arrgghhh my love-hate relationship with Teva sandals

[Kali]

good: strong, last forever, simple design, wet/dry, can wear with socks for winter

bad: teva stink, pricey, actually hurt my legs/knees after wearing all day but at least can wear all day...but my biggest complaint? why the FUCK do they make the straps so damned short? My feet aren't that huge, but while the sole fits fine, the velcro is at the last half inch and the design is only about half way across my toe area and arch. Half is the fuzzy part of the velcro so I have half black and half design. the straps need to be two or three INCHES longer, not talking just a bit longer.

[riderinthestorm]

1. I gave those up a decade ago, as soon as the Keen brands came out.

Love, love, love them. Much comfier. They can be 'fitted" around my feet whether my feet are their normal size at the beginning of the day, or slightly larger by the end of the day. I can make them looser if I want to wear them with socks or not.

http://www.o2gearshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&language=en&currency=USD&products_id=62460&origin=Pricegrabber&zmam=55982562&zmas=1&zmac=5&zmap=62460

They're about the same price as Tevas as well.

[Kali]

3. hmm a bit more shoe-like than I want, but these aren't too bad

?cPath=1


I know the toes probably help keep sand and rocks out but I really prefer them to be open.

how are they for the stink? and how do the sizes run? Tevas run pretty big I can easily take a smaller sole (unlike the freaking straps) than the normal huge size mens flip flops from wally world I live in.

in fact the absolute best sandals I ever had were some walmart teva rip-offs in that hurricane style I had back in the 90s. I have never seen them again. they lasted for years and never got stinky until the last few months just before the straps finally self-destructed (and they were long enough!)

I have had 3 or 4 pairs of the genuine tevas since then, but they always manage to piss me off in some way, especially the straps being too short. all of them have been that way - like they must really save some money by doing it or something. they should make them long and let the customer cut them off and singe the ends if they are too long.

[riderinthestorm]

4. I've had my current pair for about 5 years of pretty hard use. I throw them in the washer!

But my feet are uhm, smelly

I like the open toed sandals as well but finally caved on these after seeing so many people wearing them. Once I tried them I never went back. Finally gave my Tevas to Goodwill. The sizes run big as I recall but like I said, I've had mine for a while so that may have changed. They really have held up amazingly well for the shit (literally) they've endured.



The elastic is a godsend in that I can literally shape the shoe around my foot depending on whether I'm wearing socks or if I'm just at the end of a long day and my feet aren't very petite anymore. Besides, they leave a cool dirt stripe pattern on your foot when you take them off! Very sexy doncha know....

[Kali]

11. shoes are my curse

so I ordered those whispers from zappos for quite a bit more $$ because I am on a time line and the fast shipping from the other site put them in the same price range anyway. went to check my history and saw I had tried a pair of keens in 2008 (right before a trip then too, I am sure) and sure as shit the largest womens' size did NOT fit. I wonder if these will be better? I noticed several comments said they actually run small so now I am worried.

here are the ones I tried back then. I could tell from the insides they would have been SO comfortable, and I was totally bummed at the time...

[riderinthestorm]

13. No suggestions. Maybe jump up to the men's sizes? My husband swears by his Keens as well now

His feet are two different sizes and very narrow... historically they've always been hard to fit (and his feet smell worse than mine .... )

[Kali]

17. another plug for zappos now

I called and got the teva return credit applied to the second pair of MENS (yes good idea - I had looked earlier but didn't see these until a little while ago) keens and the womens order canceled. so now I only had a little bump in the price instead of 3 outstanding charges. whew.

so, these are what I am going to try:



a little clunky but open toes and hopefully comfy and tough.


what a pita shoe shopping is! but at least I didn't have to actually go do it!

I HATE HATE HATE shopping for clothes, mens clothes are made so much better than women's anyway

[riderinthestorm]

21. Well I love them. They don't look clunky to me but of course I wear something almost identical!!

And my fave place on earth to shop for clothes is Goodwill (boys dept since I'm only 5'2 )

I just co-opt my husband's flannel shirts for the rest of my stunning wardrobe!

Good luck! Mine are tough, tough, tough. Hope yours hold up to desert weather like mine have held up in sticky humid hot IL summers....

[Kali]

24. savers for me!

I hear ya there!

[NightWatcher]

8. another vote for Keen Newport H2's

I love the toe box for climbing around stuff and protecting your toes

[rug]

2. That's not much use against scorpions and rattlers.

[Kali]

5. better for stepping on scorpions than bare feet

though I have done it in an emergency

bare feet make you more cautious and at least for me, allow me to move and get out of the way faster

[GoneOffShore]

6. People often refer to "Teva stink" (TM) but I've never had that problem.

Is it a body chemistry thing?

And I've got a pair that are at least 15 years old.

[Kali]

10. no idea

I don't wear regular shoes much. Had some fake converse that got stinky on me once but as far as I know this is a fairly common complaint about teva's. I know part of the problem on my last/current pair had to do with the stupid dot pattern that was on the sole. those little dots filled up with nasty dirt/sweat/who knows what really fast and when you wash them you really had to flex and scrub to get them cleaned out.

[Arugula Latte]

12. I had problems with that.

I stopped wearing them -- they'd get to stinky.

[RILib]

7. improve the world

outlaw sandals except on the beach.

[Kali]

9. fat middle-aged woman going barefoot in the grocery store is probably worse

[RILib]

22. or man

[hibbing]

14. Teva stank

Hey,
I had a pair that lasted a long time and took a lot of abuse. I thought it was just me that got the Teva stink, that was some nasty stuff. The tread on mine finally cracked. Not a birk fan, I'll have to find another pair of sandals when the spring rolls around.

Peace

[Kali]

20. well, if you hate to shop I sure reccomend zappos

prices are a little steep but the returns are so easy and they get the product out fast. for me the extra is worth the hassle - my choice locally is walmart, otherwise a 60 mile drive to Tucson and the horror of mall shopping

[MiddleFingerMom]

15. You probably don't want to wear your Sunday best.

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[Kali]

19. unfortunately,

my feet already look like that

[2theleft]

16. I now wear Sanuks all the time...

they are not sandals (although I think they make some)...but they are so light and so comfie that you don't feel like you have on shoes at all.

My boyfriend loves them as well and he is VERY picky about shoes.

http://www.zappos.com/sanuks

I have the zebra ones. I heart them.

And, they make ones that are fuzzy inside for the winter. I don't have those because I received a most awesome pair of ugg slippers several years ago for Christmas, but my sister has the fuzzy ones and loves them.

[Kali]

18. those do look comfy

I was looking at their mens flip flops too but need something more versatile (hiking/wet/socks) for now. I like a pair of flip flops for summer, and going shopping. problem is I usually try to go off cross country in them and ruin the toe strap by doing stupid things like climbing down steep hills. I should invest in a better pair for sure. usually I just get the leather mens at wally world.

[Trailrider1951]

23. Wow, I know what you mean

I am the original Lady Bigfoot! Size 10 to 11. I gave up buying 'womens' sport sandals and moccasain shoes a while back...try the equivalent men's shoe, and they are better-made to boot!

[surrealAmerican]

25. It's too bad sandals never seem to come in widths.

I usually have the opposite problem: the straps just won't adjust tight enough for my feet.