KayakGearReviews.org

Teva Cherry Bomb Water Shoes Test Review Series
by Chari Daignault

Edited by Ken Bigelow

Last updated on December 18th, 2009

Review Status: Complete

Product Information

Manufacturer: Teva
Website: http://www.teva.com/
MSRP: US $65.00
Material: Stretch neoprene upper with SSR rubber outsole
Colors available: Walnut
Sizes available: US Men’s 4 – 14
Size tested: US Men’s 9

Product Description

The Teva Cherry Bomb water shoes are unisex, but are sold in men’s shoe sizes. Per the site, women should pick a shoe size 2 sizes smaller than the corresponding men’s size. The shoes slip on, and secure with instep and forefoot straps along with a hook and loop-secured gusset at the top. The seams along one entire side of each shoe are sealed, and on the other side, where the gusset is located, the seam is sealed right up to where it meets the gusset. The seam on the gusset itself is not sealed, so I am curious to see if water will be able to enter the shoe at this point. The outsoles wrap around the foot and up around the toe of the shoe, which looks to me to not only provide extra traction, but to protect the toes from rocks or coral.

The forefoot strap is a hook and loop fastener and tightens from the inside of the forefoot [ankle area] around to the outside. The instep straps are webbing straps which cinch across the top of the foot. The stretch neoprene upper is an olive drab color with camo decorations around both sides of the ankles and on the gusset. The stylized Teva hand logo is stamped in orange on the gusset and the name Teva, along with the SSR spider logo are printed in the same orange color on the sides of the black SSR outsole.

Initial Impressions

Although I received a men’s size 9 and I normally wear a women’s size 9, the shoes [they are a little big] fit pretty well. The toe box is very wide, so there is ample room for my swell-whenever-they-want-to feet. Using the instep and forefoot straps, I’m able to tighten the shoes to a point where I don’t feel like my feet will slide around when wet. The shoes feel very cushiony inside and are actually very comfortable. I wore them around all evening on my bare feet the day they arrived. Although I’m not too thrilled with the color, which doesn’t look very “Walnut” to me, I do like the way the shoes look. I was able to easily slide my feet in, even without the use of the ankle loop. They’re light weight and so far appear to have excellent traction [at least on my tile floors]. I really like the cushioning in the shoe, which will hopefully work well for me when I’m walking on river rocks along the shore.

Care Instructions

I could not find any care information on Teva’s website, so as with any neoprene, I’ll be soaking [warm water with a little dish soap], scrubbing, rinsing and hanging the shoes up to dry after use.

Field Use

I’ve worn the Teva Cherry Bomb water shoes on 3 trips since August.

My first trip was a fishing jaunt on the Indian River, on the eastern coast of Central Florida. The water there is brackish and since it’s an inter coastal waterway and we had no wind, the water was almost glassy and was very calm [my kind of water]. We were using a tandem sit-on-top sea kayak and put in from a boat ramp. The ramp was at a steep angle and I found myself sliding all over the place on areas that had a green, slimy surface. I don’t think the lack of traction was the fault of the shoes, though. There were areas there without green slime that were pretty slick on which the shoes had great traction. It was sunny, with no clouds and the temperature hovered at around 92 F [33 C]. I did find that water entered the shoes almost immediately, but I wasn’t able to determine from where the water was entering. This did not affect the outcome of the trip, although the brackish water trapped inside with my feet did make the shoes stink. After washing with warm, clean water at home, there was no residual smell.

Our second and third trips were to the Econlockhatchee [Econ] River just east of Orlando. On both of these trips, we used an inflatable tandem kayak. Since we had to hike in about 2 mi [3.25 km] to the location we wanted to put in, an inflatable kayak was the easiest and best option for us. I wore hiking shoes in and changed into the Cherry Bombs before we put in. The water there is quite deep and swift at times and at others we’d run aground on a sand bar and have to heft the kayak and our gear over to open water. The water temperature was around 71 F [21.9 C] and the air temperature was 90 F [32 C] in the shade. We had a great time and although the inflatable kayak has a bit of a learning curve with regard to steering, we eventually got the hang of it. I was very happy to have the Cherry Bombs on with all the lifting, hiking, and slogging through sand and mud we had to do. Although water still entered the shoes, it wasn’t too much of a concern for me as we capsized a couple of times and I couldn’t tell what was dry and what was wet. I was able to swim and tread water while wearing the Cherry Bombs and they didn’t feel heavy or clunky. I did have a bit of “raisining” of my feet after removing the shoes, due to the water that had entered, but didn’t experience any damage or pain to my feet. Once back at camp, I was able to clean the shoes easily by dunking them in a shallow, clear area of the river. I hung them up on a line upside down to dry overnight. I didn’t experience the stink like I had from my previous trip, so the brackish water must have been the culprit. Once home, I washed the shoes by hand in warm, soapy water and once again hung them on a line upside down to dry overnight.

Thus far, the Cherry Bombs have performed great. Although they are a bit large, I don’t really slip around inside them even when they are wet inside. They don’t feel heavy or clunky, even when I’m treading water, and they worked really well when walking on deep, wet sand, mud and slick river banks.

Continued Use

The past 2 months, I’ve worn the Teva Cherry Bombs during one on-water excursion at the Wekiva River and during two shore fishing trips at the Banana River. The Wekiva is fed by some fresh water springs, which makes it quite cold all year ’round. Being extremely warm-blooded, I appreciate that the Cherry Bombs do a great job of keeping my feet warm. Even though water does enter the shoe even if the top is not submerged, the water is quickly warmed and seems to add another layer of insulation from the cold. The more I’ve worn them, the width of the Cherry Bombs bothers me; specifically when I’m walking down a slope or jumping from rock to rock on the shore. My feet slip a bit and move around inside the shoes. It doesn’t give me a sense of security when that happens and it often feels as though I’ll lose my footing — although as of yet, I have not. The grip of the Cherry Bombs has done well on wet/dry rocks, wet/dry wood, mud and wet/dry sand. They do not grip well on anything with green slime growing on it. As I had noted previously, boat ramps are notoriously slimy and I’ve slipped quite a bit on them while wearing the Cherry Bombs.

The Cherry Bombs are nicely cushioned and felt great when shore fishing. No grime or sand entered the shoes even when wading or running through shallow river water. One thing I was happy to note: I have big calf muscles and usually shoes that come up as high as the Cherry Bombs will dig into the bottom of my calves. The Cherry Bombs, although form-fitting along my ankle and calf [with the straps fastened], are not uncomfortable and do not dig into my leg muscle. Since I’m not always sitting in a kayak or a canoe when I’m wearing the Cherry Bombs, it’s nice to know that I’ll be able to move and run if necessary without causing pain to my calves.

Summary

The Cherry Bombs have proven to be great year ’round water shoes for Florida. They keep my feet protected and warm, grip well on most surfaces and have a good cushioning that doesn’t make my feet feel tired.

Likes

• good cushioning
• keep feet warm in cold waters
• don’t dig into calf muscles
• relatively good traction

Dislikes

• wish they had women’s sizes
• width of toe box [too wide]
• slip on slimy surfaces

Many thanks to Teva and KayakGearReviews.org for giving me the opportunity to review these water shoes!

Personal Information

Name: Chari Daignault
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Height: 5′ 6″ (1.6 m)
Weight: 135 lb (61 kg)
Email: chari DOT daignault AT gmail.com
Location: Central Florida, Orlando metro area

Paddling Bio

I started paddling in 1986 when I lived in Hawaii. I didn’t mind salt water back then, but now that I’m older, sand and salt just aren’t my thing. Living in Central Florida, I now roam fresh water rivers and lakes, occasionally dipping into the Banana River [which is brackish]. The Econlockhatchee River is almost exclusively my choice for kayaking and canoeing, as it’s nearby and has many winding turns and hidden coves. I’ve not yet tried whitewater kayaking and love the calmness of flat water. I prefer a sit-on-top kayak, as I get claustrophobic with my lower body enclosed.

Read more posts by Chari.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 and is filed under Water Shoes.