A hike through rolling meadows make your sensory neurons pulsate from an overload of colorful spring blooms. The snow thaw is comfortably in the past and colorful spring day hikes are exhilarating and a nice way to work out your kinks from a dormant long winter.

The GoLite Footwear Surge Lite hiking boots tip toed through the tulips to see how they performed.

GoLite Footwear includes the company’s Soft Against the Ground technology. A soft outsole absorbs changing terrain and a stiff midsole for protection is the company’s solution. GoLite Footwear touts the technology cuts rear foot movement by 33% and minimizes ankle injury.

The Surge Lite is noticeably light from the time you pry them out of the box to keeping a nice pace on the trails. Using EVA instead of polyurethane for the midsole is one of the reasons it’s so light.

The upper uses a combo of nubuck leather and mesh. The lug pattern on the sole is GoLite Footwear’s Sticky Gecko. More than 300 differing sized lugs are plastered across the sole.

The lug pattern is different compared to other hiking footwear. It’s a flashback to the lug pattern on all-purpose sports shoes of the 1980’s. What the Sticky Gecko’s lug pattern on the Surge Lite gives is a larger surface for your foot to grip the ground on your spring meadow sojourn. Because there are so many lugs at varying sizes, it’s built to adapt to softer to harder surfaces.

The outsole’s performance was impressive. The multi sized lugs gripped varying terrain with little slippage. The boot’s design includes abrasion resistant material on the toe and heel. Unseen rocks and unfriendly roots on the trail won’t slow your pace.

images/GoLite FootwearGoLite did not design the Surge Lite to be waterproof, so they are designed for the high ground and not the swampy side trails along the lake, ponds and streams. Minus the absence of waterproofing, the GoLite Footwear Surge Lite hiking boots are a light and comfortable choice for enjoying the colorful spring meadows on your next day hike. (MSRP $120)