Guest - Not logged in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Teva Riva eVent Hiking Shoes > Test Report by Brian Hartman
TEVA RIVA HIKING SHOES
INITIAL REPORT - October 07, 2009
TESTER INFORMATION
I have been hiking and camping for over 20 years and enjoy backpacking solo and with my kids in Scouting. I especially enjoy fall and winter backpacking and camping. My backpack and gear are older and weigh 40+ lbs (18 kg). This has limited the distances I have been able to cover while hiking. My goal over the next several years is to replace my existing clothing and gear with more suitable and lighter weight alternatives. PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: Teva Year of Manufacture: 2009 Manufacturer's Website: http://www.teva.com MSRP: US $130 Listed Weight: N/A Measured Weight: 2 lbs 3 oz (982 g) Shoe Size: 10 USA (9 UK, 43 EU) Other details: Nubuck leather upper eVent waterproof breathable lining Dual-density EVA midsole Nylon shank Rubber outsole Color: Charred Teva describes the Riva eVent as "a durable and supportive hiking shoe that can handle any task. The Vibram outsole ensures that you’ll always have traction, while the eVent waterproof membrane keeps your feet dry and comfortable."
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The Teva Rivas arrived in a typical shoe box, wrapped in paper. Carboard forms were stuffed inside the shoes to hold their shape. Although I knew what the shoes would look like from having viewed them earlier on Teva's website, I was immediately impressed upon opening the box. These are very good looking shoes! They are attractive and fashionably styled with tan leather uppers and dark brown suede on the tongue, heel and sides. READING THE INSTRUCTIONS The Teva Riva shoes arrived with no hang tags or instructions. However, there were several stickers on the inside lid of the shoe box. Of note, one of the stickers indicated that these shoes were coated with Scotchgard protection. I was pleasantly surprised to learn this as I've often wondered why hiking shoes aren't treated for stain resistance. A second sticker briefly described the eVent fabric that allows these shoes to be waterproof, yet breathable. The sticker also provided a link to Event's website which was very informative and interesting to me as there are a number of waterproof / breathable fabrics and coatings on the market today. TRYING IT OUT
The Teva Rivas came pre-laced, so all I had to do was slip my feet in and tie the laces. Having built these shoes up in my mind, while evaluating their construction during the past several minutes, I must admit I was slightly worried that they may not fit as well as they looked or appeared to be designed. Of course they would be stiff and require a break-in period, as most leather hiking shoes do. I was not worried about that. I was much more concerned about how they felt when I slipped them on. And now for the verdict: although the shoes seem to be long enough so that my toes don't touch the ends, they are very tight in the width. After putting them on, I walked around the house for several minutes hoping to loosen them up. Over the past few days, I have continued to wear them around the house as well as while working out on my stair climber in order to stretch them out, and they have loosened up slightly. Of note, the heel cup does a good job of securing my feet so that they don't slide around and the tongue and lacing capture my foot so that it does not slide forward. I also don't feel any pressure points around my ankle, but the sides of my feet are squeezed just before the toe box and my feet hurt after wearing them for a few hours. Upon further evaluation, there seems to be enough room when I remove the insoles and so there may be a height issue going on as well. SUMMARY
I really like these shoes. They are well made and appropriately aggressive for trail hiking. My biggest concern is fit. I am looking forward to getting these shoes out on the trail and giving them a thorough workout. FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS
PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD
I enjoyed wearing the Teva Riva shoes during the past two months of testing. Although their width remained tight as noted in my initial report, I did not experience any other discomfort. My heels did not slip while walking and the toe box had sufficient space. In addition, the insoles were comfortable while backpacking on hard ground and I received no irritation from the tongue of the shoes. The break-in period for these shoes was fairly short, on the order of a few days. On the down side, I was only able to wear the Teva Rivas with thin socks because of their snug fit. The thin socks limited the comfort range of the shoes in cold weather as noted below. Also my arch support orthotics could not be used in these shoes due to their snug fit. In an attempt to better understand whether these shoes ran small and whether a larger size would help, I searched my local shoe stores for the Teva Rivas but was unable to find them. SUMMARY
The Teva Riva shoes are well-designed hiking shoes. They are lightweight, waterproof and they breathe extremely well. The fact that they are tight on my feet is unfortunate as they have so many good features. This concludes my Field Report. Please check back in about two months for my final test results. LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS
Deep snow and below freezing temperatures over the past two months have limited my testing of the Teva Rivas. During this time I wore the Teva Riva shoes on one backpacking trip and two day hikes for a total of five days. In addition, I wore these shoes around town and while clearing snow off our driveway. PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD
During the long term report period Indiana received approximately fourteen inches of snow. Most of this snow remained on the ground until early March due to sub-freezing temperatures. Given these weather conditions, it was very difficult to keep my feet warm and dry while wearing the Teva Rivas. My first trip was to Brown County State Park in Southern Indiana. When I arrived at the park it was snowing steadily. In an effort to get to camp before nightfall, I quickly grabbed my pack and headed out, but forgot to bring my hiking poles. While trudging up and down the steep trails I slipped and fell several times. By the time I arrived at camp, my feet were cold and wet from snow entering thru the tops of the shoes and soaking my socks. I don't believe any wetness worked its way through the shoe lining; the Teva Rivas are waterproof but just not tall enough for hiking in deep snow. As snow continued to fall the following day, I abandoned the Teva Rivas in favor of my winter hiking boots. As trail shoes, the Teva Rivas do not perform as well as my winter boots that grip exceptionally well in deep snow and on ice. The tread design is not very aggressive and the lugs are not deep. SUMMARY
The Teva Rivas are lightweight, well made and durable hiking shoes. In addition, they are waterproof and have done a fantastic job of keeping my feet dry in rain. However, I have never been able to fully resolve the fit problem I have with the shoes. They are just too narrow for me. Read more reviews of Teva gear Read more gear reviews by Brian Hartman Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Teva Riva eVent Hiking Shoes > Test Report by Brian Hartman |