I am so pleased with these shoes, perfect for hikes in hot weather. My feet stayed cool and blister-free after six consecutive days of hiking. Plenty of grip on rocks too.

Ahnu is derived from the Celtic goddess of balance and well-being...the Air Mesh live up to the Ahnu name by balancing performance and style in a lightweight, comfortable, & feminine shoe whose casual style transfer well from trail to town.

These are super lightweight thanks to the mesh uppers, 4 eyelet lacing, and cotton laces, and have a similar design to a fitness shoe. To me, these feel almost as flexible, comfortable, and supportive as the Nike Free. The inner support is comfortable and provides moderate arch support, which is enough on short moderate day hikes, but I found that with pack weight added they tend to lose comfort and not provide enough support.


The soles are fairly supportive and firm underfoot thanks to the Vibram soles, yet they're extremely flexible in the forefoot/toe area. The soles flexibility excels on well-managed trails and moderate terrain, where they provide a running shoe-like fit and stride, but they lack support on Rocky, uneven, loose, or demanding terrain.

The Air Mesh feature a fairly shallow and not very aggressive tread. They tend to hold traction on well managed trails of mostly dirt, but on steeper grades and loose rocks, they don't hold up well.


The bright mesh uppers are soft, stretchy, breathable, and the colors definitely pop, but I've found that your feet do get a bit too cool when the temps drop down. As far as the uppers water resistance, I found them to keep moisture out in dewy fields and puddles, but they did fail when crossing 2-3 inch streams.

Overall, the Air Mesh are casual, feminine, and stylish in fit and design. Across technical outdoor applications, they're far less versatile. These are best for day hiking and dog walking with crossover wear into town. I found these to be a bit on the large side...I'm normally a solid 8.5, and easily would have been comfortable in an 8.