Anyone have experience hiking in Keens?

[hammock engineer]

I tried a pair of keens on yesterday and I was really impressed with them. I like the idea of having footwear that can dry out quickly, and ones that I do not need to worry about using on a stream crossing.

I currently hike in new balances and like them, the only drawback is when they get wet they take forever to dry. I tried chacos, I love them for canoeing but they don't work at all for me hiking.

Keens seem really comfortable and to take the best from the running shoe and sandle world. Anyone have any experience hiking in them?

[dragonfly]

I, too, hike in New Balance--906 trail runners. I'm also a big Keens fan. I've done a lot of dayhiking in my Keens--on the beach, on trails with many creek crossings, and in the southwest (at Mesa Verde and Grand Canyon NP). I find them very comfortable and supportive. I do have to adjust the laces, keeping them tighter when hiking than when just kicking around town. I also need to tighten them even more when they're wet. If the trail has a lot of small gravel, sometimes it gets stuck up in the toe box. Sand is fairly easy to kick out.

On the other hand, my husband and daughter can't stand their Keens on hikes of any distance. Hubby, known on WB as Big Cranky, doesn't have enough room to wiggle his toes. And, about a year ago, someone tested Keens on backpackgeartest.com. It was a total disaster--they had to cut out the sides of the shoe to keep their toes from being rubbed totally raw.

My conclusion is that it really depends on your feet, and how well they fit the Keen last. My feet have narrow heels and wide toe area. They're also fairly low volume (not particularly high arch or instep). My husband and daughter have narrower feet, but higher volume feet. My suggestion would be to take your New Balances when you try out the Keens on a dayhike or two.

[Cookerhiker]

I bought Keens in late '04 for two purposes: (1) hiking in the Sahel of Africa when I visited my daughter in the Peace Corps in *****, and (2) fording streams when I hiked the AT in Maine. They worked well for both occasions plus many other times, including using them as camp shoes. I've also enjoyed walking in streams with them. Last week in Sequoia National Park, I waded and strolled in the Kings River.

I carry then on the outside of the pack and found they dry fast after the fords.

[hammock engineer]

Thanks for the quick replys. I think I am going to get a pair and try them out on some day hikes. I have been looking for an excuse to get a pair for a while anyways.

[dla]

I almost bought a pair until I tried a $17 pair of Payless shoes Airwalks. I've hiked and forded in Airwalks. I've biked in Airwalks. I can't believe I've lived so long without Airwalks.

I'm not sure I can justify the price and weight of Keens given my experience with Airwalks.

My feeling is that Keens are definitely going to last longer than Airwalks. But I can buy 5 pairs of Airwalks for the price of 1 pair of Keens.

[Auntie Mame]

H. Engineer, Keens make several low sneaker-type shoes, as well, that I imagine would be comfortable on the trail, Taos and maybe Humboldt? I like the way the sole comes up around the foot, protective in mud to some extent. I hope you will let us know what you think if you get some.

[Ramble~On]

I have hiked in my Keens for the last few trips out and I love them more.
I took along a lightweight pair of boots the first trip and never used them...now I just wear the Keens and life is good.
It's nice to get into camp and already be in your camp shoes.
I wear socks with them except for water crossing and the only time I've had a problem is when walking in water with fine gravel sometimes a rock or two gets under my foot...no big deal.

[Kerosene]

SpiritWind, do you also wear socks when it's raining or muddy? If so, how often do you find you have to change them? Finally, what kind of socks do you wear?

[hammock engineer]

I went out and bought a pair today. I took them out for a short day hike (around 5 miles). I was a little worried at first. I am still not sold on using them, but I am close. I have very wide feet. One thing I did not like is the spacing of the holes in the sides. When I tried on a half size larger, my little toe lined up just wrong with them. The correct size felt just right length wise, but just a little tight on the little toe.

In terms of hiking with them, they felt really good. They feel close to the new balances I normally use. The one difference I noticed is the shoes are not as stiff. I can feel more of the trail underneath in the keens than the new balances or even chacos.

After wearing them a little, they feel pretty good without socks and just a little tight with socks. I am going to try to stretch them out and make them feel wider. They might just need a little break in time.

[Almost There]

Heald and his hiking partner this year Chou-Chou are hiking in Keen Newports. They're wearing socks from the pics. I've thought about hiking in mine and may give it a shot next year. I've met him a few times and I figure if he's got over 16K on the trail, there might be something to it.

[Ramble~On]

SpiritWind, do you also wear socks when it's raining or muddy? If so, how often do you find you have to change them? Finally, what kind of socks do you wear?

Yes, I wear the socks when it's raining and muddy and except for prolonged
periods of rain I don't notice wet feet.
There are only two types of socks I like to hike in...I don't know if they make a difference over any other sock as I like these and haven't tried others for hiking in a long, long time.

Change socks... Although I carry an extra pair for "in case" I haven't changed my socks :confused: on the last many trips..(all multi day) :eek: Guess that's kinda nasty but I hang them up at night and put them back on in the morning......the way I see it is it's better to have nasty wet socks on my feet than in my pack...and if I put on clean ones I'd have two pair of nasty wet socks to lug around.


The socks that work well for me are "INGENIUS" which have a built in liner and for whatever reason keep my feet happy. I think ? I have both trekking and hiking socks by Ingenius...some pairs seem thicker than others..

If Ingenius socks aren't on my feet I am either barefoot or wearing Alpaca socks made by Dahlgren... I'm not sure which ones I like more.
Oh, the Keens I wear are Newports..I think called Newport H2.
A friend has had a pair for a lot longer than I have and he has had his resoled with a boot sole. If someone says they can't be re-soled..I have seen it done and it works.

Keens are great for hiking...but that's my opinion..I haven't had a noticeable blister on my feet since 1996.
I was worried about ankle support while lugging a heavy pack in Keens...so I stopped lugging a heavy pack:rolleyes:

[Ramble~On]

Opps, Forgot to mention that I have tried hiking without socks and didn't have a problem but sometimes little rocks will get up under my foot.
I am more comfortable hiking in socks and haven't noticed rocks while wearing socks....Once I stop for the night and for "around camp" I shed the socks.