Under Review: Keen Men's Durand Mid WP Wide Boots
I'll say it once, and I'll say it a billion more times...I have wide feet. In fact, my feet are so wide, sometimes I have to order dude shoes. My feet aren't "big" -I wear a woman's size 7.5-8 (Euro 39.5), but my foot width is at least 3E.
I've been holding off for a while on getting hiking boots, as trail runners are often more comfortable, and come in wide sizes. But with the rough terrain out here in the Southwest, I had to bite the bullet (and literally fight my wallet to get my card out) and buy some actual hiking boots.
My biggest problem? Boots in my width were in the $350-400 range, STARTING OFF. Are you kidding me? No, literally, are you kidding me? These are things that go on my feet, and will inevitably be destroyed when I fall off a cliff/get attacked by a bear/accidentally walk onto the set of a horror movie involving sharks and lasers...
How is the average, imperfect human supposed to afford footwear that will protect them? If society wants everyone to get off their butt and go outside, at least make it some what affordable.
Now, I'm cheap. I can't justify (right now) the price offered on footwear that's supposed to fit my feet. So I've had to do some work arounds.
I decided if there were no Women's Wide Width hiking shoes available, I could try Men's footwear. I tried regular Men's boots, and they were still too tight. So I decided to go Wide. From there, I just had to figure out the brand...
And I did....
After a brief, but disappointing experience with one brand, I have now moved on to Keen. Keen carries a small selection of Wide-Width shoes, and you can usually find them on sale at Amazon. The pair above cost lest than $150, and I used a gift card for most of that.
The Keen Durand Mid Wide Boot comes in waterproof. Which you think you wouldn't want in the desert, but you'd be wrong. When it does rain out here, you'll be very thankful for that waterproof feature. Also, my biggest problem hiking in trail runners has been sand/dust/dirt collection INSIDE the shoe, so I actually feel some of the water-proofing on this model helps.
I've only had the boot for a short time, but so far, I'm happy with it. I did have to replace the insole, but I hope to have a review of these boots up on Youtube soon!
I've been holding off for a while on getting hiking boots, as trail runners are often more comfortable, and come in wide sizes. But with the rough terrain out here in the Southwest, I had to bite the bullet (and literally fight my wallet to get my card out) and buy some actual hiking boots.
My biggest problem? Boots in my width were in the $350-400 range, STARTING OFF. Are you kidding me? No, literally, are you kidding me? These are things that go on my feet, and will inevitably be destroyed when I fall off a cliff/get attacked by a bear/accidentally walk onto the set of a horror movie involving sharks and lasers...
How is the average, imperfect human supposed to afford footwear that will protect them? If society wants everyone to get off their butt and go outside, at least make it some what affordable.
Now, I'm cheap. I can't justify (right now) the price offered on footwear that's supposed to fit my feet. So I've had to do some work arounds.
I decided if there were no Women's Wide Width hiking shoes available, I could try Men's footwear. I tried regular Men's boots, and they were still too tight. So I decided to go Wide. From there, I just had to figure out the brand...
And I did....
After a brief, but disappointing experience with one brand, I have now moved on to Keen. Keen carries a small selection of Wide-Width shoes, and you can usually find them on sale at Amazon. The pair above cost lest than $150, and I used a gift card for most of that.
The Keen Durand Mid Wide Boot comes in waterproof. Which you think you wouldn't want in the desert, but you'd be wrong. When it does rain out here, you'll be very thankful for that waterproof feature. Also, my biggest problem hiking in trail runners has been sand/dust/dirt collection INSIDE the shoe, so I actually feel some of the water-proofing on this model helps.
I've only had the boot for a short time, but so far, I'm happy with it. I did have to replace the insole, but I hope to have a review of these boots up on Youtube soon!
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