Upon first sight I thought these Tevas looked like the bigger brother of those all-terrain hiking sandals, like a trainer version of these sandals. They fully enclose the foot (with mesh openings of course) to the base of the ankle and provide good protection especially over the big toe, due to the rubber uppers.

The first few days I used the shoes to wear around the house and to the shops, and found them very comfortable and quick to slip on and off. No tying of laces is required because of the “quick-pull lacing system”.

The next test for the shoes was to use them commuting to and from work on my bicycle. Once again they passed with flying colours. Even though I was wearing them with socks my feet stayed cool and the shoes were very comfortable for cycling, providing good grip on the pedals.

Then it was time to step up the game a bit and see what these shoes were really capable of. A road trip up North landed them in a forest in Hebden Bridge on a very rainy day. . . perfect for putting them through their paces in mud, mossy conditions and water.

Manoeuvring the wet and slippery rocks in the forest was a breeze. A closer inspection of the underside of the shoe revealed the “Spider rubber outersole” which provides excellent traction because the rubber is in segments which move as you step.

I walked through a few streams and submerged them completely so I got a chance to test their wet-to-try capabilities. Even after they were completely drenched, the shoes were still very comfortable to walk in, and they had excellent grip on the rocks under the water.

Back in the car for the next leg of the road trip, I took them off and left them by my feet for the journey. I expected them to be drier after the hour’s drive, but subsequently found that wearing them actually made them dry out faster.

I am a bit of a scaredy cat about hurting my feet or legs and the Teva shoes made me feel very safe on the rough terrain and gave me complete peace of mind.

Available online from www.teva.com