These sandals - yay or nay?

[Unusualllly]

Keen Rose https://amzn.eu/d/dSI6aKb

I want sandals with a toe box to hide my fugal nails, comfy to walk and sand in all day. Will wear as a teacher who teaches forest school and outdoor activities as well as in the classroom. With and without socks, must be machine washable.

I like the look of these Keen sandals. Do you agree or can I find better?

They’re not always easily treated.

OP I’d just get them. Footwear fashion is so massively subjective - “fisherman’s” sandals are really popular right now but a few years ago would probably have been berated as hideous. Massive chunky soles are in now, but weren’t a little while ago. And so so many shoes are uncomfortable and impractical- I am so tired of women’s footwear being sold for appearances and disregarding practicality. I suppose we only have ourselves (collectively) to blame - obviously there’s a massive market for stupid shoes!

Of course these are 'nicer' but completely impractical for what the op needs. I have another pair of keen sandals that are even uglier than the ones linked to (I bought the new ones to replace my old ones) and they have been worn to death over the last 15 years. They are really brilliant for warm holidays where you are going to be walking a lot either sightseeing, in the countryside and beaches etc.

I always take them on holiday in the UK and abroad (not in winter obviously) along with nicer sandals and 9 times out of 10 the keen sandals get worn all the time with the nicer (but usually less practica/ comfortable) ones being left at the holiday accommodation all day and worn may 2-3 times when I am going out in the evening or when I am not going to be walking all day.

I appreciate that style is all for most people but for me confort is all and if I am spending hours walking along cliffs and beaches in the morning followed by an afternoon sightseeing in a town on hot days, I just want shoes that are cool (ie not trainers) won't rub or give me blisters, that I can wear all day for several days in a row and that cover the majority of most 'holiday' type activities. Most 'nicer' sandal are guaranteed to give me blisters after even just 2-3 hours sightseeing in town.

Trainers or ligher trail shoes also work but they make my feet hot so I only use them on holidays in cooler places

I like ugly shoes, they're always the most comfortable and always end up loving them.

I would buy 😆

@Unusualllly neat pure tea tree oil sorted out my toe nails.

I was coming to say this! It's taken a year on my big toe though so not a quick fix. Although I haven't been totally consistent in application.
I looked at those Keen sandals as I wanted tie box sandals with a decent walking sole. Most of those linked are "fashion" sandals and would be useless for the forest school part.
OP - I was going to get the Merrell version of fisherman sandals, which had a proper should, arch support etc but a bit more stylish. But they were £100 so I've actually opted for Tevas for walking and a pair of leather "fashion" sandals for office/city days rather than try to find one sandal which met all my needs. Both pairs came to the £100 I'd have spent on the Merrells, although I still love the look of them.

The OP says "Will wear as a teacher who teaches forest school and outdoor activities". The thin-soled pretty sandals are totally unsuitable/unsafe for being oudoors on uneven/unpaved surfaces. If OP turned up with some of these suggestions on her feet she would probably be sent home.

We get this every year - OP: "Should I wear these practical sandals for a holiday/trek/outdoor activity/hiking/walking miles?" Everybody else " Never! Old People wear them! Orthopaedic! I would die first" along with suggestions for completely unsuitable fashion sandals. Nobody has a problem with trainers or walking boots being the right footwear for a sport activity- why the hate for sandals which are just the summer equivalent?

The blue and black are better than the lighter pair.

What about these?

https://www.johnlewis.com/josef-seibel-rosalie-48-leather-fisherman-sandals-mid-blue/p113152573

I have no comment on the sandals, but I just wanted to say I've been fighting hideous fungal toenails for years, and then suddenly this year, completely by chance, I tried a new foot cream and it seems to have helped the nails. I am constantly filing them down, and they just grow back fungal, but now they're not. It's a looooong process but I think I may have finally beaten.

The cream is a cheapy drugstore foot cream with tea-tree oil in it, for keeping fungal foot things at bay (not specifically for nails). I've tried everything over the years, including actual tea tree oil, to no avail.

Unfortunately I'm not in the UK so the actual cream won't be available there, but I shall link to it anyway and suspect Boots or Superdrug etc will have something similar.

https://www.mueller.de/p/barfuss-teebaumoel-fusscreme-mit-vitaminkomplex-und-pflegeoelen-2759802/

For me it’s because the ‘practical’ sandals are trying so hard to be a trainer they end up being an ugly trainer with a few pointless holes in.
What is wrong with trainers? They protect your feet, keep them clean, are comfortable and look good.
None of the sandals would be acceptable at our forest school. There’s no ankle support, no protection from falling logs, nettles etc, your feet would be filthy from the mud and potentially you’d have your toe chopped off if axes are being used.

Come on now op there are limits

Not for forrest school, you’ll constantly be picking crap out from around your toes.

I wore similar shoes when I was working outdoors and I was 23 - got told I was wearing grandma shoes by all my colleagues even the women in their 50s who were actually grandmas!

I think if they are for work and they meet your criteria then wear them, comfort over fashion all the way!

I didn't care : )

They look ok and extremely functional. I wonder if the people posting the moshulu fishermen’s ones realise that they aren’t really going to be much good for proper outdoorsing? Sometimes function matters. The Celtic and co fisherman ones and the Josef Seibel sandals do look pretty functional, I’m looking at the Celtic and co ones now!

I have the Josef Seibel ones and they are more the sort of thing you would wear for a city break or lots of walking round town. They are very comfortable so I can walk miles in them but I don't think I would wear them in the countryside or woods.

There’s cool-ugly and there’s ugly-ugly, and those are definitely ugly-ugly. Hideous, joyless style and a revolting colour. They look like the shoes worn in the 1980s by very elderly grandmas who needed to accommodate weird foot deformities acquired from working barefoot in a factory with a vitamin D deficiency at the age of 10.

Nope. I ignore it. Or laugh. Who wants to dress like a teenager?
One pupil said to me, "my Nan's got that jacket" I said "your Nan's a stylish lady!".

You could always wear open toed sandals and socks.

Jesus christ! They’re quite unbelievably hideous.

My eyes, my eyes!! Christ in a hat, a BIG FAT NO!!!

This thread is bonkers.

I went through all the suggestions, some are just much uglier (fisherman), some wouldn't survive two days in the woods, some have no grip, and many have more than one issue at the same time.

The original sandals are very good compromise between function and simple look. The colour, while a bit boring, is the only one which doesn't have contrasting toe, so I see it's appeal.

Now Amazon thinks I like fugly hobbit sandals 😫

Well you might wear trainers or you might prefer sandals for all the usual reasons: cooler feet in hot weather and you can go in water or rinse sand out of them without them taking 2 days to dry, basically.

( However the bit about axes is scary. Maybe the OP should be looking at safety boots for a whole new level of ugly)

ETA: @DiscoPolly , the quote disappeared

My eyes, MY EYES!!!

I actually got a fright when the link opened.

I'm not keen on yours @Unusualllly, what about these?

www.hotter.com/catskill-ii-sandals-brown-1673