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Reviews > Footwear > Sandals > Teva Womens Wraptor 2 Running Sandal > Owner Review by Colleen PorterOwner
Review
Teva Women's Wraptor 2 Running Sandal Name: Colleen Porter Age: 28 Gender: Female Height: 5'8" (1.7 meters) Weight: 130 lbs. (59 kg.) E-mail: tarbubble at yahoo dot com Area: Orange County State: California Country: USA Date: May 14, 2003 Bio: I hike and backpack primarily in Southern California, in deserts, mountains and most everything in-between. Trails run the full spectrum – rocky, eroded, rutted, overgrown, and sometimes nicely maintained. I carry my 1-year-old son around on my back, so on any hike I am almost always carrying at least 30 pounds. I've been hiking since I was a kid, backpacking since I was 20. I used to be a casual, occasional weekend backpacker, but in the last 2 years have gotten much more serious about it. In the summer of 2003 I will be hiking the John Muir Trail with my husband and son. After that, I wish to turn my sights toward longer trails. I would say I am a very open-minded backpacker, and am comfortable with a minimum of extras. I enjoy simplicity in my equipment. I'm out there for the walking - everything else is peripheral. Women's Wraptor 2 Manufacturer: Teva URL: http://www.teva.com Year of Manufacture: 2002 Listed Weight: 14 ounces/ 395 grams Actual Weight: unchecked Product Description: Running sandals that can be adjusted using three different hook-and-loop strap closures. One strap closes the rear of the sandal, behind the ankle, one "Fusion Arch" strap that wraps entirely around the center arch of the foot (the strap starts on the outside of the shoe, crosses over the foot, loops under the foot through a channel in the footbed, and then crosses back over itself on top of the foot), and one strap right over the base of the toes. The strap exteriors are made of a synthetic material that is slightly sueded, and are padded against the foot. The toe of the sandal is turned up slightly. The footbed is contoured to provide arch support and, I assume, better grip of the foot. They look like running shoes, but with large holes throughout and straps instead of laces. Field Information: The Wraptors have been used mainly in Southern California, but were also used for a 3-day backpack down the Grandview Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. They were used on sand, clay soil, rock, mud, and grass, in forests, through streams and in deserts. I've walked through frosty morning meadows and on hot, sun-baked earth in them. As of writing this review, I have owned them for 5 months. Review: I have always disliked hiking boots, but when I was still carrying 50-pound (22.68 kg) loads they were a necessary evil. Since I began lightening my load, I have been looking for the perfect hiking sandal. Trail runners have been increasingly popular for lightweight backpacking, so why not a trail running sandal? Right out of the box, the Wraptors are comfy. Very comfy. I wore them around the house for a few days before I could get out on a trail with them, and at home they fit like a dream. The three Velcro straps are reasonably easy to adjust, and the sueded microfiber topsole (which has an antimicrobial treatment to inhibit odor) is soft and comfortable. The footbed is nicely contoured and holds my foot gently in place. The sandals cover a fair bit of the foot, but enough exposure is there that they still very much feel like a sandal. I should note that I very rarely wear socks with sandals, either on the trail or at home, but those times that I have worn socks the Wraptors have still performed very well. The first time I
wore them out on a trail, I
was sure I'd found the perfect shoes.
Comfortable, secure, good grip,
easily adjusted, excellent ventilation. I
especially liked that I could adjust
the toe
straps tightly before heading downhill, to stop my feet from sliding forward
in the sandals, and easily
loosen them once the trail had leveled out. I
wondered if my sandal search
had finally come to an end. It took me a while to find any
problems, and those problems have been minor enough that I still use
the Wraptors for most of my hiking and all of my
running now. Problem number one came out of my expectations, rather than a failure on the part of the shoes. Being sandals, I expected that if I got them wet, they would dry quickly. Sadly, this was not the case. On an overnighter, I crossed numerous streams wearing the Wraptors. With my son on my back, I prefer not to hop from rock to rock, so I simply walked through the water. The sandals did not dry quickly, and I soon had raw spots underneath my ankles, where the damp shoes rubbed me. I suspect that wearing socks with wicking properties, indeed, wearing any socks at all, would probably get rid of this problem. Problem
number two began making itself clear on tougher trails. I noticed that
the soles did not seem to grip as well on the downhills. I
have had my foot slip out from underneath me twice while wearing
the Wraptors, both times on a considerable incline, both times
resulting in me falling straight down onto my bottom. Inspecting
the tread pattern, I can see why. The heel portion has fairly
straightforward tread – more or less perpendicular to the footbed. But
the tread in the front portion is angled about 45 degrees
toward the rear of the shoe, so as to give a better grip when running. On
uphills and even trails, the grip is great. On steep
downhills, the front tread is practically designed for slipping. I understand that the Wraptors are made for running, not for hiking steep trails with weighty packs. Because of the Wraptors, I have begun stepping differently on downhills now – before, I would step onto the ball of my foot first, but now I place my heel first, taking advantage of the better grip I find there. This works very well so far and seems to have solved the problem. The additional problems are minor and possibly specific to my feet. The antimicrobial treatment on the topsoles doesn't inhibit all odors. I have taken the Wraptors off at the end of a long day and had quite a funky smell come wafting up. It's very easy to make the middle strap too tight, which has my feet aching within minutes. And I've found that after long, hard walks, I have small hot spots right where the balls of my feet end and the arches begin. These hot spots can probably be avoided by vigilantly adjusting the toe straps as the terrain changes. And, being sandals, small pieces of debris can find their way into the shoe. Summary: The Teva Women's Wraptor 2's are excellent trail and running shoes. I find them to be incredibly comfortable, easily adjusted, and they hold my foot very securely in place. They have their minor drawbacks, but for backpackers who use trail running shoes, I recommend them wholeheartedly. Read more reviews of Teva gear Read more gear reviews by Colleen Porter Reviews > Footwear > Sandals > Teva Womens Wraptor 2 Running Sandal > Owner Review by Colleen Porter | |||