BackpackGearTest.org - Keen Newport H2 Owner Review by Rami Benhameda

Tester Information:
Name:	Rami Benhameda
Age:	36
Height:	5 ' 11 " ( 1.8 m)
Weight:	205 lbs (93 kg)
Gender:	Male
Shoe Size:	10.5 EE U.S. 44 EE E.U. 10 EE U.K. 9.5 EE AUS
Location:	Indianapolis, Indiana
E-Mail:	rbenhameda AT comcast DOT net

Product Information:
Manufacturer:	Keen Footwear
Year of Manufacture:	2004
URL:	http://www.keenfootwear.com
Listed Weight:	27.8 oz (788 g) (per Pair)
Measured Weight:	28 oz (794 g) (per Pair)
Current MSRP:	$85.00 USD €63.48 EUR £44.20 GBP $106.87 AUD
Color Selected:	Charcoal/ Royal
Size purchased:	10.5 E U.S. 44 E E.U. 10 E U.K. 9.5 E AUS

I've been hiking and backpacking in and around Central and Southern Indiana for the past 20+ years either solo or with my wife and daughters. Within the last 5 years, I've become an avid long distance hiker with sections of the AT in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia under my belt, as well as other long distance hiking. In 2000 I began trying to find ways to lighten my backpack in order to have a more enjoyable hike. I continue with this process today and have managed to bring my solo base Summer pack weight down to the range of 10 to 15 lb (4.5 - 6.8 kg)

The addition of paddle sports to my Spring, Summer, and Fall activity line up has prompted me to rethink my standard boots or trail shoes selection. The addition of the Keen Newport H2's to my options list has been a fantastic success.

All RED text in this section comes directly from Keen. Some areas have been clipped to exclude non-pertinent information, but no alteration of the content has occurred. The text is available in full by going to http://www.keenfootwear.com and navigating to either the Newport H2 page, or by navigating to the FAQ page. I have added one footnote regarding item #4 under 'Features and Benefits' to further clarify what may be an ambiguous proprietary term.

The Newport H2 is the foundation of the Keen Footwear line. Designed to perform in adverse conditions, the razor sipped outsole and 3mm lugs provide excellent traction. A true hybrid, the waterproof uppers withstand the abuse of saltwater and dirt, while providing supple comfort and stylish looks.

The Newport H2 upper is made with a polyester woven webbing. The H2's footbed is all EVA so will not absorb water which makes it a better choice for extended submersion in water. In addition, the H2 is all synthetic, it is a "vegan friendly" shoe.

For quick drying, the Newport H2 has polyester webbing and a hydrophobic foam lining that does not absorb water. Just in terms of of pure weight when dry, the H2 is lighter and will dry a little quicker. Keen footwear now uses ÆGIS Microbe Shield™ in all of its sandals. ÆGIS Microbe Shield™ uses a revolutionary bonded antimicrobial technology that provides protection against odor, staining and deterioration caused by bacteria, fungus and other microorganisms. It's an antimicrobial barrier that is machine washable, too! So, you won't have to go to a lot of trouble to keep your Keen water sandals looking clean and smelling fresh. Just toss them into your washing machine with a small amount of detergent and wash on gentle cycle setting. After a couple of hours of air drying, they'll look like they just popped out of their shoebox! Oh, don't worry about harming them. Keen sandals love the water, and have passed rigorous wash-cycle testing.

1. The term "Razor Sipped" is used by Keen to describe a feature of the outsole of their shoes which is pictured and described in more detail later in this review. The term refers to fine zigzag cuts across a section of the outsole.

I began paying attention to all of the Keen shoes as soon as they showed up in the outdoor retail store where I work in the spring of 2004. I decided to buy a pair of Newport H2's after talking with one of my coworkers who had gotten some and hearing her positive feedback. I ordered my Newport H2's directly from the company and they arrived within one week of my order.

The Keen Newport H2 sandals are a unique take on an old design for sandals. The outer sole is the part that touches the road and it is attached directly to the inner sole which is the part that touches the bottom of the foot. Connected to that are straps which surround the foot and wrap around the heel. These all meet at the top of the foot and are tightened around your foot by pulling a bungee type cord and locking it in place with a barrel type compression lock. In the case of the H2's the straps are polyester webbing over a neoprene type material similar to a thin wetsuit.

I had tried the shoes on at the store so I knew that they should fit me well, and after arrival I was not disappointed. They were a perfect fit. I tried them around the house and neighborhood at first to see if I needed to adjust how tightly they fit for optimum comfort. I also tried them with and without socks. After determining that the Newport H2's were quite comfortable and enjoyable to wear with little or no adjustment, I decided to take them out and see how they did on uneven terrain.

I'll talk more about the H2's performance over different terrain later in the report, but for now I'll talk about what I used them for. I started out wearing them to work. I work in retail so I am a) on my feet for 8 to 9 hours a day, and b) constantly moving from place to place and from standing to kneeling to crouching as I demonstrate products or assist customers. I found the Newport H2's to be a very comfortable alternative to regular work style shoes.

I also used the H2's for general running around, casual visits to friends and family, hiking, playing, driving, walking, boating, etc. My initial impressions were all positive. Good comfort, easy fit, nice traction, and best of all, I could get them wet without ruining them or having them take days to dry out.

I received my Newport H2's in early April and began using them immediately. They quickly became my 'regular' shoe for work, weekends, day and night use. Three weeks into using the H2's regularly, the pull loop on the back of the right shoe broke while I was pulling it on. I immediately contacted Keen to discuss the situation with them. I also explained how I had purchased the shoes in the first place. After speaking with them and hearing that they wanted to have my shoes back, I went to work and discussed their plan with my store manager. They suggested that I pick a new pair from store inventory, send the failed shoes back and they would get a new pair of shoes on the way to the store to replace my pair. My manager agreed that it was a fair deal so we did the exchange. As it turned out, Keen sent out the replacement pair the day I spoke with them so my store had their replacement pair before my damaged pair had even left the building.

During one weekend, I participated in a canoe and kayak demonstration at a local park. The demo was sponsored by my store and the local paddling clubs and I had plans to work both days of it. Representatives from many boat manufacturers were present and answering questions from the people who were there to try out the boats. My job was to get the visitors in and out of the boats, out on the water and back safely. My job was part boat jockey, part lifeguard, part coach, and part towel boy. I spent the two days which were in the mid 60s in my H2s and some smartwool socks as my footwear choice and never regretted a second of it. At times during the weekend, I swam out and towed overturned boats back to shore, and at other times I was on the beach teaching paddle stroke technique or proper positioning to visitors. All of this was in the H2's. They performed perfectly.

I have logged nearly one hundred trail miles over the ten months, and countless generic walking miles as well. In all of that, and excepting the breakage I mentioned above, there have only been two areas I consider to be less than optimal in the fit and function of the Newport H2's. The first of these is the heel strap. The part of the sandal that goes around the back of my foot is fine for normal use, but if I need a tighter fit, I'd like to be able to adjust this part of the sandal for a toe-in-the-toebox fit. This is a rare instance though, so I hesitate to even mention it. The only method of tightening the sandal is to cinch the bungee strap which helps to hold the heel back against the strap. The result of this is that the toes don't fit optimally in the toe box. This leads me to the second minor issue: the metatarsal ridge. This is the bump in the foot bed which is designed to go between your toes and the ball of your foot. When my foot is pushed all the way forward, or even in a neutral position, this ridge is quite comfortable and usually unnoticeable. When I need to cinch the shoes tight for rough terrain though, my foot is pulled back against the heel strap and that causes my toes to rest directly on top of the ridge. On the few occasions I have wanted a tighter fit, the level of comfort in my toes has dropped because of this.

I began using the Keen Newport H2's early in the spring. I have worn them in virtually every weather condition from rain to hot summer to snow since getting them. I have found that in rain, I do not slip on surfaces like tile and linoleum. I attribute this to the unique "Razor Sipped" razor sipping

rubber outsole. This is basically a zigzag cut from left to right covering the whole flat surface (the grey area) of the outer sole of the sandals. The word "Sipped" is apparently analogous to the word "cut" but obviously sounds much more technical. ;-)

One of the unique aspects of the Razor Sipping is that it's hardly visible when the shoe is not pulled into the arc shape shown in the picture. In real world language, this means that as I lift my heel to push off on a step, the curve of my foot causes the outsole to curve as well. The zigzag cuts then separate and magic takes over so you don't slip. I really don't know what the technical reasons are, but whatever they are, they work!. They feel equally sure footed on concrete, wet grass, mud, rock and sand.

The variety of terrain I have covered in the Newport H2's is representative of nearly all of the Midwest. I spent a little time in Michigan in which I got to experience beach sand, pine needle forest floor, large rocks, hills, and mud. I also spent some time in southern Indiana where I experienced very dry, dusty conditions in what we consider hilly terrain. In between I've had the pleasure of wading with the H2's in water, walking on thick pine needle padding, hard packed single track type trail, squishy wet up-to-your-ankles mud, and nearly every other normal type of terrain.

In all conditions, the sandals performed like champs. They clean easily, don't seem to discolor or fade and as far as I can tell, the antimicrobial footbed is still in good working order.

There was only one instance where I felt a part of the sandals were ill suited for the conditions. While walking at the edge of Lake Michigan on the fine sand beach, I found that the slight wave action deposited some sand in the sandals which then accumulated in the toe box. From time to time, I would have to stop to take the H2's off so that I could empty and rinse them before starting over again. If I were in a hurry instead of a leisurely walk, I might have found this to be an annoyance, but since I was not, I did not.

I really love the Keen Newport H2's. They are cool in warm sweaty conditions, yet warm enough to be used almost year round. They dry very quickly, they feel lighter yet more secure than any other trail shoe I've ever owned, they don't slip on wet slick surfaces and they have just enough of an odd shape that they don't look like every one else's shoe. If I could improve anything, I would move the metatarsal ridge a little further back (we're talking millimeters here), and make the strap at the back of the heel adjustable in some way to accommodate minor variations in individual foot sizes.

I will continue to use the Keen Newport H2's as often as I can, and will tell anyone who asks to give them a try. For my feet and walking style, these are just about as close to perfect a shoe as I've ever found. Bravo to Keen for getting almost everything right on the first go.

Reviews > Footwear > Sandals > Keen Newport H2 > Owner Review by Rami Benhameda

Keen

Newport H2

Reviews > Footwear > Sandals > Keen Newport H2 > Owner Review by Rami Benhameda