Posts Tagged Keen
Donate Money, Feel Good, Get Gear
My sister Cheapest Destinations blog is a participant in the annual Passports with Purpose charity project collectively run by a bunch of travel bloggers and sponsors. In short, you give money for a third-world development project and you enter to win some great donated prizes at the same time. Last year we built a school in Cambodia. This year we’re building a whole frickin’ village in India. Thanks to some great sponsors like BootsnAll the coalition is already 3/5 of the way to the goal.
My prize participant is Kuru Footwear, a company that makes comfy shoes that are especially good for travel. Below is a photo of one of their models, but you get to choose which one you want. Thanks Kuru!
But that’s just the start. Go check the full list of prizes, but here’s a sampling of some of the other gear you can try to score.
Kodak waterproof video camera
Shoes or sandals from Keen Footwear
Apple iPad
Tom Bihn Western Flyer given away by Kara’s TheVacationGals
Briggs & Riley Carry-on bag
Timbuk2 travel gear bundle
Sierra Designs tent
Osprey rolling pack
Go do the right thing and make a huge difference in someone’s life on the other side of an ocean. After all, $20 is a lot in India and ALL the money will be passed straight through to a local organization that knows what it’s doing. And hey, you’ve got a good chance of scoring some travel gear (or a trip, or gift certificate) while you’re at it. Go to Passports with Purpose and hit the “Donate” button.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on November 18th, 2010
Bern Baby Bern Women’s Boots by Keen Footwear
I’ve been a fan of Keen sandals for years now — in particular my Bali slides and my versatile Newports (in fact, my entire family wears the latter, so we always look a bit “matchy” when we’re all kayaking, canoeing or otherwise enjoying water-based sports together).
But Keen Footwear has branched out quite a bit since its founding in 2003, with stylin’ tennies, darling Mary Janes (my fave!) and even cycling shoes. Keen makes boots for hiking, trudging through snow and walking city streets in the winter months — which is how I’d define the use of my classy new Bern Baby Bern boots.
These tall boots feature a silver buckles and swatch of stretchy material on the side for a snug fit around the calf. On the opposite side, there’s a zipper for easy on and off, and on the front and heel, a thin, cord-like decorative accent. They have a rubber outsole and Keen’s traditional toe protection — though on this boot, the toe rubber isn’t nearly as pronounced as it is on some sandals and rugged-wear shoes. The upper is made from water-resistant full-grain leather (note they are not waterproof).
Running true to size, the Bern Baby Bern boots have a footbed made from recycled polyurethane, cork and memory foam, and this combo makes them quite comfortable as well. There’s no “breaking in” needed for the boots. While I haven’t traveled with them yet, I’ve worn them around town for the past couple weeks, and I believe they’d take me through a a day of urban sightseeing, no problem.
The boots may not work for an extra-dressy event (i.e. not with cocktail dresses), but I’ve worn them with leggings and a long skirt. Skinny jeans would certainly work as well, for a put-together but casual look on a weekend getaway — whether it’s to a big city hotel or a farmhouse B&B.
Purchase the boots in Oak (pictured here) or Black for $150 on the Keen Footwear site, or other online outlets like Backcountry.com or REI.com.
See more Keen Footwear reviews on this blog.
Posted by Kara in General Gear on November 9th, 2010
Suave Keen Rockaway Sandals Go From Casual to Classy
Women have loads of nice-looking sandals to choose from that are also comfortable enough to wear all day and into the night. The choices are much slimmer for men. Some companies have been trying hard lately to remedy that though, putting out stylish closed-toe sandals that can be worn in multiple situations, like these suave Rockaway Sandals from Keen Footwear.
I’m a big fan of sports sandals and water shoes from the likes of Keen and Teva, but those aren’t the kind of thing you want to wear with a pair of nice slacks. These Rockaway sandals do well on the double-duty scale, with a classy look that doesn’t shout, “I just went river rafting!” So if your trip is more about staying cool and being cool than hitting trails and kayaking, these are a good choice.
They’ve got a nice leather upper that covers the whole foot but has ample places for the air to pass through. Like most Keens these won’t squeeze your foot into a narrow tube, but the adjustable wide strap with Velcro allows you to tighten them as needed. There’s a bouncy non-marking rubber sole and a supremely comfortable anatomical footbed. I’ve worn these off and on for several weeks and on a couple days were my only footwear from morning until night, remaining comfortable after long walks.
The footbed has an odor-resistant compound in it also that worked well in my tests, though I did find the surface a bit sticky when the weather turned hot and sweaty. Some kind of design adjustment with grooves or a variable surface pattern might help. Although these are leather, they are water-resistant.
These Keen sandals come in brown or black and list for $89 at the Keen Footwear site, where you can see them from more angles and how they look with jeans. They’re currently going for a tad less at the retailers below.
Get the KEEN Rockaway Sandal at Backcountry
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on May 27th, 2010
Best and Worst Travel Gear of 2009
We’ve been cranking out first-person reviews of travel gear on a daily basis and trying out lots of things as we hike, backpack, explore new cities, and navigate airports. Some items disappoint, some thrill, some defy expectations, so here’s a list of what worked and what didn’t in 2009.
Kara Williams
Item I used on the most trips this year
These Lucy capris are comfortable and stylish—they can go from the hiking trail to the dinner table. I wore them on the top of the Continental Divide in Colorado, to Maya ruins in Belize, to an ecological preserve in Mexico, and eating lobster in New Hampshire.
Worst piece of crap I gave up on
This battery-operated mosquito repellent is a travel-gear don’t. The blue plastic fan looks like a toy, so it’s dangerous to young children. Plus, it’s dorky and doesn’t work.
Most useful item for $20 or less
The Flip & Tumble bag. A reusable shopping bag that compacts into a tiny, squishy, 3-inch ball is a must-have for any traveler. Use it to tote items to the pool, buy groceries at the local market, or protect packed clothing from dirty shoes on the return trip.
John Gordon
Item I now cannot live without
It took a long time, but I’ve finally found a Bluetooth headset I can love. Motorola’s Endeavor HX1 (pictured at the top) offers excellent audio quality for normal conversations and true bone-conduction technology, like special forces use, to knock out extreme noise. Voice prompts make it easy to use.
Worst “Do we really need this?” item
Some things I just don’t understand, like Planesheets for covering airline seats. Besides the dubious claims of cleanliness, I’d just feel a little weird being the only passenger on the plane sitting in a zebra-stripe seat.
Most questionable travel app
iPhone and iPod users are familiar with the marketing line, “There’s an app for that.” Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Without Fear app is supposed to calm white-knuckled flyers. There’s a screen that says, “This is natural. We know you’re scared. You’re going to be OK.” Like that’s going to help.
Never leave home without it
My AT&T Tilt 2 smartphone (same as the HTC Touch Pro2) lets me keep in touch with friends and clients whether I’m at the neighborhood store or in another part of the world. Sure, AT&T sells a lot more iPhones than this model. When the iPhone gets a real keyboard, can tether to my laptop and lets me swap out the battery, I’ll consider it.
Tim Leffel
Worst Case of Greenwashing
There was plenty of greenwashing to go around this year and the “green gear” tag keeps making its way onto things that really aren’t. I debunked plenty of these, but the most obvious one was this Altus Lumen LED light that burns through four AA batteries in an hour. Decent product otherwise, but the bombastic claim of being “the world’s first sustainable portable LED light” turned out to be based on one factor: the shell is 75% recyclable—provided you pry it all apart and separate the pieces when the thing dies.
What I used the most this year
There were plenty of items I tried out and then put on a shelf. The new things I tried that became a permanent part of my ensemble included the Tom Bihn Aeronaut carry-on bag (pictured at the top), my Teva Omnium sandal shoes, and pretty much everything I put on from ExOfficio—including their underwear. And I almost never pack my bags without a pair of Tifosi Optics sunglasses and some kind of Keen Footwear shoes.
Item that caused the most mixed feelings
I have to admit the Starbucks Via instant coffee tastes ten times better than Sanka or Folgers, but at $1 a serving, it sure better! If you already like the over-roasted, burnt taste of Starbucks, you’ll like this stuff. Even if you don’t, instant coffee that’s drinkable would be worth packing on a camping trip or when staying any place where hot water is more readily available than real coffee.
Honorable Mention – Past year’s standout that keeps coming back:
Travel gear item I would gladly do infomercials for
Only real travelers who have used it believe this $99 SteriPEN Traveler is for real. It looks fishy, I’ll admit: you stick this in the water you’re going to drink, the light kills everything, then you can drink away. But I, my wife, and my daughter have used this daily in 9, 6, and 4 countries respectively without getting sick. ‘Nuff said.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on January 1st, 2010
Keen Kaley Boots for Girls
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what your kid is going to like, but other times you can take one glance at an item and go, “Oh man, she’s going to go nuts over that.” These pink Kaley boots from Keen Footwear definitely fall into the latter category. My little one surely did go nuts over these and she’s been wearing them anywhere and everywhere since the weather turned cool.
These Kaley boots are fun and funky, but like most Keen products are also comfortable and rugged. They would be awesome for any trip that calls for cold weather walks and playing outdoors.
In terms of specs, there are full-length side zippers to make the boots easy to take on and off, rubber toe guards and non-marking rubber outsoles, and EVA midsoles to provide cushioned support. Polyester “faux shearling” does not sound very desirable, but it looks good and is warm.
The uppers are suede though, which is great for cold weather but isn’t ideal for snow. You may want to spray some waterproofing on them if you live in the north.
The Keen Kaley boots come in sizes 1 to 6 and retail for $70. Just a tad over half the price of UGG boots for kids and only half as likely to make you go “Ugh!” Unlike most of the footwear from Target that she plows through in a season, these should last at least another year (if the feet cooperate and don’t grow another size.)
And yes, if your child isn’t a girly-girl, you can also get them in brown or “iguana” green. If you’re not a girl at all, there’s a women’s version too (but for $110).
See more at Keen Footwear’s site.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family on November 17th, 2009
