Keen are the masters of making good, properly protective sandals for use on the trails and in the waves, and having used multiple models of the American brand’s footwear in the past – from hiking boots and walking shoes through to kayaking clogs – my expectations for the Keen Drift Creek H2s were pretty high. Once I got my hands (sorry, feet) on them, I quickly realized that – as with many Keen products (and as heavily hinted at in the name) – the Drift Creek H2s naturally work both as for walks and treks in the summer months, and also as , for use on the beach and on rock-hopping coastal adventures, plus kayaking and standup paddling escapades. The Keen Drift Creek H2 has a classic hiking sandal design – a look that was pretty much pioneered by Keen (along with Teva, to be fair) – with a substantial strappy upper that can be quickly and securely tightened with a bungee to provide good support, and a really good, grippy outsole (made with KEEN.
FUSION rubber) that provides traction on even the most slippery, seaweed-covered rocks. As always with Keen shoes, they also feature a highly protective toe bumper, although the buffer on these sandals is a little more lightweight and subtle than some of the chunky toecaps I’ve seen on earlier Keen hooves. A slightly unusual feature on the Keen Drift Creek H2 is the mesh tongue that runs from the toecap to the top of the foot, where the bungee toggle fastens.
This is essentially a floating tongue, and I think it’s ther.