Teva footwear

So I did some seraching aorund on here to see if there were any in depth threads about Teva or Keen but didn't see anything, so here goes because I've got some questions.

I've been looking at these for a little while now, mainly the sport sandals. I always hate wearing shoes and socks during the warmer months of the year and its rare I wear shoes at all during the summer. Backpacking I still like to wear boots but when just hiking around and doing light stuff I wouldn't mind wearing sandals.

But I look at the Teva and Keen sports sandals and I always wonder how stable they'll really keep my foot if I'm hiking up, down and on the side of hills all day. I don't feel like getting blisters because my feet are all over the place. I always hear people ranting and raving about them though and I'm sure some folks on here have some experience with them, so any help would be excellent.

Also, how durable are they? Can they take a beating and not fall apart on me after a summer of going through hell? The ads always show people in the water with them, which kind of worries me too because again, I don't want blisters if I can avoid them and water isn't always friendly to footwear.

Don't know about Keen, but I do have some Tevas. They're fine for kayaking and just hanging around, and I pretty much live in sandals all summer long, but I don't hike in them because...

...I hate getting debris in my shoes and, with sandals, it's inevitable.

...Wearing sandals frequently causes serious heel callouses, which can crack and become painful. This happens to me every summer, so when hiking, I like socks and lightweight lace-ups.

...My Tevas, while comfortable enough, would probably cause blisters on a long haul due to the strap material.

I'm sure other people love hiking in sandals, but it's not for me.

I have Tevas for camp/water shoes. I wouldn't hike in them for extended periods. Your socks/feet get filthy, and while walking a level trail in mine for about a mile I developed a blister. The straps abrade bare skin. Also, it's not enough arch support for me and I can't add inserts. I also hike in woods most of the time and getting a stick or rock lodged somewhere for the seconds it takes to bruise my foot doesn't sound fun.

I did loan them to someone who had heel blisters on a day hike; she wore her socks and wrapped the open sores in gauze first. it was better than hiking in the boots that gave her the problems because she could leave the back strap loose. She walked very slowly for four miles in them and did okay on a maintained trail. They do have nice thick soles.

I know that some people love them for hiking, but it's one of those things you have to decide for yourself, I think.

I have some Keen sandals which I initially bought for camp shoes. They have a lot of coverage and support with the straps, but, like others said, debris and dirt get into the sandals through the openings and I would not wear them on any serious trail for any extended amount of time. I would opt for light weight hiking boots or trail runners over the sandals. The sandals have a fair amount of support, but they just feel like shoes with a bunch of holes in them. Good for ventilating the top of the foot, but the sole of the foot just gets sweaty and that equals muddy with the dust coming through the holes.

Because there is the suede like material on the Keens as well as other stretchy fabric sort of like neoprene, they stay wet for a while after doing water crossings which can lead to muddy feet and blisters.

As for camp shoes I have found that there are lighter weight options available such as cheap rubber sandals (I was going to say thongs, but did not want to confuse anyone). I like the lighter weight and fit of the Crocks.

I hardly wear my Keen sandals very because of the points mentioned above.

I had Tevas years ago, but they did not fit me well, and had the same issues as the Keens. I guess I am just not a sandal wearing hiker.

My friend has been wearing Keens as her warm weather hiking androck scrambling shoes for over three years now. She prefers them to anything else she's tried. Rocks do get in, but she usually will only have to take them off three or four times a day. They are so quick on and off that it's not a big deal. She prefers the Newport H2, because they have the nylon straps and dry well. When it's hot, and we find water, she just soaks shoes and all. She also likes the traction on both loose material, and on rock. They have worn well too, as she has worn them many miles, both on our weekend hikes and her daily walking. She recently bought her third pair, but is still wearing the first at times. They're a little roughed up, but she says they are still comfortable.
I have a pair that I wear for casual use, but they are too wide for me to hike in. I have narrow feet and they move around too much.
As always, YMMV
roosterk

I absolutely agree about Crocs for camp shoes. They are lighter, more comfortable and waterproof. And if I get blisters, I can hike in them.

At Campmor, Columbia brand is somewhat cheaper than Teva and it seemed to me as of fairly recently, Columbia's cheapest model was also lightest of its type offered (in one particular Campmor catalog). This was therefore my selection.

A young clerk gave me what at least seems like a good tip: make sure there is enough sole in front of your toes to help protect against toe stubbing. My current pair are a size larger than street shoe for this reason. Its been holding well up after 2-3 seasons.

I've hiked & back-packed a modest amount in these sandals without any particular tendency toward blisters.

I'm on lookout for something cheaper and lighter on the Wal-mart side.. But it's got to have the rear strap. I don't think I can get used to thong-style sandals & don't want them.

Keen doesn't appeal to me because of weight and price, and I'm imagining all those extra strap things, or whatever, would catch little bits of gravel, take a long time to dry, and thus be inconvenient. Yet Keen does seem to have rapidly become somewhat popular.

I don't like the teva style as I've had nothing but issues with velcro failure. It doesn't hold when wet, collects dog hair and lichen... etc. I'll bet there's more than a few people here who've had tevas sucked off their feet on a river trip...

I've worn chacos for years: much better arch support. I've graduated to some Keen closed toe sandals which I like even better for support, hiking etc.

Chaco!

Chaco's try them!

As I have said before "all I hike in".

BTW: I found out last week Chaco is going offshore....poo!

Do a search that goes back a year. Be sure to put “teva “ in quotes.
OK. I’ll put in my usual rant (copied and pasted). I’m a sandal backpacker. I have found sandals to be much more beneficial for feet over boots (for TLB).
I’ve shopped long and hard for sandals and majority of them plain don’t fit me.

Some sandals I’ve tried:
1. Chacos. These have the dang best arch supports I’ve felt. I just wished they
a). weren’t so heavy
b). did not have straps hit in the wrong spot (remember this is just my foot)
c). kept my ankle from twisting. This might not be critical.
d) didn’t pick up debris.

2. Keens. I left these because:
a). makes my feet very warm for summer use
b) takes longer to dry than leather sandals. That’s weird.
c) caused me blisters
d) too heavy; (really noticed on long hikes)
e) picked up debris.
f) easy to twist ankle. Again, might not be critical

3. There are others…

And now I come to the Teva’s. Most Teva’s don’t fit me. I backpacked in the Hurricane II for several years. But now I think I have found the perfect sandal (almost): the TerraFi-2 worn with a coolmax sock.

This is what I found with this Teva:
1. Before trekking, cinch the ankle strap and then the toe strap tight (within reason). After about 15 minutes I have to tighten a 2nd time. I don’t know if my feet shrink or the webbing stretched. Anyway, this will prevent debris coming in and blisters from forming.
2. Wear a decent wicking sock. This keeps sweaty feet drier and prevents blisters.
3. When resting, loosen the straps. That feels nice!
4. Sandal should be about 3/8” to ½” longer than foot. If stubbing must occur, the sandal will take all the brunt.
5. The arch must fit right on. Otherwise your foot gets tired faster. This is adjusted w/ the backstrap usually once or twice in the lifetime of a Teva.
6. No boot stink after a long hike! Tevas have anti microbial whatsumacallit.
7. My ankles don’t twist. This is because of the rather wide foot bottom and a tight cinch.


In summary, I’ve experienced the following joys with sandals:
1. no need to wear blister treatment.
2. no need to carry blister treatment.
3. no hammer toes or blackened toenails
4. lighter footwear (10oz for terrafi2) gave me way more energy. I noticed that right off the bat.
5. wiggle room for the toes.
6. much harder to roll an ankle (vs a trail runner)
7. excellent traction on wet rock.
8. Maybe once/day I have to get the twig out between foot and sandal (it used to be every hour; but not with terrafi2).
9. Instant slipper for camp. Just loosen the straps; no extra weight needed. Thus camp shoe = 0g extra weight!
10. Shoe smell is gone.
11. Don’t have to stop and change socks or take off boot (needed for boot backpacking)
12. They’re cheaper than the boots and shoes I bought
13. Good tread and arch life. I’m getting 500-1100 miles per Teva. It depends on the terrain.
14. Can expand or contract with/for different socks without squishing the foot. This allows a 25F to 110F climate span!
15. Very quick to loosen/tighten straps as the foot expands/shrinks while trekking
16. About as fast as drying multipurpose footwear as you can get.
17. Just plow through the stream w/o changing footwear.




Other thoughts:
1. I haven’t had trouble with Teva Velcro for several years. They hold well in water. Thus they must have improved over previous older complaints.
2. The only con: I wish it had slightly more arch support. However, I really haven’t noticed so maybe my foot muscles have accommodated.
3. Since it took me a long time (several years) to find a sandal that fits, others may have that problem and thus keep coming back to shoes or boots.
4. If you can hike in Crocs, I feel you can hike in sandals AND get better support.
5. I used to have a heal callus. Mine went away after wearing Terra-Fi2’s over a year. That’s a mystery!

May everyone find their foot zen <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
-Barry

I've only had Keen sport sandals for a few weeks, so I can't comment on their durability yet. I have been wearing their low-top shoes for years, though. As far as shoes go they are pretty durable, but their treads usually wear out after about one year for me. Some pairs squeak, some won't, but when they do squeak they will do it with each and every step. Still, they're one of the few brands that are very comfortable for my feet, so I like them. I'm expecting similar performance out of the sandals.

If you've always worn boots and are thinking of switching to sandals for hiking, then it might be a good idea to try them out on a short, level trail to start with. I tried using trail runners for steep trails for the first time a few years ago, and they felt fine except when I was walking downhill; my feet would shove forward into the toebox and get scrunched. It was never a problem with boots, so now I wear runners for easy day hikes and my boots for more rugged terrain. I think I'd only wear sandals for creeks and campsites.

Well that's a lot of info I'm going to have to take into consideration. Thanks.

You’re welcome.
I don’t mean to knock Chacos. In fact it looked like those sandals worked for our own Plinko on his complete AT and they worked with that Z-pack guy on his PCT.
I noticed the Z-pack guy had a lady friend with him that started in boots, got hammer-toed (or was it blistered?), and moved to sandals.

-Barry

I have a pair of Keen sandals that I really like but they are not good for hiking. The first problem is the fact that a lot of debris collects inside the sandal and you cannot shake it out without stopping and removing it from your foot. The second thing that I did not like is their wet performance. Once they become wet my feet slip around inside the sandals and smash up into the toebox. I don't think my foot would actually come out of the shoe but it is disconcerting having my feet sliding around so much. I still have not found anything better for hiking than really comfortable trail runners or light hiking shoes and quality socks.
CM

I have owned tevas since I was a little kid. I have NEVER had a pair fall apart on me. Now, I didn't do any serious hiking in them, but I wear them around camp and as my casual footware while at home. When Teva started, they were THE water shoe. They were designed for surfers and other water sports. You can get them as wet as you want and they won't fall apart. But that's just my experience with them. They are a very durable sandal. Don't know much about Keen though. I'm a teva guy.

I've tried recently my first Keen sandals, H2O model, and I'm satisfied so far.Comfortable for long hours, but not tried on rough ground yet, no blisters, good support...I still have to take then on real hikes!
Keens are very rare in France (I "bumped" on these during the winter sales...), I used Tevas for years, and was OK with them, but felt the feet protection not sufficient, even if support and comfort were adequate. Keens feel much better.