Keen – Newport H2 Sandals

Initial Report – June 7, 2004

Tester Information:

Name: Jason Boyle
Age:  27
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 6”/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Email address: c4jc “at” hotmail “dot” com
City, State, Country: Waldorf, Maryland, U.S.

Backpacking Background:

I have been camping and backpacking for about 15 years.  I started with the Boy Scouts when I was 11 and hiked mostly in the southeastern United States (Florida, Alabama, Georgia).  Later, I went to college in Connecticut and became versed in the New England outdoors.  I currently live near Washington D.C. and hike and backpack in the Mid Atlantic Mountains.  I have been section hiking the Appalachian Trail and have completed all of the Connecticut and Maryland sections, and I am currently working on the Virginia section. I used to carry everything and the kitchen sink, but I have become weight conscious in recent years and have attempted to lighten my load.

Over the past year, I have given up on hiking boots and adopted trail runners as my footwear of choice.  The H2’s are my first foray into the world of hiking sandals!

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Keen

Model: Newport H2 

Size Tested: Men’s size 9 (UK 8.5/EUR 41)

Year of Manufacture: 2004

URL: www.keenfootwear.com

Listed weight:  13.9 oz (397 g) per shoe

Measured weight: R Sandal 12 oz (340 g)

                              L Sandal 13 oz (369 g)

                              Total 25 oz (709 g)

**Disclaimer: the closest my scale will measure is in whole ounces**

MSRP:  $85.00

Country of Manufacture: China        

Other Sandals Used:

Teva – don’t know the model - they are from 1995

Birkenstock – don’t know the model - they are from 1998  

Arrival:

        The sandals arrived in a nondescript cardboard box.  The label showed that it was sent by Keen to my address using the United Parcel Service.  Inside the outer box was a black Keen shoebox that had a pair of new Newport H2 sandals.  The sandals were in perfect condition and obviously new.  Also inside the box was a single piece of promotional material that had been folded twice to make it into a pamphlet.  Inside the pamphlet it showed the spring 2004 footwear selections available through Keen.  The rest of the pamphlet showed pictures of the sandals or people wearing the sandals.  One vital piece of information that is present on the pamphlet is the Keen website and the customer service phone number.

Description:

            Where do I begin?  Some mad scientist escaped from the mental clinic and instead of making Frankenstein with people body parts he made Frankenshoes! The Keen Newport H2’s (from now on H2’s) are a hybrid trail runner/sandal.  I think Keen tried to combine the best of both footwear types: the protection of shoes with the light weight and comfort of sandals.

            Below is a listing of the product details from the website:

The H2 is designed for function.  The all-synthetic upper is extremely durable and quick drying.  The patent pending toe guard offers more protection than any other sport sandal and the multi-lug outsole will serve you well on the street, trail, riverbed, or boat deck

• Built on Keen’s Unique anatomical last for a perfect fit right of the box
• A hydrophobic foam lining that is comfortable against the foot and will not absorb water
• Non-marking outsole rubber compound provides superior coefficient of friction for all environments
• Razor-siped pods on the outsole provide increased surface area for greater traction on smooth surfaces
• Compression molded EVA midsole is contoured for superior comfort and support of the foot structure.
• Elastic closure with cord lock creates a quick, snug, fit while allowing flexibility
• Polyester variable webbing upper wraps around foot for stability, allowing generous ventilation
• 3M Reflective pull tabs provide added visibility during nighttime activity
• Patent pending toe guard so you can worry about the activity and not your toes
• Anti microbial EVA footbed inhibits foot odor and controls moisture

Features I want highlight:

            The toe guard is a great idea.  I am normally a clutz and don’t hike in sandals because I have a 100% chance of stubbing my toe.  The rubber on the toe guard is stiff enough to protect the toes, but still flexible enough to not feel like I am kicking a hard rubber wall with each step. 

            The hydrophobic foam lining on the inside of the foot straps feels like neoprene to me.  That being said the lining still feels nice against my foot even when wet.  Keen claims it is waterproof, but through my initial testing have found that it retains water.  I also did a non-scientific test to determine an approximate drying time if the sandals were completely soaked.  Using a hose, I completely soaked the sandals. Then I set them in the sun to dry.  The air temperature was 80 F (27 C), with a gentle breeze.  It took one hour and forty-five minutes before the fabric of the sandals was completely dry.  There was still some water trapped on top of the sole under the toe guard, but I poured it right off. 

            My only concern with the webbing body is the stitching that secures the lining to the polyester webbing.  I am concerned that the stitching might become an irritation against my foot after a long day of hiking.

I am unable to determine how the webbing straps are attached into the sole of the sandal.  I think they are attached between the inner sole and the bottom sole, but since the inner sole is not removable I cannot tell.

The non-marking sole has nice looking tread.  It is more aggressive than most sandals, but not as aggressive as a trail runner or a typical hiking boot.  It looks like it will perform well under most trail conditions.  The rubber used to make the sole seems pretty stiff, which translates to durability in my opinion.  If the rubber sole was too soft it would tend to be torn up pretty easily when hiking on rocks or rough trail.

The inner footbed is supposed to be anatomically correct.  I think this is a generalization that may not be true, because there are too many different types of feet for these sandals to be anatomically correct for everyone.  They do fit my feet nicely, (a Men’s size 9 D) and so for me and other folks with similar feet Keen did a nice job.

A second quality of the inner footbed is its Anti-Odor properties!  I look forward to putting this to the test.  After a week and half of wearing them, there is no smell.  However, after three to four days on the trail my feet can be quite rank.  Then I will have a true idea of the anti-odor properties.

The shock cord lacing is a great feature.  It makes slipping the sandals on and off a cinch.  I just loosen the cord lock all the way, place my finger in the heel loop and slide the sandals on.  Once the sandals are on, I tighten the cord lock until the sandal feels comfortable. It’s great! I don’t have to worry about tying shoelaces or about shoelaces coming untied.  I am concerned with the durability of the shock cord and how many miles I will be able to get out of the sandals before the shock cord loses it elasticity.

Initial Impressions/Use:

I put the sandals on as soon as I got them and have worn them daily since then.  They were exactly what I was expecting based on the website and my visit to a local outdoor retailer to try on a pair for my application.  I normally use a DSL connection when viewing websites and using my normal DSL connection the Keen website loaded quickly with no problems.

The sandals fit my feet well.  As I mentioned earlier; the anatomically contoured foot bed seems to be made just for my foot.  The arch support, heel cup and toe ridges all hit the right spots on me.  I normally wear arch support insoles in all of my other shoes and the H2’s don’t have as much support as my insoles but I have not had any arch pain or soreness from wearing the shoes.  They are super comfortable and I enjoy wearing them.

In addition to wearing the H2’s on my everyday commute, I have worn them hiking on the C & O Canal Towpath, in Cedarville State Park, in Rosaryville State Park, and while playing a round of golf at Haines Point in Washington DC.  I have also worn the sandals on two canoe trips, one on the Potomac River and one on Antietam Creek.

Based on this initial testing, I have made several observations and will discuss them below:

            -  The rubber toe protector is a great feature. We maneuvered a tree stump wrong on Antietam Creek and capsized.  As I was gathering various canoeing equipment I kicked several tree roots and rocks, but did not cut up my toes/feet like I might have if I was wearing sandals without toe protectors.

            -  The H2’s have the same problem that all sandals have, allowing forest debris to be caught up in the sandal.  They have one disadvantage though that other sandals don’t have, the toe guard and the lack of gaps on the side webbing doesn’t allow the debris to be shaken out.  With the H2’s, I have to take the sandals off to clean out the debris and this can become very annoying.  On a two-mile hike in Rosaryville State Park, I had accumulated so much debris in one mile that I had no choice but to take off the sandals and clean out the debris.  If I were doing a big mileage day (10 plus miles for me) stopping to take off the sandals every mile would be a big pain in the rear.

            -  Another observation is on the traction of the sandals.  On dry trails the sandals work great.  On slick muddy trails with any sort of incline or decline the sandals have no grip. During my canoe trips on the Potomac River and Antietam Creek, we had to pull the canoes out of the rivers on a muddy bank that had about a 45-degree incline.  Everyone else was wearing a sandal or aqua sock of some sort, while I was wearing the H2’s.  I had no noticeable traction benefit over the others in my group. We all had difficulty getting the canoes out of the river, so I thought the lack of traction in muddy conditions might be an isolated incident, but it wasn’t.

            I took a hike on the Perimeter Trail in Rosaryville state park the morning after a big thunderstorm had soaked everything.  The trail was quite muddy and undulated a lot.  I charged off down the trail and hit the first decent and almost busted my butt because the H2’s did not dig into the mud like my trail runners do.  This continued to happen for about 2 miles (that’s all I was hiking that day) and I was actually concerned about slipping and twisting an ankle or something.  Worrying about footing is unusual for me because I am a hard charger and nothing holds me back, but with the lack of traction I was experiencing, I was genuinely concerned.  I was only carrying a day pack with water and dog treats (The dogs were testing boots) and managed not to fall, but if I was carrying a full backpack I think I would have fallen at least a couple of times.  This revelation bothers me because I was planning on hiking in these sandals this summer, and as luck would have it, it usually rains when I go hiking, so how well will they perform?  I am not sure and will attempt to hike in them, but may bring along an extra pair of trail shoes.

Improvements:

           I would like to see several improvements. The first thing to improve would be adding some space between the side webbing on the sandal upper body.  I think that if one of the middle straps was removed and the remaining straps were respaced I would be able to shake out most of the trail debris. 

            I would also like to see a more aggressive lug pattern on the sole of the sandal.  If the H2’s are made for use in the water, the wearer of these sandals will encounter mud.  A more aggressive tread pattern would provide better traction in the mud as well as on the trail. 

Testing Plan:

Below are the specific things I will look for over the length of this test, however, this list is not all-inclusive:

Fit:

Keen claims that their sandal is built on an anatomical last so they will have the perfect fit right out of the box.  Is this true?  I am skeptical because most shoes require some break-in period.  How much arch support do they provide?  I normally wear superfeet insoles, would these sandals cause fatigue in my arches?

Durability:
How durable is the toe guard?  I am pretty klutzy so I tend to scrape the toes of my shoes and boots up pretty good when on the trail.  How tough are the straps?  Can I make it through a full summer of hiking without them coming apart?  How durable are the lugs on the outsole? The AT in this region is pretty rocky and tends to tear up soles.  How easy is the elastic closure with cord lock to operate?  Can you operate it one handed?  How long before the elastic closure is worn out and the sandals cannot be tightened?

Waterproofness:

The straps on both shoes are supposed to be waterproof, how true is this?  Can I easily go from hiking in a stream to trail and not worry about friction and blisters?  Each sole has a hydrophobic foam layer on the top, will this work as advertised and keep water from being trapped in the sole?  

Cleanliness:

The website mentions that the sandals have an anti-microbial footbed.  This is a good feature, but needs a test with some funky feet! I can provide the funky feet especially after a day or two on the trail.

 
Thanks again to BackpackGearTest and Keen for the opportunity to participate in this test.