TrulyObscure - article - domicilia - trulyrandom - Mion Sandals: Future Shoes?

The locals in Hawaii don’t wear shoes. We wear sandals, flip-flops, rubbuh slippahs. But they tend to be uncomfortable, and certainly not acceptable for more active sports like hiking or biking. Enter Mion, and one of our first Truly Obscure fashion reviews- though these are shoes that certainly qualify as gadgets.

Actually, the new style of wrap-around sandal may be best known in the form of Keens. It turns out that Mr. Keen has left his old company and (with Timberland) started a new one named Mion, and he’s continued to use the concept of a “super structure cord”. If you haven’t seen/tried a pair of sandals like these, they are definitely worth checking out- the cord allows you to adjust the various sections of the shoe to fit your foot, without extra straps or buckles.

We’ve used and enjoyed Keen sandals previously, both in fabric and leather. So we were quite anxious to try out the new Mion sandals, which look quite a bit more “modern”, and are made instead of a material that cannot retain water (unlike leather or fabric). They are also super-light, with a better tread design for wet/dry traction.

Unfortunately, they also take quite a bit of getting used to. Unlike the Keen sandals which cover quite a bit more of your foot, the Mion sandals try to open your feet up more- which sounds great, but ends up looking as if the sandals are swallowing your feet! Further, the lack of water absorption means that if your feet get wet, the material will start to slip like rubber. If you have not tightened the shoe quite firmly, this will start to irritate your foot. Finally, the shoes squeak a lot- never a good thing in a sandal, and something the Keens don’t seem to do.

The Mions are, if properly adjusted, the most comfortable sandal we have ever tried, and weigh less than some flip-flops. They will certainly get you some looks, and at $80-$100 are pretty reasonably priced for a high-quality shoe.