Teva Hydratrek review

We recommend the Teva Hydratrek to folks who want an open-toe sandal that feels equally at home for water activities (boating, fishing, kayaking/canoeing, SUP, etc.) but is also comfortable enough for walking on the beach, riverside, and light trails.

If you need a more hiking-oriented sandal, we think you would benefit from more protective closed-toe sandals.

The Hoka Hopara 2 and the KEEN Newport H2 are our top recommendations.

We are happy to report that the Teva Hydratrek packs nearly as much cushioning as the brand's highly popular Hurricane XLT2. Measuring its heel stack with a caliper returned an above-average reading of 29.2 mm.

This amount of foam made us feel confident wearing the Hydratrek beyond the water bodies as it readily doubled as a light hiking and leisure sandal. The midsole muted out shells and pebbles and offered the impact protection of a proper walking shoe.

The forefoot portion of the Hydratrek has a lower stack height of 17.5 mm.

Even though it is notably lower than the heel, we found that it still offered essential protection under the balls of our feet. But the primary benefit is that the lower stack created a much better sense of connectedness to the ground.

We certainly preferred that ground feel tiptoeing our way through rocky river banks or catching balance on a paddle board.

Looking at the Hydratrek from the side, anyone will notice that the sandal's heel-to-toe drop is very steep. It is, in fact, steeper than average at 11.7 mm.

In our experience, this offset made the Teva Hydratrek feel more like a hybrid between a sandal and a shoe making it more comfortable for walking around after water activities. It's not a neoprene water shoe that you want to take off immediately after getting out on the shore.

The raised heel doesn't force the Achilles to work overtime and keeps the heel comfortably cushioned.

Another reason why we think the Teva Hydratrek feels special compared to a standard hiking sandal is its softer-than-average EVA foam.

Pressing our Shore A durometer against it returned 18.9 HA which is by far the lowest reading we got in a hiking sandal. For reference, it is 50% softer than the average sandal midsole and 15% softer than the Teva Hurricane XLT2.

But don't get us wrong, it's not marshmallowy plush and squishy either. The Hydratrek has just enough firmness in its platform to provide support.

We believe that people of all foot shapes and sizes will find the Hydratrek's fit accommodating.

The distance between its forefoot strap attachments showed 103.9 mm in a men's US size 10 which is plenty enough for a medium-width foot.

Meanwhile, people with wider feet and bunions can easily regulate the tightness as all three straps on the sandal are adjustable.

There is a limit to how much stability a hiking sandal can provide but the Teva Hydratrek makes sure you get just enough. 

Its wide platform offers plenty of landing area whereas the raised arch prevents the foot from buckling over.

We should also note that the sandal's textured topsole prevented our feet from sliding whenever the sandal got wet. That was important for the overall surefootness of the Hydratrek. We were also glad that the texture didn't feel rough against our bare feet as it did in some of the older Teva models.

On a stiffness scale from 1 to 5 (where 5 is the stiffest) we think that the Hydratrek sits on the more flexible side of the spectrum earning a lower score of 2.

As our manual test showed, the sandal's torsional rigidity is barely there. Thus, it's not the most supportive sandal we've seen in the lab (think Hoka Hopara 2) and may not be a great option for someone with severe overpronation.

As usual, Teva made sure that the midsole of its hiking sandals was nice and broad.

With a generous forefoot width of 121.9 mm, the Hydratrek kept us planted and confident in our next step whether it was on light trails, beach, or rock-heavy riverside. 

The heel dimensions of the Hydratrek also proved to be sufficiently wide for heel-dominant steps.

Our caliper measured 90.0 mm in its widest area which is on par with the industry average.

Kneeling down on a SUP board, we immediately noticed that the Hydratrek was significantly more agreeable for bending in the forefoot. Its thinner and softer midsole didn't seem to press back on the balls of our feet as much as the other sandals.

Back in the lab, we found that this Teva sandal indeed took less force to bend to a 90-degree angle than average! With a fore gauge reading of 15.0N, the Hydratrek turned out to be 55% more flexible than the average.

As a strappy sandal with average midsole dimensions, the Teva Hydratrek did not feel any bulkier than the average hiking sandal.

Tipping the scale at 10.7 oz (304g), it weighs just as much as the Hurricane XLT2 which is also slightly lighter than average.

It is common for hiking sandals to rely on softer rubber to provide a tackier grip on wet terrain. So when our durometer showed 77.6 HC, we were not surprised. For context, the hardness of rubber on hiking shoes averages 85.0 HC.

But because of its softer nature, the outsole of the Hydratrek didn't show the best durability results in our Dremel test.

A 22-second exposure to sandpaper at 10K RPM speed left pretty notable damage on the sandal's rubber. Using a tread gauge, we measured the depth of the damaged area at 1.4 mm.

This means that wearing the Hydratrek on highly abrasive surfaces (like rocks or asphalt) for extended periods of time will result in faster deterioration of its outsole.

But on a lighter note, the Hydratrek's outsole durability results are consistent with the other Teva sandals we've tested. So you can expect a similar level of outsole longevity if you've had sandals from this brand in the past.

Good thing that the rubber thickness on the Hydratrek is on par with the average showing 2.4 mm of thickness without the lugs.

Speaking of the lugs, the Hydratrek features a moderate tread depth of 2.6 mm. But even though it is on the shallower side of the spectrum, it proved to be an ideal setup for wet rocks, slippery decks, and light trails.

We also found that Teva completely reimagined the traction pattern for the Hydratrek which resulted in a major grip leap! "Leap" is an appropriate word because, according to Teva, the new design was inspired by the tree frog.

The lugs got smaller but toothier forming shallower air channels which created a suction-like effect on wet smooth surfaces.

The only caveat is that dirt tends to get stuck in between the lugs and we recommend washing it away as soon as possible to avoid it caking. Otherwise, the outsole becomes very difficult to clean. 

Even though the Hydratrek is more expensive than the other Teva sandals, its retail price still sits below the average of hiking sandals.

In our opinion, the comfort, grip, and overall usability of the Hydratrek make it worth the full price.

It looks like Teva added even larger padding on the straps to make the sandal more comfortable for long periods of wear.

However, because these liners are not fully sewn onto the straps, you may need to fiddle a bit to prevent them from folding when putting the sandal on. That can be a bit of a nuisance for some people. 

Measuring the Hydratrek's strap thickness consider that it uses thicker material indeed. Our caliper showed an above-average reading of 7.5 mm.

According to Teva, the Hydratrek features quite a few recycled components:

• 30% recycled Spider Rubber in the outsole​
• 100% recycled plastic in the straps (traceable, verifiable REPREVE polyester yarn)
• 60% recycled polyester​ in padded liners under the straps
• 30% recycled Regrind EVA midsole​