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During the Long Term Report phase I
have had these sandals in more conditions than I ever imaged I
would. While I have found them ideal in some situations, I have
found them less-than-ideal in others. Overall, however, the Keen
Newport H2s have become a well used and well loved set of
footwear. I am most impressed with their all-around usefulness.
While they are not perfect shoes for any specific activity, their
versatility is what makes them so valuable to me.
It would be difficult to list every
surface on which I have used the Newport H2s, but I'll try! I
have used them all over the state of California which gave me the
opportunity to try them in very diverse conditions. In my local area
I have put many miles on the H2s, hiking in the conditions described in my
Field Report. These conditions included dry grasslands and muddy
redwood forests. During the past several months, however, I have
spent more time in and around the Sierra Nevada mountains, exposing
these sandals to a wide variety of trail conditions not found in my local
parks. I have worn them on dry glacier polished granite, sandy
desert trails, scree and gravel covered mountainsides, and even
snow!
Rock
As I reported
in my Field Report, the Newport H2s do quite well on rock. But, the
rock must be clean. When there is dust or dirt covering the rocks
they lose a lot of their grippiness. It is difficult to describe,
but on some types of rock I felt perfectly comfortable and secure in the
Newport H2s and would hop around happily through the boulders. On
other types I felt cautious and took each step carefully and
deliberately. The more chance there would be dirt and dust, the more
careful I was. A little dirt would take away the nice grip in an
instant. For example, on the nice smooth granite of the High
Sierra these sandals felt great, especially when out of the trail rut, but
if the trail got dusty, either from a change of terrain or pack animal
use, I would have to be more careful. Or, in conditions
where sandstone was the main rock I was much more careful with my steps
than I usually am on granite or the volcanic rocks found in the
northern part of the state.
Sand
Recently I
spent some time hiking and playing on the dunes of Death Valley National
Park. After a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner at the Panamint Springs
Resort, there was still enough light left for a sunset visit to the
roadside dunes outside of Stovepipe Wells. Just as it was when I was
a little kid on the beaches of Lake Michigan, the moment I got onto the
dunes I started running through the sand. Usually I do this
barefoot, but it was a bit chilly out and the sand was too cold.
Instead, I enjoyed the dunes with the Newport H2s on my feet. As I
carelessly ran along the dune crest the toes of the sandals quickly filled
with sand. I stopped and lifted a foot, shook it vigorously, and
sand flew everywhere. The sun was setting and lighting up Death
Valley with a beautiful pink glow, and I was like a little kid playing in
the sand and working off the big Thanksgiving dinner. As soon as I
emptied the sandals the toes would fill up once again.
A few days later we decided to visit
the Panamint Dunes. These dunes require a round trip hike of
about seven miles, much of it across sandy desert. Once again I
wore the Keens, but this time I wasn't running around like a little kid;
rather I was hiking like a respectable adult (okay, I skipped a few
times). It isn't quite as fun, but I didn't get much sand in the
toes of the Keens this way. I think I only shook them out
a couple of times on the entire hike. It could have
possibly been more, but since they don't need to be taken off like a
regular pair of shoes to empty out the sand, a quick shake is hardly
memorable.
Scree/Gravel
If I
know I will be hiking on primarily scree or gravel (especially decomposed
granite) I will not use the Newport H2s. Although it is possible to
shake out most of the rocks that get into the sandal, there is always that
one annoying rock that pokes in an uncomfortable place and will not
budge. It is in these types of conditions that I have to sit down
and take the sandal off to empty out the stuff that got in, just as I
would do with a shoe. Also, on some of the sharp scree on the
mountains of the Sierra Nevada, I will not use these sandals. I
actually will not use any sandals - the rocks are too sharp and dangerous
to risk the injury to my feet. The Keens protect better than other
sandals I have, but they are not as protective as boots or shoes, of
course!
Snow
On a recent
trip I discovered that the Keen Newport H2s make a great after-sport shoe
for the winter. We were in the middle of a nine day road trip over
Thanksgiving week on which we spent time snowshoeing, skiing,
bouldering, and hiking. One afternoon, upon returning to the car
after cross country skiing, I wanted to get my wet boots off as quick as
possible. With our truck stuffed to the limit with our gear I
grabbed the first pair of shoes I could find - the Newport H2s. I
had brought along a pair of snowclogs I use for these situations, but
couldn't find them at the time. I kept my wet socks on (we were
heading back to town below the snow line and I didn't feel like
digging in the luggage for a clean dry pair at the time), and slipped on
the Keens. As I puttered about the car, putting skis and poles
and other gear away, changing clothes, etc, the Keens kept my feet warm
and protected from the snow, and as a bonus the socks dried out quickly as
well. After being shoved in an insulated ski boot all day my feet
enjoyed the chance to breathe and dry out. For the rest of the week,
I changed into the Keens after all of our ski day trips.
They provided decent traction in the snow at the trailheads, were
protective enough to keep my feet dry in the trampled trailhead snow, and
the bottoms are thick enough to insulate against the snow.
Tread
After six months of use the main area
I can see for improvement in these sandals is with the tread. I
found myself occasionally wishing for deeper lugs, or grippier rubber, or
both. Especially on the Sierra trails, deeper lugs would help
significantly in the dust and dirt. I have been happy with the wear
on the tread - both shoes are definitely worn down, but it is
actually less wear than I would expect given the amount of use they have
been through. Although not perfect for all trail conditions, the
tread does exhibit great durability.
Socks
As I
mentioned above, I have worn the Newport H2s with socks. In the
example cited in the Snow section above it was after skiing, but I have
worn them hiking as well. Again, on this recent Thanksgiving trip,
temperatures were pretty cold. We were doing some early morning
bouldering around Bishop, California, and some of the bouldering areas we
visited required a short walk on climber access trails. The trails
were steep in sections, with deep sand alternating with dust covered
rocks. Temperatures were around freezing, but I wanted to wear the
Keens since they have become one of my favorite pairs of hiking
footwear. I decided to try them with heavy merino wool socks,
and it seemed that I was wearing an entirely new shoe. When
worn with thick socks it felt like I had a trail runner type shoe on my
foot. Since the sandals cinch perfectly to the shape of the foot
thanks to the wonderful shock cord design (see my field report for more
information), they hugged the sock like a shoe. I forgot many times
that I was actually wearing sandals. This actually led to a few
slips, as much of the terrain was on the dust covered rock where the
Newport H2s do not perform at their best. At the rock I wore my
climbing shoes, and after a while in those my feet were dying to stretch
out and get some air. I was able to hike out without the socks on
and my feet had room to breathe after suffering the tight climbing
shoes.
The Fit
Having
read the other test reports on these sandals I have learned how individual
a fit can be. What is comfortable for one person may not work at all
for another. How boring would the world be if we were all the
same? That said, I recently encountered two problems reported by
other testers. However, I noticed them in a one-time occurence and
they do not affect me with my regular use. I want to mention
them here because it made me realize that my initial hunches regarding the
sizing was correct - namely, to go up half a size to make room in the toe
area.
I was hurrying down a trail and had
not tightened the sandals to my feet. The sandals still fit and stay
on my feet when not tightened, but my feet tend to slide around
more. As I got to a brief steep section my feet slid forward in the
sandal. Before proceeding, I should revisit how my feet fit in the
Newport H2s. I ordered the Keen Newport H2s in a size
9.5. I am on average a size 9 narrow, but I found that my toes
just barely bumped the top of the toe guard on the Keen size 9s
if I pushed them forward at all. Because of how they cinch
around the feet, the size 9.5s only seemed bigger in length, not width, so
I went with them to prevent any potential problems. The Keens
are a regular width and they are somewhat wide on my feet. They are
also long because I went up the half size - the picture shows where
my toes are when I am standing in the Keens.
When I was hurrying down the trail
with the untightened sandals, my feet slid forward. Suddenly I
felt the metatarsal ridges. I had not noticed these before. They
seemed like mountains under my foot and I was surprised that they were so
large and uncomfortable when my foot had barely moved from its normal
location. When my feet are tightened up properly I do not feel these
ridges at all - they fall at the correct place on my foot.
In addition, my little outside toe was
rubbing uncomfortably against the top most strap. It
only rubbed for about 50 steps while my feet were slid all the way
forward, but it was an irritating rub. If it had gone on longer than
that I would have stopped to tighten the sandals so that my foot would
stop sliding forward.
From this brief experience I am
convinced that going a half size up from what initially felt okay was a
wise choice. If I had gotten the 9s my toes would permanently
be in the place that irritated me when they slid forward in the
9.5s. I am not the person to say if this will be the case for
everyone else, but from my experience I believe it is the reason why I
have found these sandals so comfortable on my feet. There is so much
room for my toes they don't rub or bump at all! The best part is
that due to the shock cord tightening mechanism, although they are long
for me they can be cinched down to exactly my foot's shape and size.
I really love how these sandals feel on my feet, and it is the reason I
keep wearing them.
Long Term Wear
The
Keens have worn remarkably well. After the recent desert trip they
were dusty and dirty, but a quick rinse restored them to pretty good
condition, considering the amount of wear I've put them through. As
mentioned above, the tread is starting to wear, mostly on the
underside of the toe, but it is actually less than I expected.
I tend to shuffle my feet and wear the heels of my shoes out faster
than the rest of the soles - there is no such wear on the Keens.
The blue paint on the bottom is chipped and worn, but the underlying
tread is fine. The anti-microbial footbed has never smelled, and has
endured quite well through the past six months. There is no
noticeable wear to the shock cord, the pull tab on the back of the heel,
the webbing straps, or the rubber of the toe guards. The back
of the right sandal is a bit chewed from a misstep at the Happy Boulders
in Bishop, but overall they look great and I am really happy with their
durability.
Conclusion
As I
said at the end of my Field Report, I am very pleased with the Keen
Newport H2s. They have proven themselves to me over and over
again. Due to their versatility they are always thrown in the car on
road trips, and are usually the shoes sitting by the door for me to throw
on when stepping out for one reason or another. They have
become a natural first choice when opening my closet and looking for shoes
to wear on a hike, and to me that means a lot. I have a LOT of
hiking footwear, and when I automatically reach for the Keens without
thinking it's a good sign. I'd like to thank Keen for testing with
Backpackgeartest.org. It has been a pleasure to participate in this
test series!
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