By: Blonde Two

When KEEN offered to send us Blondes some more footwear to try out I was very pleased because for some time now I have been after a pair of shoes/sandals that would take me to the beach and back every day, not be afraid of getting wet and would possibly even be slightly swimmable in. KEEN have such a varied and exciting range of beach footwear that I really didn’t know what to ask for, so I explained what I (and Blonde One) wanted to do with our new shoes/sandals (rock-hopping, beach-strolling, sea-paddling etc) and very cleverly KEEN knew exactly what I needed. They sent us 2 pairs of their UNEEK beach shoes.

Even KEEN themselves admit that these are somewhat of a hybrid, but this is an advantage because with a cushioned trainer type back and an airy sandal front, they are the perfect combination for any adventure the beach might like to throw at you. Someone who wants to spend all of their beach time sitting might opt for one of KEEN’s more strappy sandals but if you are the kind of girl (or bloke) who likes to seize any opportunity for exploration then this is almost certainly the beach shoe for you.

Blonde One has been mega-busy preparing for a Duke of Edinburgh expedition recently. The poor girl has had no beach time, but I have been wearing my UNEEKS to the beach every day and having great fun trying them out in the waves and rock pools. You gear junkies will be wanting some statistics so here are the ones that are important to Blondes:

You know how smelly canvas shoes can get? Well UNEEK have *Cleansport NXT™ for natural odor control.
You know how tricky it is to find a beach shoe that fits properly? UNEEK’s free moving cord structures allow it to adjust to your foot.

There are other important factors too, UNEEK are very light, have ‘high-traction’ pods on their grippy soles and hold your foot firmly where it should be.

I almost always have problems going into sandals for the summer and expected some after a winter of softening my feet in the sea. However UNEEK holds my feet so firmly that the only rub I experienced was a small one on the top of each big toe (I did walk quite a long way in them) which will soon go. The firm grip does make it a tad difficult to put the shoes on when my feet are cold and salty post swim but that is easing the more I wear them.

I am very pleased with my new KEEN UNEEK beach shoes, they appear to do everything that is on my list and I am looking forward to taking them on a swim-walk very soon.