Salewa’s Wildfire GTX is a light and flexible approach shoe. It draws on the designs of rock climbing shoes in many ways but still delivers a supportive ride that’s more than capable of handling miles on trails. The shoe delivers grip with a Pomoca sole that eases off the lugs around the toe, creating an area that can handle technical and precarious climbing moves. The upper is a Gore-Tex lined synthetic mesh enhanced with a cage-like exoskeleton for improved stability.

I stumbled across the Wildfire GTX while searching for a go-everywhere shoe before spending four months traveling through South America. The goal was to bring one pair (in addition to flip-flops) that could handle everything from a six-day backpacking trek through Patagonia to full days of city exploration to a walk through a hot-as-hell equatorial jungle. The Wildfire GTX did all of these with flying colors.