USVI-On-Line

Ok, I am caving in and getting some real hiking/water shoes. I know there is amazing love for the keens. Dear lord why are they SO expensive? They must be good right?

Anyway here is what I want:

-NOT open toed, I need toe coverage
-as open air as possible otherwise
-good grip on rocks, slippery stuff
-cute as possible

Are there any shoes I should be looking at other than keens? Should I just bite the bullet and fork over the dough?

Flip-Flop-
If you go to shoes.com, they feature all terrain sandals right on their home page. When you look at them, most of the one's like you describe are Keen's. You may have to bite the bullet. But there are some cute colors.....

Sister-- I know why you did not consult me cause you know I would have said Keens Venice H2. HANDS DOWN I wore these shoes non stop on STJ.

IMHO the should be the offical shoe of STJ since it handles all of the terrain and water issues that STJ offers.

Hugs!!

Flipper:

My wife bought these lands end shoes right from sears for our STJ trip this year and was very satisfied. Don't know how "technical" they are but she was content for the hikes we did. They are closed toe but open from there back. Also some cute patterns.

http://www.landsend.com/pp/BeachTrekker ... igin=index

Flip, in my opinion, the best looking water shoes are made by Salomon. These are cheap either, but they look better than Keen's:

http://www.zappos.com/n/bs?q=women+techamphibian

We wore these in Costa Rica - we hiked every day. This is a good shoe for light-to-moderate hiking on rocky terrain.

I'm going to have to jump on the crowded Keen's bandwagon. I have worn the heck out of my Venice H2s and they're still going strong. They have been in and out of rivers, on hikes, bike trips, camping, you name it. Extremely comfortable and I think they're cute. I used to think they're expensive but I've worn mine so much I don't think so anymore and bought some for DH and the kids. I'd rather have one pair of $100 Keen's than 3 pairs of crappy shoes that don't last! (I wore them so much last summer that my feet had weird tan lines.) Note: you can rinse them out at night and they're dry by next morning, which is nice when you're traveling and bring limited shoes and you don't want them to get stinky.

I have found that, for me, the Venice and the Newport fit differently. The back strap on the Newport is too tight for me, even when I size up. The Venice H2 is fine. My son has the same issue with the Newport; DH and daughter don't. I guess what I'm trying to say is try them on or buy from a place like Zappo's with free shipping.

I know alot of people rave about Teva's. I haven't tried any but they have some with the closed, protected toe, like Keen's. They look like they'd be equally comfortable.

Dang, girl, you got me thinking. Some cute colors on Zappo's, I think I'll get another pair!

Gromit wrote:Sister-- I know why you did not consult me cause you know I would have said Keens Venice H2. HANDS DOWN I wore these shoes non stop on STJ.

IMHO the should be the offical shoe of STJ since it handles all of the terrain and water issues that STJ offers.

Hugs!!

Where have you been hiding out Gromit?

Hello my friend!

I have just been crazy busy with work and a fellowship at UVA. Also contemplating a run for a public office (don't ask!)

Just busy defending the world and keeping it from falling into the hands of stupid people!! You know, same old same old.

Plus if I don't have a trip planned to STJ I tend to hang back on the board and just lurk.

But with a trip on the horizon in December and next JUne you'll be hearing more from me!!

Be careful what you ask for ....

Just ordered a new pair. Your fault!

chicagoans wrote:Just ordered a new pair. Your fault!

Sorry! LOL.

I have decided I need to try them on! Colors are cuter now for sure.

Hey FF-- I fixed my ticker!!

Gromit wrote:Hey FF-- I fixed my ticker!!

Good job. I tried in vain to figure out how to have two running at once! If you figure that out let me know.

You can do it, but then it says that the "Signature is too long"!!!

flip-flop wrote: I have decided I need to try them on! Colors are cuter now for sure.

Yea! Let me know what you end up with. I ordered a pair of Mango and a pair of Carnelian/Apricot. (I'll only keep 1 pair; they're a half size apart. My current pair is too worn out to read the size.)

There are other colors I like, but not many in my size. At 5'11", my feet are, ahem, not dainty.

Chicagoans-- neither Flip flop ro I fall into the "dainty" category. I'm a size 11M and FF is a 10M!!