Keen Zerraport II

Water shoe with great drainage and Keen’s well-known toe protection. I like Keens around boats and rocks because they keep my toes from getting mashed. This one has the added benefit of siped soles, good traction, and an open design that dries quickly. The midsole/sole is also thick enough for moderate hiking. Adjustability of straps is kind of limited.

Keen‘s Zerraport II is a successor to their Zerraport, which in turn is a successor to the long-discontinued hydro guide. https://www.trailspace.com/gear/keen/hydro-guide/

It combines great toe protection, a comfortable fit under your feet, good traction, and an open design that drains water very quickly. 

FIT: The Zerraport II has a reasonably forgiving fit—my feet are E width in front, no problems with these sandals. They run true to size; I wear a men’s 11 1/2 or 12 in street shoes; the size 12 is a good fit for me. 

There are two ways to adjust the straps. The heel can be opened up and re-fastened (Velcro aka hook/loop design), and the front strap pulls through the single friction buckle pictured above. My feet are fairly wide; there is maybe one inch of strap when I pull them tight, so a really large foot might not work with these.  

COMFORT: Like virtually every Keen sandal I have ever worn, there is a moderately firm but forgiving contoured footbed. It’s a strength of this brand.  The strap material is fairly soft polyester; they’re not rough or abrasive. A significant improvement is the size and shape of the toe bumper and the way the strap runs through it; it used to be a source of friction, but Keen reduced the size of the toe bumper. 

The pieces where the straps run through gave me concerns about friction points, but that has not proved to be an issue. Note how thick the sole/midsole is; they provide pretty good protection from pointy rocks.   

TRACTION: As a water shoe, traction is a pretty important quality. I have been reasonably happy with these. The rubber compound seems fine, perhaps not as sticky as some other options like the Bedrock Cairn Pro’s "megagrip" sticky rubber. The soles have good tread for walking on dry land, though, and the soles are razor cut/siped like a pair of boat shoes. Consequently, I have felt pretty stable on wet rocks by the Atlantic this week while we’re in Maine and on slick river rocks close by our home near the Potomac River.  

One note—as a shoe that has a little bit of extra room, probably for a thin pair of neoprene socks if you’re rafting or canoeing in really cold water, lateral stability is just OK; might improve somewhat with a water/river sock. 

HOW FAST DO THEY DRY OUT/DRAIN WATER: Very good to excellent, comparable to other open shoes like Teva and Chaco. Because they’re open, they dry fairly quickly too. The tradeoff with any open design is that little stones and grit can more easily work their way under your feet, whereas closed shoes made of mesh tend to limit that.

A few more photos:

TAKEAWAYS: A good option from Keen if you prefer a more open-air design and/or want a little extra room for a neoprene sock for cold weather water sports, and a solid option for walking on trails that aren’t too angled/challenging (lateral stability isn’t ideal for rougher trails).

Background

3-4 months of use on trails, rainy days, beach, riverside, and walking around.