Oboz Sawtooth X vs. KEEN Targhee IV: Which Wide Boot?

Specs Side by Side

Width Is a Tie, and That Is the Point

These two get compared because they solve the same unusual problem: a waterproof mid-cut boot sold in a genuine wide width for women as well as men. Oboz lists the Sawtooth X Mid in Regular and Wide for both (Oboz), and KEEN lists the Targhee IV Mid Waterproof in standard and Wide for both (men's Wide, women's Wide). Most of the waterproof-mid market offers a men's Wide and stops there.

Neither brand publishes a width measurement in millimeters or inches, and neither prints a letter grade on its own product pages — the grades show up at retail. So the width label is the only width signal either brand gives you, and on that signal these two are level. Which means the decision has to be made on everything else, and that is what the rest of this page is for. If you are not sure a Wide is what you need at all, start with hiking boot widths explained.

The 4 mm Drop Difference

This is the biggest published gap between the two, and the one most likely to change how the boot feels on your first hike. Oboz publishes an 8 mm heel-to-toe drop on the Sawtooth X Mid (Oboz, checked Oct 9, 2026); KEEN publishes 12 mm on the Targhee IV Mid, on a 28 mm stack in men's and 24 mm in women's (KEEN). For context, the Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof sits at 11.5 mm, so the Targhee is the conventional boot here and the Sawtooth X is the flatter one.

What that means in practice: a higher drop tips you slightly forward and takes some stretch off the calf and Achilles, which a lot of hikers coming from a cushioned road shoe find comfortable immediately. A lower drop sits your foot flatter, puts marginally more load through the calf, and feels more stable on side-hill and off-camber ground. Neither is better. But if you are coming off a 12 mm boot you have hiked happily in for years, the Sawtooth X will feel different, and that difference is the 4 mm. The far end of that spectrum is covered in Altra vs. Topo, where the drop goes to zero.

The Stock Footbed Is the Real Gap

Most boots ship a flat foam sheet that you throw away. Oboz does not. It publishes the O FIT Insole as “triple-density EVA foam” delivering support “with cushioned heel and forefoot pods,” and describes it with a firm molded shell, a deep heel cup and medium-to-high arch support (Oboz). KEEN publishes a Luftcell midsole on the Targhee IV but no comparable detail about the footbed on the pages we checked (KEEN).

That is worth real money. A decent aftermarket insole runs $40-60, so a boot that ships a molded footbed with a heel cup is a boot you can wear as bought. It also matters specifically for wide feet: an aftermarket insole takes up volume, and in a boot you bought wide because your forefoot needs the room, adding an insole can give back the space you paid for. If you already know you want a specific insole, that cuts the other way and the Targhee's plainer footbed is no loss — see best insoles for hiking boots.

Membrane and Outsole

Neither boot has GORE-TEX. Oboz uses its own B-DRY, which it describes as a “waterproof system allows sweat to escape while blocking moisture” (Oboz); KEEN uses its own KEEN.DRY (KEEN). Neither publishes a third-party waterproof rating, so there is no number to compare and no basis for claiming one is more waterproof than the other. If a named, third-party membrane is what you want, that is a reason to look at a different boot entirely — waterproof vs. non-waterproof hiking boots covers what a membrane does and does not buy you.

On outsoles, Oboz runs Trail Tread HD, which it calls “a heavy-duty rubber compound engineered for rugged terrain” (Oboz). KEEN runs KEEN.RUGGED and claims it is “twice as abrasion-resistant as rubber” (KEEN) — a brand claim with no published test method attached, so read it as a durability claim rather than a grip claim. Neither brand publishes lug depth, which is a genuine gap on both: the Moab 3 publishes 5 mm, and these two publish nothing.

Construction and Materials

Oboz publishes the men's Sawtooth X Mid upper as “waterproof leather and mesh windows,” with an Adaptive Cushioning midsole and a Zappos-listed 4 2/5 in shaft (Oboz). KEEN does not state the upper material on the pages we checked, which is an odd omission, but it does publish something Oboz does not: KEEN.FUSION bonded construction, which is glue-free, and a PFAS-free build (KEEN). If the chemistry of what is on your feet matters to you, that is a one-sided decision.

Weights are close enough to ignore. Oboz lists 19.4 oz / 550 g men's and 16.3 oz / 462 g women's; KEEN lists 20.11 oz / 570 g men's and 16.58 oz / 470 g women's. Both brands state the figure without saying whether it is per shoe or per pair, so the honest read is “these two boots weigh about the same, and the Oboz is marginally lighter on paper.” Neither is resoleable, so neither gets the durability credit covered in best hiking boot brands.

A Note on Availability

When we checked Oboz's men's Sawtooth X Mid Waterproof page on October 9, 2026, it showed “Last Few Remaining!” alongside a notify-when-available option (Oboz). It is still being sold, but direct-from-brand stock is thin, and width-specific stock is usually the first thing to go. Check the width on whatever listing you buy from before you order, and if the Wide you need is gone, the next-closest wide-available mids are in best hiking boots for wide feet.

Which One, Specifically

Buy the Sawtooth X Mid if: you want the lower 8 mm drop, you do not want to buy an insole separately, you prefer a leather-and-mesh upper you can see the construction of, or you want the lighter of the two on paper.

Buy the Targhee IV Mid if: you have hiked happily in 11-12 mm drop boots and do not want to change that, you want the roomiest forefoot of the two, PFAS-free and glue-free construction matters to you, or you want the boot with published stack heights in both men's and women's.

Buy neither if: you need GORE-TEX, published lug depth, or a resoleable boot. And buy neither on width alone — both are a standard Wide, with no extra-wide grade above it. Whichever you choose, measure both feet standing before you order, per the AAOS fit guidance, and read how should hiking boots fit for the in-store checks.

If the Oboz is the one you are leaning toward, there is more of the line to see. Best Oboz hiking boots ranks all six current models and sets out the pattern that decides most Oboz purchases: the two boots with the in-house B-DRY membrane are the ones sold in a Wide, and both GORE-TEX models are standard width only.