Well, dangit, I went to REI and tried on a pair of Teva Terra-Fi 2's. Very impressed. Now I'm seriously considering returning my new only-worn-on-carpet Merrells+inserts in favor of these. In discussion with the usually fairly knowledgeable REI shoe staff guys, they highly recommended them for light hiking with river crossings, but started to back off when I suggested regular hiking or implied any kind of distance or a multi-day backpack. I could tell they were thinking "riiiiight - like he's doing any real hiking....".

OTOH, to make them as truly versatile as they claim to be, one would indeed have to be willing to wear them in non-hiking situations with socks. Since I'm not that guy (yes, you become that guy, notthatthere'sanythingwrongwiththat <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ), it leaves an $85 hole in my shoe wardrobe in the year-round casual category, currently occupied by my "hikers". To get both digs in to my budget in places I hadn't planned. I'll end up with both in the end... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />