OR - OOFOS OOlala Sandals - Kathy Waters

Dear Editors,

I have one more OR for you all this week, in case you are bored this
weekend.  I look forward to any comments and edits.  HTML is here:
http://tinyurl.com/jqox6rn and the text is below.  Thank you all so much for
all you do!

TGIF!
Kathy
__________________________________

OOFOS OOLALA WOMEN'S SANDALS 


BY KATHLEEN WATERS

April 14, 2016 
OWNER REVIEW 

TESTER INFORMATION 
NAME: 
Kathleen Waters 
EMAIL: 
kathy at backpackgeartest dot com 
AGE: 
65 
LOCATION: 
Canon City, Colorado, USA 
GENDER: 
F 
HEIGHT: 
5' 4" (1.60 m) 
WEIGHT: 
125 lb (56.70 kg) 

Living in Colorado and being self-employed, I have ample opportunities to
backpack. There are over 700,000 acres/280,000 hectares of public land
bordering my 71-acre/29-hectare "backyard" in addition to all the other
gorgeous locations which abound in Colorado. Over the past 15 years, my
husband John and I have also had the good fortune to hike/snowshoe glaciers,
rain forests, mountains and deserts in exotic locations, including New
Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, Slovenia and Death Valley. My hiking style is
comfortable, aiming for lightweight. I use a tent (rainfly if needed).
Current pack averages 25 lb (11 kg) excluding food and water. 

PRODUCT INFORMATION 
Manufacturer: OOFOS, LLC
Year of Manufacture: 2015
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.oofos.com
MSRP: US $59.95
Listed Weight: N/A
Measured Weight: 8 oz (227 g)
Sizes Available: Women's 5 - 11
Size Reviewed: 8
Colors Available: Black w/latte, or chrome, black, cosmic pink, cloud white,
crimson, Bermuda blue, seafoam green and Steele w/cosmic blue or cosmic pink
Color Reviewed: Black with Chrome

Other details:

" Made with OOfoam: to absorb 37% more shock than other materials
* Is made with non-toxic, non-latex materials
* Made in Korea
" Biomechanically designed footbed 
" Soft, conforming toe post 
" Moisture and bacteria resistant; doesn't retain smell
" Machine washable
" So light they float

FIELD USE AND PERFORMANCE 

Description of OOFOS OOlala Sandals

"It's chrome alright. Shiny, nice polished 
Chrome. Chrome." - Trace Adkins


Oh yeah, Chrome! That's the thing I first noticed about the OOFOOS OOlala
Sandals! These are typical "flip-flop" footwear with a V-strap attached to
the soles on the sides mid-foot, tapering to a toe post which fits between
my big toe and its closest mate and secures the V-strap to the front of the
sole. On my OOlalas, that V-strap is CHROME!

The footbed of the OOlalas is where the sandals start to look different from
other flip-flops. A very noticeable contouring pattern is easily seen with
the heel section being "cupped" a bit, the arch is definitely more
pronounced than "zero-drop" shoes and the toe box dips from the mid-foot and
curves upward. The soles of the sandals are very thick in the mid-foot and
taper off a bit in the heel and a lot at the toes. The bottoms of the soles
have some moderate tread with a "channel" in a "T" shape to shed water. And
since a picture is worth a thousand words and no one wants to read a
thousand words if it is not necessary, the picture below shows the
construction better than I can describe!

Side view of OOFoam Sole


Locations where I wore the OOFOS OOlala Sandals

At the end of January, I spent seven days in coastal Florida where they were
having a "cold snap" and the temperatures were never higher than 70 F (21
C). While I was there the heavens seemed to weep constantly. Alas, though I
wore my OOlalas casually, due to a death in my family, my hopes of some
backcountry Floridian adventure were dashed and off I was to New Jersey.

I spent the next two weeks in New Jersey, pining for the outdoors and some
sunshine while central Jersey experienced three storms, each dumping
two-digit inches/centimeters' worth of the white stuff. Obviously, my
sandals weren't very useful there. I had to borrow my sister's tennis shoes
though as I slogged through the slush on daily walks in my sister's
neighborhood - it was the best I could do. There the temperatures were
frigid; 10 to 30 F (-12 to -1C).

Unfortunately, between my out-of-state trips and all the horrible weather
elsewhere, most of my winter time in Colorado was bee-u-ti-ful! We had lots
of sunshine, little precipitation and for the most part, the temperatures
were above normal. Daily "highs" averaged between 50 and 75 F (10 - 24 C).
In addition as recovery footwear after my daily hikes in south central
Colorado - Canon City, where I call home - I wore the OOFOOS after several
snowshoes in Rocky Mountain National Park and in the Wet Mountains.

Performance of the OOFOS OOlala Sandals

When I first put the OOFOS OOlala sandals on my feet and started to walk
around, I felt wobbly and weird. I immediately appreciated the cushioning of
the shoes but the forward/backward "rocking" back and forth had me feeling
like I had one too many glasses of wine! 

Fortunately, that sensation disappeared rather quickly and I came to REALLY
appreciate what that rocking does to my leg muscles as well as the great
cushioning! And these shoes really rock! When on a flat surface, (off my
feet of course), I can press downward lightly on the toe or heel part of the
shoe, and the sandal will rock back and forth all by itself! 

First, about the cushioning. OOFOS uses a proprietary, closed cell foam
material they call OOFoam for the footbed of their line of footwear.
Purportedly, this foam absorbs 37% more shock than other similarly used
materials. The human foot is subjected to shock from any walking and a lot
of pounding (shock) when backpacking, so more shock absorption from my
footwear is a good thing. 

The arch construction is very, very supportive. My foot is in firm allover
contact with the footbed throughout the arch which I really like.

Walking with the OOlalas is like walking on a nice firm mattress. I feel
like I'm inches/centimeters off the ground (actually am - 1.5"/4 cm at the
heel and almost 2"/5 cm at the arch). 

What is really special about the OOFoam footbed and the "rocker"
construction is the way it stretches my calf muscles when I walk in them.
After a strenuous backpack, especially with any amount of real weight in my
pack, my leg muscles get tight. After a day of the ups-and-downs of mountain
trails, even wearing the best of my boots, my legs can be tired and sore,
but are gradually soothe by the stretching motion and the relaxing of those
hard-worked muscles by the OOlalas.

In the past, I've usually avoided wearing flip-flop shoes because I don't
like the feeling of the toe post. Most flips have very hard, unyielding
posts with ridges that are very uncomfortable. They rub with every step. The
OOlalas' toe posts are (magically?) molded seamlessly to the footbed and the
V-strap with no ridges. And they're soft and flexible as well. I hardly know
they are there! The straps are just as soft and flexible and I've never
experienced any discomfort, redness, rubbing or rash from the constant
contact. Super soft and comfortable. Also, most other flips get dirty and
disgusting and develop a musty smell. Not so my OOFOS OOlalas. They continue
to look and smell just fine!

Care and Current Conditions of the OOFOS OOlala Sandals

According to the OOFOS website, the OOFOS can be machine washed. As amazing
as this sounded to me, I was also rather hesitant to trust that advice. What
if my particular pair of sandals didn't LIKE being tossed around? I actually
hand-washed them a couple of times in mild liquid dishwashing soap and warm
water and then towel dried them. I was able to put them back on my feet
immediately.

OOlalas Getting Ready for Bath!


Look Ma, they float!


Finally, I got brave enough and the OOFOS took a spin in my electric washer
on a regular cycle with cold water wash and rinse. I was relieved to see the
shoes came out beautifully clean with no detrimental results. (Picture in
Product Information section is the "after" picture.) It did seem to take a
bit longer for them to air dry as opposed to my hand wash and dry.

Since most of my wearings were indoors or in a tent, the flips really didn't
take too much of a beating. I rarely wore them outdoors and then only to
walk the minimum needed. The OOlala are still in great conditions and I plan
on getting a lot more use of them this summer and beyond.

STARRING ATTRACTIONS 

1.) Super comfortable to wear after any activity where standing, walking,
running, etc. is involved
2.) Very lightweight and easy to pack or carry in my backpack - I use a
carabiner to clip them to the outside of my pack
3.) Sturdy and well-made and able to withstand abusive conditions
4.) Easy to clean with plain water
5.) Stylish enough to wear casually in most situations - oo lala! (had to
get that in somewhere!) 

MINOR DISTRACTIONS 

1.) A little too pricey for me to splurge and buy one of every color! 

SUMMARY 

When I first saw the OOFOS brand sandals at the Outdoor Retailer Summer
Market last year, I took a quick glance and thought "oh, yeah, another pair
of flip-flops". I mean, really, what would possibly make these sandals
different from any other flip? Well, then I got a pair of the OOFOS OOlalas
this past winter and I found out just how different OOFOS flip-flops could
be! Not only are they great recovery shoes I love to wear after a good day's
hike; but they are also lightweight, easy to carry camp shoes to slip on at
night when nature calls. AND I even wear them casually a lot at home where I
have the typical southwest hard tile floors.

And while, I can't afford to buy one in every color, the shoes are
definitely worth the price for the comfort they provide.

Great little shoes, the OOFOS OOlalas! I recommend them!

Kathleen (Kathy) Waters 
This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version
1.5 Copyright 2016.