These Waterproof Hiking Sandals Are Ugly. I Love Them Anyway.
Whether it’s campsite dust or wet ocean sand, these shoes clean up in no time. You have no laces to remove; just leave the bungee cinch as is while you clean. I typically rinse them with water, either at an outdoor water spigot or in my shower when I get home from a trip. However, they are also machine-washable.
The Keen website suggests placing them in the washing machine on a gentle cycle with a small amount of detergent. Once they’re done, lay them out to air-dry.
Whether you rinse them or machine-wash them, they dry impressively quickly. Schuch explained in an interview that the shoe is made with a “quick-drying polyester lining” coupled with a core made from styrene-butadiene rubber. The mesh is meant to be hydrophobic, he said, quickly pushing away water. The SBR core helps to keep the shoe cushioned and comfortable, “similar to a wetsuit.” Just lay them somewhere with open air to dry out. In my experience, they go from wet to dry in just a few hours, if that.
And the rubber is notably non-marking. Schuch told me that this feature is especially important to Keen fans who use the shoes on a boat. “Rubber, especially wet-grip-specific options, can leave nasty marks on floors and boat decks, so we ensure we use a rubber that is both grippy and won’t mark up your home or boat.”
While these sandals certainly aren’t fit for every occasion, their once-cringe appearance has grown on me over the years, and I would buy them again if I were to go back in time. Their $130 price isn’t exactly cheap, but considering that these sandals feel as good as new two years and many hikes later, I consider it money well spent.
So are these sandals an excellent summer shoe for outdoor and city adventures alike? Yes, absolutely. But are they stylish? Well, that’s up to you.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
