The Grommet features a video telling you about and showing how the shoe ‘works’ here.
Maybe you’ve heard of them by now, maybe you even have a pair. Let me be the first one to say, I never thought I would actually wear, use or even like, let alone love them. My dad gave me a pair as a present last Christmas. His idea was that I could have a comfy shoe alternative that looked somewhat professional and still (almost) fell into the requirements of what my company’s kind of strict dress code was. I ended up being unable to wear them to work due to the small grey strap that qualifies them to be ‘not all black’, though I was so freaking hopeful that I could possibly get away with wearing them. I ended up putting them away in my closet to (again, almost) never be seen again. *insert sobbing emoji*
Last spring, however, we decided to start adventuring to some waterfalls around the area. I was looking for my actual water shoes when I remembered that I owned these cool shoes. I took them with me, thinking I wouldn’t really wear them, but it would be good to at least have them. We arrived at our location and it was warm enough to jump into the water so I decided to throw them on. Let me just tell you now…. THESE. ARE. THE. BEST.
You can wear them dry, you can wear them wet, you can climb in them, do stuff around the house in them, I’ve even hiked in them and found them to be significantly more comfortable than my hiking boots. They are fantastic on slippery rocks, as well. FitKicks are a thin soled shoe with a PVC bottom and a Spandex body that come in children’s, women’s and men’s sizes. The soles are flexible so they easily conform to your foot and have a protective toe guard to keep from scuffing. When I wore them that first day, I really didn’t want to take them off. They feel like you’re almost barefoot while still having your feet protected.
A couple of small ‘fyi’ things about these shoes – like I said before these can be worn wet; I like to wash them after about every three in-water uses. You don’t have to do this since they do dry very well, but I find that mine smell a little strange if I don’t. (Yes, I know; gross, but these are the facts.)
I also found that I had to glue the inside sole down. The shoe is still flexible and still contours to your foot, but it’s now, I found, a little bit sturdier and the sole isn’t sliding around anywhere. Mind you, this only happened in September after running around all day at Canobie Lake Park and was only noticed after going on the Boston Tea Party ten times over… (don’t ask, it’s a tradition). I think it may really only happen after the shoe is downright drenched and you’re using excessive movement; I found that the inner sole was slipping everywhere and not staying on the bottom where it should have.
If you’re trying to deciding whether or not to purchase a pair, I hope this shoutout has been helpful. I highly recommend them!
Have fun and be safe out there!
Nature of New England 