I’m always a little skeptical about shoes that claim to be made for both land and water. Like one of those amphibious vehicles* the military uses, they might do the job well enough, but they look kind of weird just cruising down the street. Fortunately for me, (and you if you buy a pair), the OutCross Evo 2 by Chaco does not suffer from this problem.
Featuring a mesh upper with a stretch collar and neoprene lining, a tough rubber tread made with 25% recycled content, and a super comfy footbed, these shoes do everything I want them to. I wore mine nonstop on a recent trip to Idaho and took them into streams, hot springs, up a 164’ cinder cone at Crater’s of the Moon National park, and then down into a few lava tubes. That last bit involved some serious scrambling, sometimes in the dark (I had a headlamp), and occasionally over patches of ice (Yes, there was ice in the lava caves in mid June. Crazy.)
I don’t mention these things just to regale you with the highlights of my trip, but to say that I put these shoes through the paces and they performed flawlessly. Did I mention that they are designed to be worn without socks, even when hiking, and that they are really comfortable? Add to all of this the fact that I was able to wear them around any town (Boise, Ketchum, miscellaneous small towns scattered across southern Idaho) without feeling like some gearhead who forgot to pack a second pair of shoes, and you have a great choice for your summer footwear needs.
Chaco has a long history of making outdoor shoes that are comfortable to wear and the OutCross Evo 2 will only enhance that reputation. They are billing this shoe as a performance hiking and water ready rambler and I have to say it lives up to that description. The only complaint I have is that the pull tab on the heal is too small to get your finger through. This means you need to pinch it between your thumb and index finger when you slip them on, which I found to be kind of a drag. Other than that small problem I really enjoyed trying these shoes out and would recommend them for whatever adventure you have coming up this summer. I know July is almost over, but it’s not too late. We still have the whole month of August to enjoy!
The good
- comfortable
- great fit
- perform great in water and on land
- don’t look dorky when worn around town
The bad
- pull tab too small for my taste
Available in multiple colors from Chaco
The more you know: The first amphibious vehicles were made in the late 1700s and were amphibious carriages. I’m not sure if they expected the horses pulling the carriage to swim or not.
boring stuff: I received a free review sample from Chaco, but this did not affect the opinions expressed in this review. All images via Chaco.