Teva Dalea Mid eVent Hiking Shoe
Initial Report
18 October 2009
 
Name:  Dawn Larsen
Age: 48
Gender: female
Height: 5' 4" (163 cm)
Weight: 165 lb (74 kg)
Email address: vicioushillbilly AT gmail DOT com
Florence, South Carolina USA

Backpacking Background:
I used to backpack in college a zillion years ago and just in the last few years have backpacked some private trails in Tennessee, Missouri and most recently South Carolina. I have been an avid car-camper for eleven years and I have kayak/canoe camped for four years, both in South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. I use a lot of the same equipment for both. I hike hilly/rocky trails especially in Missouri (my home state) and Arkansas. I live in South Carolina and am busy checking out the terrain here with my sixteen year-old son.

Product Information
Manufacturer: Teva
Year of Manufacture: 2009
Manufacturer's Website: www.teva.com
MSRP: $140.00 US
Advertised Weight: none indicated
Measured Weight: 1 lb 14 oz (.85 kg) per pair
Size Tested:  Women's 8.5 medium
This model available in women's sizes only
Color Tested: Major Brown
Other Colors Available:  Chocolate Chip

 


Production Description 
 The Teva Dalea eVent hiking shoe is a lightweight hiking shoes that looks like a boot.  It is constructed of full grain nubuck and suede leather with Scotchguard stain protection.  According to the website it features:  eVent waterproof/breathable membrane, molded sockliner with enhanced comfort foam technology, nylon shank for torsional rigidity and stability, external shock pad for enhanced shock absorption, and a Vibram rubber outsole for versatile traction.  

Preliminary Impressions
I'm always nervous when I get shoes in the mail.  I wear everything from size 8 to 9, so I ordered an 8.5 because that is what my other athletic and hiking shoes are.  I have the worst time finding comfortable hiking shoes and boots.  I have very wide feet with bunions (thanks for those genes, Mom).  I also have a weird big toe on my right foot.  I dropped an iron cooking grill on it one time (don't ask) and the toenail never grew back right, so it sort of sticks up and sometimes is painful.  If I get medium shoes large enough to be wide enough, then there is heel slippage and too much toe room.
 
Right out of the box, I noticed that the color is really nice for a brown, which is not typically my favorite.  I like this dark brown with the green accents, however.  And it is a visually subtle shoe, which is nice.  The material and workmanship seem to be very high quality. The stitching is nice and even with no loose ends. The leather is even. I especially like the flowered accent on the side of the shoe. 
 
I put these shoes on the first time and they fit a little tightly. The shoe is padded nicely, but that may contribute to the tightness of the fit.  The toe box is a little tighter than my other hiking shoes. I can feel my toe ring and will have to take it off when hiking with these shoes.  I usually forget it is there.  I will have to see how the tight toe box works with my weird toenail.  I can feel it hitting the top of the shoe when I walk.  I'll have to test to see if it becomes painful.  I am a little worried about the area around my bunions as well.  The fit is pretty tight there and I will test to see if they will be comfortable after hours of hiking.  I tried them with a couple of different thicknesses of socks and will test with several different thicknesses to make sure they are not too tight around my bunions. The tongue is soft and padded and feels comfortable.  The most problematic area is the area around my ankle.  It rubs a little right above my ankle bone on my left foot when I flex my foot.  I tried loosening and tightening the laces and it didn't seem to make a difference.  I will test to see if the shoes' leather softens a bit with wear and if that takes care of the rubbing problem.
 
The laces seem to be just the right length, not too short, not too long to drag. They also seem to stay tied without double knotting, around the house anyway.
 
The lugs are not very deep and I wonder how that will work with wet sand, leaves and mud here in South Carolina in the winter? 
 
Summary
 
The Teva Dalea seems to be a good quality mid rise hiking shoe, that may be a little narrow for me. I am anxious to test the eVent technology as my feet tend to sweat.  I am also anxious to test the waterproofness of this shoe. 
 
What I Like So Far
Lots of nice padding in the shoe.
They look really nice
 
What I Don't Like So Far
They are awfully tight, especially in the toe box
They rub on my ankle
The lugs are very shallow
 
This concludes my Initial Report.  Please check back in late December for field testing results.  Thanks to Teva and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test the Dalea Mid eVent hiking shoes.