FOOTWEAR FOCUS ROAD TEST I took both pairs on a canoe trip down the River Wye to test the claims
A true shoe story A
They were also extremely uncomfortable – plastic has come along way in now not being hard and rigid. They were also red. Why, as a little boy I was given red plastic sandals I don’t know, but the fact I remember my red sandals so well is confirmation that I was scarred for life by having red sandals. My red sandals accompanied me on a family
ny reference to a particular fashion of the past tends to brand one with a mark of Cane – you stand out as O-L-D. My fashion reference point is a pair of plastic sandals my mother bought me what, forty years ago? They were not a fashion item, not at least until they were
reinvented as “jellies” when they were reproduced in translucent plastic and impregnated with glitter. My plastic sandals were cheap, and practical.
that both pairs of sandals could be used for water activities such as canoeing, river rafting, sit on top kayaking, and amphibious hiking. It was towards the end of June and like the rest of the country Hereford and the Welsh borders had had a very, very dry spring and early summer. It meant that launching and getting into the canoes we had to wade or walk in the river. We were in and out of the water all the time. A risk with boating is that firstly, your shoes become waterlogged and you spend the day acquiring soggy and wrinkly feet and secondly that when you embark and disembark or move about the boat, the lack of grip sends you spiralling onto the deck – or overboard. Teva’s patent-pending Drain Frame technology while still allowing your
toes breathing room meant at no time did the water not drain away and leave my feet comfortably dry. I have had leather sandals and leather deck shoes neither of which do anything like the job of wicking away the water.
Henry Harington takes a canoe trip down the
holiday to Pin Mill on the River Orwell, down river from Ipswich where my mother had friends who lived on a yacht that was immobilised by being moored in the deep, grey, silty mud by the river bank. I made sandcastles and frolicked on the shoreline, a regular mud lark you
River Wye to test claims that Teva’s Open Toachi and Omnium sandals could be used for water activities.
A feature, I have not seen in a “waterborne” shoe before and which
might say. Until that fateful afternoon. There is a breakwater that protrudes some distance into the river on which I was playing with my sisters under the fluffy Suffolk clouds until suddenly we realised the tide was rushing in and we were set to be stranded on the breakwater or worse to drown as the sea covered it. We plunged into the mud to make a dash for the shore ahead of the rapidly
advancing tide. I was the youngest and the smallest, the mud was already up to my knees and the water rising. I trudged, swam, yomped and yielded to the increasingly hysterical urgings of my long legged sisters until we were able to drag ourselves from the mudflats onto the marshy shoreline. We were breathless, but full of relief and satisfaction that we had averted
a disaster - until it struck me. I looked down at my feet; my mud covered legs and feet and absorbed the realisation that I was missing one of my red plastic sandals. Who knows, as climate change dries up the mudflats on the River Orwell, years from now an archaeologist may uncover a single red, plastic sandal and wonder how it got there. Sandals have moved on, as have I from the Pin Mill (fashion) disaster of forty
years ago. In the height of summer I was given some Teva sandals to test. It seems unfair to mention them in the same breath as my red plastic pair. I tested the Open Toachi Sport Sandal and the Omnium. The former are a
very traditional looking pair with straps over the toes and the instep and a rear strap. Teva sum it up, they say that the Open Toachi is, “For those looking for a little less coverage,” which sounds quite suggestive but it isn’t in this context! The Omnium is a “closed” sandal. That sounds like a contradiction in
terms. Teva describe the holes in the Omnium as “a series of drainage ports with monofilament mesh screens allow water to escape directly through the bottom of the shoe while preventing debris from entering. These ports also work in reverse by allowing air to flow through for additional ventilation and comfort in even the hottest environments.”
makes a lot of sense is Teva’s Microban® Zinc technology. We were camping near the Wye for a few days and, as I have said, in and out of the water, it was hot so when we were not in the water we were sweating. Teva say the Microban Zinc technology fights the growth of odour causing bacteria and fungus – that thrive in warm soggy conditions. The built in anti-microbial protection provides odour control that won't wash off or wear away. Reassuringly, Teva say that the technology is environmentally friendly – it would seem a shame to derive such pleasure from paddling down a beautiful river like the Wye and leave some noxious chemicals in it as payment! The “Spider Rubber” that Teva have patented is a great feature, lending grip and giving confidence that you won’t end up on the deck or in the drink. Again both pairs of sandals compare very well with more traditional “boat shoes” giving the “Spider” grip. I have also been walking on the moor around my home on Dartmoor in
both pairs of sandals. They are tough and very comfortable. The straps, Velcro fastenings and clips ensure that, even when your feet are wet, they do not slide about. Of course walking in rough countryside there are risks of thorns, but with
both pairs their close fitting reduced the small stones getting into the sandals. I wandered up and down streams, going from rock to rock or wading through pools. In the weather we have had this summer these are ideal shoes, draining quickly and giving grip on the slippery rocks. One final caveat – the people at Teva must have a sense of humour –
mustn’t they? The Omnium surrounds your feet and protects them against bumps and abrasions and were definitely my choice for “amphibious hiking.” The shear openness of the Open Toachi means you run the serious risk of stubbing toes – I have to ask is Open Toachi a play on “open toe?”
Details:
Omnium SRP: £65.00 - Trade: £32.50 Open Toachi SRP: £60.00 - Trade: £30.00
30 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• SEPTEMBER 2010
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