Keen's Presido vs. Keen's Commuter Shoe Choices

November 11th, 2010 Posted by Rachel. Published under Bike Tour Preparations, Gear + Product Review. 1 Comment.

This week for my product review, I’m going to talk out loud about my impending shoe choice for our trip.  I’ve narrowed it down to two different shoes, both from Keen.

Although I already have a pair of both of these shoes, I thought I’d check quickly what sort of social and environmental goals they have.  Although the easiest to find information was on their own site and I’ll take the information with a grain of salt, my guess is that a company doing the “right” things, or getting close to doing the right things, is going to brag about doing so.  Which means, I can be concerned about the fact that their shoes are made in China, but be glad that their socks are reported to be made in the US.  I’m also going to choose to believe that they are indeed donating to all the listed conservation groups because why would a company whose main customer is using them outdoors not encourage conservation?

Anyway, onto the shoes.  I have a pair of their Presido shoes, ones without clips for biking. I also have a pair of their Commuter sandals.  Only thing is I’m on the fence about both of them in terms of which to bring along.  And yes, I know I could just go with some other brand, but the cons aren’t enough to wipe out both options, just which is better than the other?

Pros of the Presido shoes (I’d get a new pair with clips.):

• They’re a solid shoe so warmth isn’t a problem.
• Being a solid shoe means they’re more stable when hiking too.
• They’re less likely to get stones, sand or other small things inside them.
• They’re leather, so they’ll last a long, long while.
• They’re nice and squishy, which makes them great for walking and standing for a long period of time.

Cons of the Presido shoes:

• They’re a solid shoe so they’ll get hot in the desert and summer heat.
• They’re not 100% waterproof.  They’ve done superbly well so far in wet Boston, but what about a torrential downpour?
• They rubbed the back of my foot in such a terrible way that it took over a month to break it and my foot in.

Pros of the Commuter sandal:

• They’re a sandal so they’ll be cool in hot weather.
• It’s easy enough to put on a few socks and a Gore-Tex shell and they’re warm too!

Cons of the Commuter sandal:

• The pair I have they proved to not be waterproof and it took a day to dry (but yes, only a day instead of dayS.)
• Sand, stones and other things got in and weren’t easy to get out unless I took the shoe off.
• In order to get a thick (and thus warm) sock on, I bought a size bigger.  As a result, they aren’t great for hiking.
• The insole has come un-stuck on both pairs.  This hasn’t happened to Jessica’s pair, but I’m not sure it won’t happen to a new pair.

With REI‘s excellent return policy, I’ll be able to return the sandals and see if I can’t get a smaller and hopefully intact pair instead.  But I’m in love with my pair of Presido shoes.  I think I might want to try them on some major hikes next summer to see how hot my feet actually get.  If they don’t get too hot, I might just go with them.  They’re super comfy and as Jessica can attest to…I get cold feet pretty easily!  Then again, I’ll have to find a way to try and keep them dry!  Hmm…though, the sandals are the same, so maybe a pair of Gore-Tex shell no matter what?  That way my foot will stay dry regardless of my shoe’s condition.

I’ll let you know what I decide in the end!