Resilient Reptiles (Crocs Cayman)

Member Name: MagdaDH

Product:	Crocs Cayman
Date:	13/06/09 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very comfortable, quick to put on and off, easy to clean, don't smell, strong and long lasting

Disadvantages: dog-ugly, very slippy

Crocs have been (repeatedly) voted to be the biggest fashion crime of recent years. They have also been incredibly popular; both the genuine article and the countless croc-type shoes abound.

Crocs are lightweight plastic clogs with holes in them. the have moulded soles with low "pimples" on the inside and are slightly raised. They also have a strap, just like old fashioned leather clogs, and the strap can be worn over the heel or on top of the shoe itself. The plastic they are made of is quite soft, slightly spongy.

I have long, wide feet with a high arch and tendency to swelling, and I find it extremely hard to find shoes that fit and are comfortable without several weeks of breaking in. I also live in the countryside, with a gravel walk between my back door and the garden, and need some kind of slip-on mule to put on and take off quickly as flip flops are too thin and the gravel still hurts through their soles. I don't like plastic shoes at all, but as I had been hearing good things about Crocs I got myself a pair around two years ago. They cost around £30 normally, I got mine off eBay for £16 after quite a bit of searching and careful bidding.

I have been very happy with my Crocs. They are extremely comfortable. They fit, they stay on, they mould very well to the shape of the foot and they provide good support even when worn as a mule without the strap pulled back.

They are ideal for what I use them - quick walks round the village and in the garden, going to the supermarket, shopping and driving. I also took them on two summer holidays and they also worked well for that purpose - good enough for fairly level walks on normal terrain (maybe up to about 2 miles). I wasn't impressed with their performance on the beach though - possibly because my feet are very wide, the sand doesn't really flow out through the holes as well as I expected it to.

They are also rather good for standing in - I think I would use them if I had to for example work behind a counter.

Crocs claim to have some antibacterial properties, and although they do get a bit sweaty in hot weather (the top of my foot sticks a bit, but again, I do have a a very high arch and for most people it would not be a problem at all) they definitely don't smell at all. They are also very easy to wash with soap and water.

I have used my pair extensively for almost two years now and they are still in one piece. This is quite an achievement for any shoe of mine, and a biggest reason to buy a pair of genuine articles rather than seemingly cheaper knock-off versions which are likely to fall apart much more quickly.

The biggest practical failing of Crocs is that they are incredibly slippy on any wet surface. I slipped and fell in them on rainy street, in my own kitchen and on a dirt path covered in wet leaves, quite a few time. I believe that the Mammoth (winter) version are better on that score.

The are, quite obviously, incredibly ugly (and made of plastic) and nobody could possibly make them look good however hard they tried. But then it's not what they are for!

Highly recommended.

Summary: the ugliest and the most comfortable functional mule out there