Needless to say, they look pretty bad now, but that’s due to me using them well past their prime

Here’s a few things I’ve noticed (or tried to ignore) while wearing these

The Tread (neutral)

It started to look flat by the start of year two, and that hole finally appeared about a month ago

I won’t blame the brand for this, since I’ve been running around, shuffling on asphalt, doing hard stops on bikes, climbing rocks/trees, pacing… doing pretty much EVERYTHING with these on at some point, and the website says they’re meant to be closer to a watershoe/sandal than an everyday wear

It should be noted that I was able to wear a hole in a good pair of crocs in about six months easily, so these holding up kinda impressed me

The laces (bad)

Drawstrings just aren’t my thing to begin with, but the aglets were crap, they grab dirt and don’t let go, the end broke off of one side and forced me to use my awful knot tying skills (ok, they’re not that bad, I was just in a rush), and after the first year just feel too brittle to draw on when tightening the shoe (which kinda defeats the purpose)

Luckily, they do adjust to my feet well, and after a while I could just slip my shoes on without adjusting straps

The look (good)

I REALLY like the design in these.

I’m a sucker for interesting looks that take themselves seriously, and these were right up my alley. They have a no nonsense profile combined with what should be a goofy mesh, but ends up being a pretty sleek look

The foam did catch dirt pretty easily, and they only stayed that super white for about a year, but even then for a while it just looked like I was wearing a slightly cream colored shoe, which ended up going with a lot of things I wear (better than full white tbh…)

So, maybe I’d get a different color next time, but otherwise great

Inside (meh)

It was ok, just your average croc style shoe

Extra toe room was great!

Blister on my heel? Not so much

Socks are advised if you’re gonna be actively doing something in them for hours on end. Definitely don’t go running around the neighborhood playing tag unless you’ve got socks on, or your feet will be raw

Water tends to make friction between my foot and other materials to increase, so I was happy to find it’s not too bad (so long as you aren’t jumping around or dancing everywhere)

Walking in them is fine though. TLDR, pay attention to how much you plan on doing before going barefoot in the barefoots

They stop feeling good when you get mud or sand in them. I find this funny since tha the top two things a watershoe will encounter besides, well, water.

This being said, ALL shoes start to suck after mud gets involved, and it washes&drys faster than everything I’ve worn before, including other water shoes (sidenote: they’re ocean safe as far as I can tell. Your shoes won’t smell like rotten seashells when you get home so long as you’ve rinsed them out, which can’t be said for a lot of brands, sadly)

Durability (good, but not perfect)

Not what I needed, but definitely what I should’ve expected

I used the heck out of these things, and after a while it started to take a toll on them. I’m sure avg. 14k steps a day doesn’t help that, especially with how rough the surfaces I walk on are (primarily asphalt, dried clay dirt, and backroad caliche)

I have a tougher pair of shoes for hikes and stuff these days, but I got those fairly recently, so these poor guys had to eat up those treks for a while

Weather never did anything permanent to them. Had a pair of boots mold up after being left out in a particularly humid week, but these are pretty much invincible against that kind of thing

Got some grease on the right one recently, but that will definitely come off if I bother to wash it (I think it’s time to retire these guys though, so it’s probably a waste of time)

I would reccomend that vivo improve their tread to last a bit longer, even if I’m an exceptionally rough shoe owner.

Comfort (good)

The pinch wore off after about two months of use, and now the front actually uconfirms to my toes a bit when moving. Feels good, and I don’t get blisters there when walking around (I can’t say the same for crocs).

They don’t have almost any cushioning to them, so if you’re a feel the earth kind of person this is for you. I personally enjoyed it

Like I said earlier, lots of activity that involves changing directions or shifting your feet will earn you blisters if you don’t have socks on, but this should be expected if you’ve ever played sports before, and is easily avoidable

Nice and airy, managed to keep cool even in 95+ degree weather, and (maybe this is just me, it’s kind of wierd), so long as you wear an extra pair of socks, keep warm enough to go out in snow for a while. Maybe not an all day excursion, but walking around for a few hours doing chores? No problem. Something about their material just makes certain kinds of snow slip by instead of melting into your shoe.

Yeah, on second thought that last bit could just be my Northern European blood talking

End? (worth it)

Again, they look like garbage now, but I also have friends who’ve legitimately never seen me wear any other pair of shoes around them, so it safe to say I’ve enjoyed them.

I’m horrible with saying good things about the stuff I buy, so I’ve probably given the impression that these shoes are mediocre, but just know that they’ve been good for me for a long time, and I’ve enjoyed working them to death.

Somehow pulled a victory with dev cards despite barely getting any wheat, and they messed up a road building and ended up with that random offshoot at the bottom

This game is the fastest I’ve played since I became aware of catan as a concept