Superfeet vs. PowerStep: Which Insole Fits Hiking Boots?

Structure and support

Superfeet's Hike Support pairs a Medium/High arch with an EVOLYTE carbon-fiber stabilizer cap and a deep heel cup, on top of an Aerospring Rebound dual comfort foam layer. It's built as general arch structure for hiking, not aimed at a specific foot motion.

PowerStep's Pinnacle Maxx takes a narrower approach: a firm but flexible polypropylene neutral arch shell with a "2 degree medial post" built into the heel, plus dual-layer cushioning over that shell. The medial post is the entire reason to pick this one over a general-arch-support insole.

The cushioning underneath is built differently too. Hike Support layers Aerospring Rebound foam under a moisture-wicking top cover, described as "Mid" cushioning with "Max" thickness. Pinnacle Maxx uses a dual-layer setup instead: a foam top layer over an EVA base, with an odor-control polyester top cover. Neither maker publishes a side-by-side firmness number, so the practical difference is what each is built to control: Hike Support spreads support evenly under the whole foot, while Pinnacle Maxx concentrates it at the heel, where the medial post sits.

Overpronation and heel pain

The APMA's guidance on heel pain explains the mechanism PowerStep is designed around: "excessive pronation—excessive inward motion—can create an abnormal amount of stretching and pulling on the ligaments" that attach at the heel, per the APMA. PowerStep itself goes further and markets the Pinnacle Maxx for "relief of overpronation, plantar fasciitis, ankle and knee pain, foot, arch, and heel pain," and says it's "accepted by the American Podiatric Medical Association." Those are PowerStep's own claims, not ours, and an insole doesn't diagnose or treat any of those conditions on its own. Superfeet makes no comparable claim for Hike Support, since it isn't built around correcting a specific motion.

Fit and sizing

Hike Support runs in paired sizes from a men's 5.5-7 (women's 6.5-8) up to a men's 11.5-13 (women's 12.5-14), and is trim-to-fit at the toe. Pinnacle Maxx is sold in 12 sizes covering men's 3 up through 16+ and women's 5 through 12, which is the wider range of the two if you're near either end of a typical size run.

Materials and durability signals

Hike Support's shell is an EVOLYTE carbon-fiber stabilizer cap, a named material Superfeet uses on its trail-oriented models. PowerStep describes the Pinnacle Maxx's arch shell as "firm but flexible polypropylene," a different plastic entirely. Neither brand publishes a warranty term or an expected mileage for either insole, so there's no published number to compare here, only the materials each maker names.

Top covers differ too: Hike Support uses a moisture-wicking cover as part of its foam layer, while Pinnacle Maxx adds an odor-control polyester top. If sweat and odor over long days matter more to you than arch structure, that's a small but real point in PowerStep's favor.

Who should skip both

If your foot rolls outward rather than inward, PowerStep says plainly that the Pinnacle Maxx isn't built for that; a neutral or Superfeet-style structured insole is the better starting point. And if arch height, not pronation, is the real question, compare Hike Support against Superfeet's own high-arch model in Superfeet Green vs. Hike Support. For a wider field of options ranked together, see best insoles for hiking boots, and for boots built around arch and heel support specifically, see best hiking boots for plantar fasciitis.