Outdoorsy folks are known for their questionable but practical footwear choices. In the “granola girl” department, Tevas, Birkenstocks, and even Crocs have made huge comebacks, entering the sphere of trending fashion off the trail. If you’ve seen pull-ons that look like sleeping bags for your feet at the coffee shop, you can blame TikTok. At campsites in Oregon, many already own the newest trending item, which has been called “the world’s ugliest sandal” even by the brand that makes them.
Keen’s Newport H2 hiking sandal is a hybrid sandal with covered toes aimed at hikers and other active users, but lately it has seen appeared on many influencers’ feet — and not on a trail, beach, or campsite. The Newport sandal has been around for 20 years now, but has recently exploded on TikTok as a trendy item. So TikTok is now planning our vacations, and our footwear while we’re there.
A hiking and water shoe that will keep your feet safe on offshore adventures —if not seen on someone’s dad — this is the kind of sandal that parents bought for their kids in the early 2000s. Now, it’s making a return with an enthusiastic Gen-Z clientele. Many seasoned functional shoe owners, however, were already onto this newly beloved shoe.
A hybrid hiking shoe and a crunchy closet staple
Keen has been based in Portland, Oregon (in many ways, the granola aesthetic capital of the U.S.), since 2003, and has a dedicated base of shoppers there, especially given how much of the state is hiking territory. The Newport H2 is part water sandal, part hiking shoe, and is loved for being a versatile trail, river, and beach option. For many, especially older wearers, the Newport sandal has been a staple in their closet for a while now, and not because it comes in trendy new colorways. Influencers are catching on. They’re even buying the shoes secondhand on marketplaces like Depop and eBay, showing them off to followers on TikTok with prefaces like “I know what you’re thinking, those are ugly!”
@ree_uhhh
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♬ Lets go 2 Trader Joes by Dana and Alden – gucci_pineapple
On TikTok, you’ll also find the shoes in their natural context: As hiking footwear. Van life influencers, avid hikers, and campers are showing their ugly sandals off as often as those looking for a new quirky fashion statement are, and they love them just as much. While the Newport falls into a niche of weirdly shaped sandals that have become mainstream, they are and have long been worn by campers. You’re likely to spot them on a trail or at a campsite this summer before seeing them on a runway. They require less effort than picking the right hiking boots, and may just earn you fashion points for a few months.
