Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Teva Steep XCR > Heather Oakes > Initial Report

Tester Info:

Name: Heather Oakes Palmer
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5" (1.68 m)
Weight: 140 lbs (64 kg)
Email address: alekto-at-yahoo.com
City, State, Country: Atlanta, GA, United States

Backpacking Background: I consider myself an intermediate hiker/backpacker having been interested for five years without any long-term trips over three nights. Day hiking and weekend backpacking comprise most of my weekend warrior experience averaging one backpacking trip per month and two day hikes per month averaging between 10-15 miles (16.1-24.2 km) per day. I tend to backpack in warm, humid climates such as Georgia and Florida, with a good amount of hiking in the mountains of north Georgia and I have rarely hiked in below freezing or snowy conditions yet. I am a lightweight backpacker and buy my gear accordingly.

Product Info:

Manufacturer: Teva
Year of manufacture: 2005
URL: www.teva.com
Listed weight: unknown
Weight as delivered: 28.4 oz (805 g)
Size: Women's US 8.5
Color: Grey
MSRP: US 110

The Teva Steep XCR is advertised as a lightweight shoe designed for “mixed terrain” use. They also seem to be advertised as trail running or adventure racing shoes. Materials and features include: leather and mesh upper, Gore-Tex ® waterproof lining that is 45% more breathable than normal Gore-Tex ®, a “rubber mudguard at toe”, a molded EVA midsole, an outsole of Spider Rubber ®, and the Adaptive Heel-to-Toe protection.

Initial Impressions:

Arriving only hours before I was on a flight to Florida, I only had time to open the box and admire the pretty colors and stiff uppers before leaving. Upon return I was able to check them out more thoroughly. The shoes look exactly as they do on the website with most of the same information included in the clear plastic insert with a little more detail on features and materials. I like the minimal packaging, but I was hoping for a listed weight or a bit of an explanation regarding the registered Spider Rubber ® and the Adaptive Heel protection advertised for the shoe. The first things I noticed with a visual inspection were the not-so-ridged sole, the general stiffness, and the low tongue and ankle area. Not even on my feet and they feel like they will need some breaking in.

Later in the day, I walked around doing some errands in town and the stiffness from the heel circling the ankle caused blistering after this first minimal use with non-hiking socks and no insoles. My arches and the bottoms of my feet were not sore after this few miles of walking; a fact I find promising given the stiffness of the shoes, my tendency to need insoles, and the roughness of the sidewalks. I have not walked further than my living room using hiking socks, but based on the thickness of the socks I anticipate less pain the next time I begin breaking in the shoes. On the plus side, the stiff ankle area may help prevent my narrow heel from slipping up and down. The shoes fit well; the webbed tongue area and laces easy to adjust to varying degrees of tightness depending on the socks I try on. The toe box is fairly spacious for me even after wearing them in the afternoon for a couple of miles worth of city walking.

Test Plan:

Comfort:
As I continue to practice lightweight backpacking, my preference in shoes runs to lightweight trail runners instead of heavier boots. My old shoes, the Montrails appropriately named XCR (see my review) as well, have sprung a few leaks. I do own a pair of Teva sandals and occasionally hike in them when I plan on getting really wet but I do not like hiking in sandals because my feet attract rocks, sticks, and beer-bottle caps, so I prefer having the whole foot covered. My current Tevas are pretty comfy for a pronator like myself, so I have to assume that the Steep XCRs will have the same fairly flat sole that works well with my flat feet. I also have narrow heels and Morton’s Toe, where my second toe is longer than my big toe, so space in the toe-box is very important as well as my heel not slipping out of the shoe constantly. In my initial assessment, my heel stays pretty well in place but I have not tested them going uphill or downhill yet. Comfort is a very subjective factor, but it is the most important to me. How well do they fit me without the aid of insoles or heel grabbing implements? How much (more than normal) do I want to whine after 15 miles (24.2 km) with 20lbs (9 kg) on my back?

Waterproofing/Breathability:
The humidity and wet trails of Georgia in the summer will provide the perfect opportunity to test the twin powers of waterproofing and breathability. Having found my previous shoes lacking as much water resistance as I had hoped, I am on the lookout for shoes that can keep my feet dry after more than just a light rain. How well will the Teva Steep XCRs keep my feet dry in some of the sporadically heavy rain and hail that can hit Georgia year round? The full Gore-Tex ® lining and the Spider Rubber ® on the Steep XCRs will offer much more protection for all the stream crossings, but I am also concerned with testing how dry my feet stay from my own sweat. I have never worn as much Gore-Tex ® as on the Tevas so I’ll be coming at this test from a new point of view. I’ve never really had a breathability problem yet since I’ve mostly worn trail runners with little water-resistance. The Steep XCR lining is advertised as being 45% more breathable than regular Gore-Tex ®, so how dry will my SmartWool clad feet be after I’ve done 15 miles (24.2 km) in 90F (50C) heat with humidity reaching +90%? I think that the abrupt weather patterns in Georgia and persistent humidity will allow for very good testing of breathability and waterproofing of the Tevas.

Durability:
The Teva Steep XCRs look to have stronger materials than my current Montrail XCRs, which survived a little over one year before getting tears that compromise the water resistance. On average, I day hike twice a month and backpack once a month usually on scraggly National Forest or wilderness trails with an occasional well maintained state park trail. I do not go far off trail, but I often hike on rocks and climb over debris courtesy of the hurricanes of 2004. With the Teva Steep XCRs I want to hike in the same conditions I do normally and see how well they hold up. Am I getting holes and rips in the mesh, leather, or laces? Any damage from rocks to the soles or uppers? I like the mud-guard on the toe that I see on the webpage; will that be helpful in making sure I don’t get holes in my toes when I shuffle my feet through leaves or get stuck between rocks?

Trail Glue:
Good traction is very important in my trail shoes. The heavy rains, mud, streams, and general dampness always make for slick rocks and slick trails. How well will the Tevas grip lichen-covered rocks or water-logged stream beds? How well will they grip small gravel or sandy trails on an incline or downhill? North Georgia is full of trails that are covered in big rocks, cross numerous creeks, or have some sort of bizarre slippery top layer on the trail that always begins on a steep incline or steep downhill. The bottom is not as ridged as I am used to in shoes I plan on hiking over wet rocks with, so I will be curious to see how well the Steeps help me in the not-falling aspect of hiking.

Field Info:

I plan on using the Tevas extensively in day hikes and overnight backpack trips in the North Georgia Mountains. The average elevations I will be hiking in will range from 2000 – 4500 ft (610 - 1372 m) and with summer coming to the South the weather will follow a predictably hot and wet pattern with temperatures from the 70’s- high 90’s F (39 -50 C) during the day, and maybe as low as 50 F (28 C) at night up in the higher elevations. It will rain probably every other day at completely random times making water-resistance a luxury well worth investing in, and breathability in footwear a necessity. Summer is also our favorite time to hit the Cohutta Wilderness on the border of Georgia and Tennessee. The wilderness is overgrown, the trails often hard to follow, and very, very wet with as many as 42 stream crossings on the primary trail. We also plan on taking our honeymoon during the expected period of testing, our sights are set on Nicaragua where we will be kayaking, and then hiking up volcanoes, into rain and cloud forests, and on the beach.

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Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Teva Steep XCR > Heather Oakes > Initial Report