When these came in for test, I recognised the usual Keen styling, the light weight, noted the new sole pattern and thought, “Aye, these look like a nice kickabout”. But, Siskiyou Mid is actually a regular leather/mesh boot in disguise, and that puts it into the proper-use category for me.
For summer backpacking or hills I’m either in trail shoes or mids, mids are good for keeping the crap out and maybe also minimising movement-related heel problems when your socks are constantly wet or it’s been a really long day. So these, with the large amount of mesh, no waterproof lining, the not-too-high ankle cuff, what looks like reasonable grip, and a wide toe box look like a great summer hill shoe.
I think it’s the styling that confused me, usually this stuff has a certain “sporty” look, whereas Keens look like Keens, and that’s good thing. Sometimes I like lightweight footwear than you can wear all the time and not look like you’ve just stopped running. Good to have options.
I suspect we’ll see much more of these through the warmer months.
