Name: Jennifer Joy
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4" (1.63 m)
Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)
Email address: jjoy AT io DOT com
Location: Austin, Texas
Date: August 3, 2005

Backpacking Background

I have been camping and hiking since I was a small child. I used to not be very weight conscious, but I am actively working to move towards lightweight backpacking and plan to replace much of my gear in an effort to help an extreme tendency for tendonitis. My backpacking trips tend to be over a weekend or day hikes within a multi-day kayaking trip. Multi-week hiking is a long-term goal. I could be considered an intermediate backpacker but an experienced camper.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Keen
Year of manufacture: 2005
Website: http://www.keenfootwear.com/

Listed weight (one shoe): 11.0 oz (312 g)

Weight as tested (one shoe): 11.3 oz (320 g)

Shoe alone: 10.6 oz (301 g)

Insole: 0.7 oz (20 g)
MSRP: $99.95 US
Material: Upper is waterproof leather, webbing and mesh

Color: Fuzz/Loden (tan with spruce green accents)

My shoe size: 8 (U.S.)

Shoe size requested: 8 (U.S.)

Notes on fit:

According to the website, these shoes might run a bit large, but I did not find this to be true in my case.

Product Description

The Keen Taos lies somewhere between a shoe and a sandal. In my mind it is more shoe than sandal because if you covered the open holes with mesh you'd have a fully enclosed shoe. The secure shoe-like heel cup is also very non-sandal like. The women's shoe is built on a B width last (the men's sandal is built on a D last). The shoe has a beige leather upper that is very soft. The straps are somewhat stretchy and what appeared to be stitching along the beige stripe on the straps is reflective. The straps are connected with a thin bungee-like lace system. A small plastic toggle is used to snug the laces. The tongue is made of a padded mesh material. A thickly lugged, semi-stiff sole wraps around to the front of the shoe providing a very hard toe covering. The footbed is treated with AEGIS Microbe Shield (TM) which is supposed to protect against odor, staining and deterioration. The entire shoe is machine washable. For a much more extensive description and pictures of the shoes please see my Initial Report.

Field Test

General Information:

For all but two days of the estimated forty days of use I have worn this shoe with my 3/4 length orthotic which ends past the balls of my feet. This is an important element to note because some of the excessive wear I have found on the shoe could be because of the use of the orthotic. When the orthotic is worn the normal footbed is removed and the orthotic is placed in the shoe. This means that my toes touch the underlying material at the base of the shoe's interior.

Fit/comfort:

I have found the fit of the shoe to be extremely comfortable. The bungee cord lace system proved to have a secure toggle and the system of webbing and the cord encased my foot securely. If it was too tight it was easy to loosen, or if too loose, easy to tighten. I relished not having to ever have to retie laces, which is the norm for my regular shoes. The toebox is roomy. The substantial toe guard worked very well to prevent even a hint of pain from direct hits from the front, although a blow angling in towards the pinky toe is not as well-protected, but still only slightly painful. (I am not clumsy, those were killer roots and rocks, I tell you!) I love being able to wear my orthotics into the water and back out again, giving me good support at all times. This is a major feature for me.

Materials:

The outer part of the shoe has held up well to water, mud and dirt. Dirt has discolored the outside, but not so much so that I could show it in a picture. The inner part of the shoe has not fared so well. There is a covering along the footbed which has detached all around my toes on the right side and is coming apart along the seam and at the toe. The shoes like water, although I found that they did smell funky while wet, but the smell went away once they had dried. Drying is not super quick. It seemed to take overnight to a day to become fully dry, but they were also comfortable to wear when wet.

These shoes grip like an unripened peach to the vine. I only wiped out once, which seemed pretty good odds considering I spent over 20 minutes walking around on a slime covered boat ramp helping friends try out some boats. Overall, they held fast over rock and root, whether the shoe or the surface or both were wet, I found the grip to be very good. On my light floor they never made a mark.

The shoes went through the washing machine just fine but ground in dirt held fast. It is not unsightly; instead it gives a darkened weathered look, like a well-loved hiking boot.

Trips:

Locations for Test:

1. Month-long trip in July in Michigan/Wisconsin
Description: Hiking day trips

Weather: From the 70s F (21 C) into the upper 90s F (32 C).
Goal: Durability, functionality, intense use.

This was my main shoe for all endeavors. After all this time the sole and uppers are hardly worn and the outer leather surface only shows the smallest amount of dirt which is well hidden by the tan colored leather. Even washing in the machine did not remove the ground in dirt. I found that for my feet I liked to wear light socks for longer hikes. It kept the amount of abrasion down and increased my comfort. If I wanted to get my feet wet I would remove the socks. I did copious amounts of slogging around in the sand. Approximately a quarter cup of sand would wedge into my shoe on deep dunes and eventually it would fill the shoe until I thought it would burst. Then I would have to take off the shoe and empty it. Dry sand was not too uncomfortable, but wet sand would abrade my skin. One day after hiking in the dunes I discovered that sand had come in through the seams of the covering material on the inside of the shoe and created large lumps under my toes. This sand would not come out except by a slow process of being squished back out and even two weeks later I still have sand coming out and getting between my toes, which is not very comfortable. At the time I first noticed it I saw no excessive wear and no ingress point for the sand besides the seam which holds the shoe together on the inside. At the end of the trip I noticed that the bottom surface on the inside of the shoe is beginning to tear and stretch. The picture shows the sagging material and the seam separating at the right.

Torn inner of shoe

I did a lot of hiking on varied terrain, with rocks, roots, mud, gravel, steep inclines and declines and was amazed at the secure footing. No matter the slope, my foot did not slide around. The bungee-and-straps system really kept my foot locked into place. For temperate weather (no snow) hiking I couldn't find a terrain the shoe couldn't handle. Dirt and mud did not seem to get into the shoe, but they did create some interesting patterns on my socks that corresponded to the vent holes. While the small vent holes keep objects out, they also increase the heat. And if any tiny object managed to get in, I had to take the shoe off to remove it. This was a very rare occurrence, only happening twice (besides sand which is not the best place for a shoe in any case).

I found that I would get a hot spot on my heel and general abrasion from sand (if present) on my toes. Socks helped with this problem but decreased some of the fun and flexibility of wearing a sandal. Despite my proclivity for wanting to wear socks I have to admit that these shoes really are very comfortable on their own for general use without any socks.

2. Kayaking
Description: The kayaking part of my month-long trip

Weather: From the 70s F (21 C) into the upper 90s F (32 C).
Goal: Determine comfort while wet, drying time and of course, to administer the funky smell test.

I found this shoe to perform well while sea kayaking on multiple trips ranging from 1 - 5 hours. The stiff (compared to most paddling footwear) sole and deep lugs provided a comfortable and secure footing against the footpegs. The sole's lugs on the bottom also kept pressure off my heels and they did not go numb like they do sometimes. I tried the shoe on all sorts of slimy rocks and docks and found the grip to be great both in the water and on dry rocks with wet shoes. The sturdy sole was a boon on rocky beaches and helped me carry my kayak much easier than with thinner soled water shoes. I also found I could wear neoprene socks inside of my shoes which kept my toes warm in the cold water. The easily expanded bungee-lace system was great for changing the size of layers worn inside the shoe. The shoes did smell some while wet, but that dissipated once they had dried.

Further testing planned:

I'll keep wearing the shoes and monitor to see if the wear worsens. I will continue to wear the shoes on weekends and in the evenings, for kayaking and hiking, but alas, I cannot wear them to my office.

Summary

Likes:

Good fit and easy to remove and put back on
Orthotic support in a sandal-like shoe
Looks nice enough to wear into town

Concerns:

Hot feet in 90+ F / 32+ C degree weather
Sand getting stuck in the base inner shoe material
Wearing of the shoe's inner material

A final note

Thank you to BackpackGearTest and Keen Footwear for the opportunity to test the Keen Taos.

Read more reviews of Keen gear
Read more gear reviews by Jennifer Joy

Field Report