2 Thermals. You can buy the boots from Keen in both markets, but Amazon has the greater stock of sizes in the U.S. at the time of writing.

You can buy the Revel IVs in U.S. men’s sizes 7-15 and U.K. men’s sizes 6-14. They’re also available in U.S. women’s sizes 5-12 and U.K. women’s sizes 2.5-9.5. In the U.S., the men’s mid variant is available in three colorways (black or two different shades of brown), while the high variant is available in two (brown or green). The women’s mid variant is available in two colors (brown/orange or gray), while the highs are available in two (black or gray).

Keen Revel IV Polar review: Design & comfort

Admittedly, with its chunky, explorer-style design, the Revel IVs won’t be winning any beauty pageants. My other cold(ish)-weather boots are the leather Merrell Moab Speed 2s, which are utterly beautiful in comparison and stylish enough to be worn like a trainer. But as warm as the Merrells are in spring and fall, they can’t cut it like a proper winter boot when the temperature drops. If you care about style over substance in winter, enjoy your frostbitten toes.

Construction

The Revel IV’s outer is made from thick waterproof leather, interspersed with sections of waterproof mesh. Under the leather is a textile lining, padding, and an insulated insole that’s good down to -25F (-32C) according to Keen. There are three layers of thermal insulation underfoot, says Keen, including a thermally insulated insole. All that means these boots are warm.

I tested the Revel IVs on a woodland hike in January after severe rain and flooding in my area. The river through the woodland had burst its banks, so I was up to my ankles in icy water for a large part of the walk. No problem.

The outsole is made from Keen’s proprietary KEEN.POLAR TRACTION rubber, which uses micro-glass filaments for added grip — I’ll cover that in the performance section below.

Like all Keen boots, the Revel IVs are built superbly and feel like a premium product. They also feel well thought out, with some nice attention to detail — for instance, there are hooks on the bottom of the tongue, the top of the tongue, and the ankle, giving you several different ways to hang the boots based on your needs; and there’s a notch in the back of the inner heel to allow natural Achilles movement.

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These certainly aren’t lightweight boots, but they’re not clunky or overly heavy either, and I had no issues with them weighing me down. But obviously, these aren’t for trail running.

Break-in & comfort

As with all the Keen boots we review, break-in is virtually non-existent. First time out, I put the boots on for a woodland hike and didn’t think about them until taking them off several hours later. Three months later and after several hikes and constant regular use, I can still report no issues and no break-in.

As I’ve already mentioned, the Revel IVs use Keen’s ‘Original Fit’, which is nice and wide, especially in the toe box. If you have wider feet like me, this fit is super comfortable. In the past, I’ve had problems with shoes and boots being too tight across the toes, trapping a nerve and causing numbness in my toes for weeks — no such misfortune with the Revel IVs.

The Keen Targhee IV boots also use the Original Fit, although Keen’s Hightrail Mids use the brand’s slimmer contoured fit, which I still find (just about) spacious enough. I find the Revel IVs a whole lot more comfortable than the narrow and relatively straight On Cloudrock Mids, which I have to wear the thinnest of socks with to avoid numb toes.

Thanks to the soft padding, especially around the ankles, and the breathable mesh sections to vent sweat, I experienced no blisters or chafing while wearing the Revel IVs.

Keen Revel IV Polar review: Performance

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As I’ve already covered above, these boots excel in winter conditions. I tested them throughout the British winter, which involved lots of rain (the South West where I live was essentially perma-flooded all winter) and frigid temperatures, meaning ice. I wore the boots on several woodland hikes, plus day-to-day use across fields and hills while walking my dogs.

Grip

The Revel IVs offer high levels of grip and support, excelling in wet and icy conditions. During my testing, I tackled plenty of slippery terrain thanks to the awfully rainy winter we had here in Britain.

Muddy slopes were no issue, nor wet rocks, nor even the slippery tree trunk I had to traverse over a river, all thanks to the 5mm cross directional lugs and grippy rubber sole.

Support

The Revel IV also provide lots of stability thanks to the tall design, medium-hard leather outer, high lacing, and a shank in the sole. My test pair are classed as mid-height, but they’re much taller boots than my Moab Speed 2 Mids or the Keen Targhee IV Mid boots. You can also buy the Revel IVs in a high variant for even more support.

I had to traverse lots of uneven terrain during my test hikes, and on a couple of occasions I started to roll my ankle. The supportive design stopped me rolling it badly, so no piggy-backs home.

Flex

Naturally, there’s not as much flex to the Revel IVs as with lighter boots or trail shoes, like the Keen Hightrail Mids. You’ll be running more like an astronaut than an athlete, if you choose to do so. That said, the leather outer is only medium firm, giving a decent amount of flex and allowing you to push off on your toes to ascend up a rocky face, or even do a bit of climbing. Still, for technical hikes, you’ll want more technical boots like the Salomon Cross Hike Mid Gore-Tex.

Waterproofing

The Revel IVs have a completely waterproof exterior, with tongue bellows to stop ingress there. Admittedly, I’d have liked the bellows to rise a little higher, as on a couple of occasions, splashes of water managed to make the jump and get my ankle wet. Still, nothing serious, and no ingress that risked making my feet cold or overly wet.

I also found the ankle easy enough to get my waterproof trousers over, so I didn’t get runoff making it into the tops of the boots when it rained.

Protection

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With the medium-hard leather shell and tall profile, the Revel IVs offer a decent amount of protection against knocks and impacts. The heel and toe are also reinforced with TPU to give your toes and heels that little extra protection, too.

Keen Revel IV Polar review: Maintenance

The Keen Revel IVs are easy enough to maintain — simply brush off dirt with a cloth or soft brush, which will be more than enough for most soiling. If you need to do a deeper clean, Keen recommends using a leather cleaner, so again, pretty standard.

I haven’t really had to do any cleaning. I simply wait for mud to try and then tap the boots together to knock off dirt. The lugs have nice, wide spacing between them, so there isn’t really anywhere for the dirt to get trapped.

The boots aren’t particularly quick to dry, but with the waterproof outer and thermal insulation inside, I didn’t have any issues putting them on the day after a hike, when they were still wet.

Keen Revel IV Polar review: Verdict

The Keen Revel IV Polar are a fantastic pair of winter boots. With plenty of thermal insulation and waterproofing, your feet will stay warm and dry even in snowy and sub-zero conditions. And thanks to the strong levels of grip and excellent ankle support, your risk of ankle injury over slippery winter terrain is minimized.

These boots are also super comfortable, especially for such a thick, heavy design. This is in large part thanks to the spacious toebox of Keen’s ‘Original Fit’, which suits them well for those with wider feet. What’s more, thanks to ample padding, there’s virtually no break-in, either.

My only real criticisms of the Revel IVs are minor: they’re kinda pricey (although not outlandishly so) and not too pretty. But as I asked above, who cares about looks when you’re trying to save your toes from frostbite?