Teva Arrowood Lux

So what do you do when it gets too chilly to wear your Teva sandals? You pull on a pair of Teva shoes! Long famed as the original sports sandal creators Teva has been diversifying for a while now into more conventional footwear. Most of their offerings including the shoes on review here lean toward the more casual, general purpose, rather than technical side of the outdoor footwear market.

The Arrowood Lux is the top of the range Adventure Hiking shoe – Teva don’t seem to specify what they intend the shoe to be used for but the marketing imagery portrays them in use for the less extreme more relaxed outdoor adventures.

Design wise you get a full leather upper matched to a waterproof lining which really seals out the weather whilst remaining comfortably breathable – you don’t get too sweaty as soon as the temperature rises or you’re putting in the effort uphill. I’ve not had to treat the leather yet and it appears to repel the usual stains and splashes maintaining its original smart appearance. The laces thread through robust tape speed lacing eyelets with a final pair of lace hooks in an apparent design reference to their hiking intentions. The lace hooks may seem a little gimmicky but they really do ease entry and exit from the shoe as there is no need to slacken the laces. The sole unit is the very lightweight and comfy ‘Teva Floatlite’ similar to the sandal units and a tread pattern that is pretty much identical too, give or take the spacing between the triangular lugs, but with some variations in rubber density targeting increased areas of wear.

Durability wise the sole is wearing very well and the higher density, more resistant (black) areas certainly work in this regard without compromising grip. As you can see in the photo they are showing even less wear than the sandals I reviewed over the summer.  Altogether you end up with a very smart, waterproof, lightweight shoe (349g for my size 9). They have proved very effective on rocky terrain being at least as sure footed as any of my sticky rubber  ‘approach’ shoes on rocky trails but much like the majority of climbing ‘approach’ shoes they are outmatched on wet grass or soft muddy conditions. You could certainly use these as an approach shoe for typical European limestone crags. Fit wise I’ve been delighted – for once there seems to be ample width even with bulkier socks so it is easy to slip them on after a day on the hill in thicker socks for the drive back home. Coupled with their light weight you really do get slipper like comfort.

I’ve been wearing them as my about town smart trainers, going to the wall as well as for jaunts to and from the Lakes and Peaks. For casual strolls along trails in the ‘Dales they’ve proved perfect but once the terrain got slick with mud they became a little too sketchy for comfort.

If I was to characterise the Arrowood Lux I’d suggest it as a light hiking come ‘adventure travel’ shoe. It will cope with moderate trails and crag approach duties but really it seems a shame to spoil it on such terrain. It is more the type of shoe you could travel to your destination in and then wear to look smart eating pizza in town after a hard days climbing or sight seeing on your rest days. I considered knocking the Arrowood Lux down to 3 stars as it might be deemed a bit too general purpose for CGR but it has so far proved as durable and grippy on trails as the majority of approach shoes. All in all a top quality shoe if a little too smart for day to day climbing approach duties.

Richie is the enthusiastic amateur of the team. Enjoying all aspects of climbing but especially alpine, winter and his local grit . Having managed to survive the vagaries of both fluorescent Koflachs and rainbow tights in the 80s he looks forward to an even more stylish future. A shady past in mountain marathons and adventure races, including the Marathon des Sables, means he’s an advocate of fast and light. Though the former is debatable if you’ve seen him on a tricky lead!