This summer while I was bopping around in my comfortable and versatile Omnium sandals from Teva, my trusty traveling wife was bopping around in a pair of these Sunkosi 2 water shoes for women. She loved hers almost as much as I loved mine and they’ll definitely be going into the bag for a sailing trip we’re taking in the fall.

The Sunkosi 2 model is more shoe than sandal, with mesh fabric that completely covers the foot. So they look more like regular sneakers until you get up close and see how they’re constructed. They work great in the water though, with the liquid draining out through the mesh and through openings in the bottom of the shoe. Ironically, hers seemed to dry out faster than my sandal-construction Omniums, perhaps because there is less fabric-covered velcro to hold the moisture.

These amphibious shoes still conform well to your foot though, with a single pull lacing system pulling in straps on the side in addition to laces on the top. The whole system works well wet or dry, walking around a city or wading through a stream. Since the mesh on these covers the whole foot and the laces pull everything snug around your foot, you don’t get lots of pebbles in them like you do with the sandal versions.

These are quality shoes that are well constructed. They still look great after two months of city walking, trail hiking, beach-to-boat wading, and stream fjording. We tossed them in the washing machine when we got back from our trip and they look almost new now.

The Sunkosi 2 lists for a hundred bucks, but sometimes you can find it on sale, as in $70 when I checked at Backcountry.com. This time of year is usually a good one for buying water shoes as retailers are moving them out to make room for more wintry gear. They come in two different colors, though the names of those are less than helpful. The one at the top is called “walnut” and the ones to the left are called “arctic.”

Get the Teva Sunkosi 2 direct from Teva.

Check Sunkosi 2 prices at Amazon

Related review: Teva Westwater for women