Waterproof Trainers

The two kinds of waterproof trainer

Waterproof trainers is a broad label that covers two quite different shoes, and knowing which you want is half the decision. The first is the technical trail shoe: a low-cut hiking shoe with a waterproof membrane, built to grip and shed water on wet paths and hills. The second is the everyday crossover trainer: a waterproof shoe that looks like a normal trainer, the kind you wear to the shops, the school run and the dog walk as much as the trail. Both keep your feet dry. They just do it in very different company.

Most guides only cover the trail kind. We cover both, because for a lot of people the honest use case is a waterproof trainer they will actually wear every day through a wet British autumn, not a technical shoe reserved for the hill.

GORE-TEX vs water-resistant: what you are actually buying

The word waterproof gets used loosely, so here is the real distinction. A GORE-TEX trainer, or one with a similar membrane, has a thin waterproof and breathable layer built into the shoe: it keeps liquid water out while letting some sweat vapour escape, and it stays waterproof. A water-resistant or DWR-treated trainer only has a coating on the outer fabric that beads off light rain, and it wets through once that coating wears or the rain is sustained. If you want to stay genuinely dry, you want a membrane, with GORE-TEX the best known, not just a water-resistant finish.

The breathability trade-off, and when not to buy waterproof

A waterproof membrane is a real benefit in the wet, but it is not free. It makes a shoe warmer and less breathable, so in summer or on hot, high-output days a waterproof trainer can leave your feet sweaty and clammy. And because a trainer is low-cut, it only keeps water out up to the ankle: step into a deep puddle or a stream and water comes straight over the top, where the membrane then holds it in. So waterproof is the right call for cold, wet, everyday conditions and shallow wet ground, and the wrong call for hot weather or deep water, where a fast-drying, non-waterproof shoe that lets water out again serves you better.

Waterproof trainers vs walking shoes vs boots

A waterproof trainer is a low, light shoe for wet everyday wear and gentler trails. A walking shoe is the same low-cut format but often non-waterproof and faster-drying, better in summer and for high-output walking. A boot adds ankle height and support, which is what you want for deep mud, rough or steep ground, heavy loads and winter, and it keeps water out higher up the leg. For most wet UK day walks and everyday wear a waterproof trainer is plenty; step up to a boot when the ground gets serious.

For the wider footwear picture, see our walking shoes hub and hiking boots hub.

When waterproof trainers are the right call

Buy waterproof trainers for the wet British half of the year: autumn and winter dog walks, the commute, wet-but-not-deep trails, muddy paths, and travel where you want one shoe that copes with rain and still looks normal off the trail. They are the sensible everyday shoe from roughly October to April, and a crossover pair earns its keep because you wear it far more than a technical trail shoe.

Keeping them waterproof: care and reproofing

A membrane shoe stays waterproof for years if you look after the outer. When water stops beading on the upper and starts soaking in, the shoe feels wet and cold even with the membrane intact, because a wetted-out upper cannot breathe. Clean off mud, let them dry naturally away from direct heat, and re-apply a spray-on waterproofing treatment such as Nikwax when the beading fades. Do not machine wash on a hot cycle or dry on a radiator, which damages the membrane and the glues.