Not the best river sandal

By Spin Ranked #597 - Men's Footwear September 26, 2005

I just spent 3 weeks on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. These were my primary shoes. Not a wise choice. They are nice for water as far as sandals go and protect the toes well. However, the traction when wet on rocks or other slippery surfaces was not very good. In fact, 2 of the other folks had Keen sandals as well—one of them being the Keen Hood River model for boating. They both had the same traction issue. Also, when used for dry and or wet hikes, I was constantly getting rocks or dirt in between the slots on the sides and thus making me have to take off the sandals to empty them. These sandals also stretched a lot when wet. I normally wear a 9 to 9.5 size. I got a 9, but should have bought an 8.5. I think this shoe will be nice for walking around town but not as a river sandal. One of the folks had a water shoe that did not have the side holes to allow water out easily or allow debris in to the shoe. This worked the best from what I could tell. It was easy to wear, dried just as fast as the Keen sandals, did not let the debris in the shoe, and was great on hikes. The Salomon Tech Amphibian sandal is an example of this design. That’s what I want to try next.

View Details: KEEN Newport Sandal - Men's

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes