The Teva Riva Leather Mid Event is one of the newer offerings from Teva, which is a name best known for its sandal offerings. Teva was founded in 1984 by Mark Thatcher, who was working as a rafting guide. His design for a sporting wet weather sandal took off, and gains in popularity provided gains in amount of products offered.
Moving forward, Teva has branched out past its stable of sandals, and into lightweight hiking shoes. Shown below is the Teva Riva Leather Mid Event, which Teva considers a "Light Hiking Shoe." Being that it comes up above the ankle, I consider it a boot, but I won't argue the point, on opening the box I was much more interested in how it fit than what they called it.
Click the below image for more pictures and info. This Teva Riva follows a similar script from the other Teva review recently done.
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People who know me understand that I wouldn't bother to write a review on shoes unless there was some reason or way to tie it into a larger picture. In this case, the shoes you wear off duty are more than just about comfort, or a way to match your belt. Shoes tie into a larger picture and mindset. If your vehicle breaks down, how far can you walk? How well prepared are you in general? To be more to the point, can you fight in what you are currently wearing? A Police Chief in a school shooting a few years back found himself running to aid his troops. Chiefs aren't known for wearing tac gear and full load outs, and this one was no exception in his slick bottomed dress shoes. He went up a hill only to find himself coming back down the hard way. On or off duty, we all need to be prepared, the Chief wasn't and clearly stated in certain circles that all cops need to be ready at all times.
The vast majority of our readers are of the same mindset as myself. We hold a duty to country and family that doesn't stop just because we aren't in uniform. Think about your family and the safety you provide to them. Do your slick soled pretty shoes hold up if you need to fight? What about if its raining?
While Teva certainly isn't selling these shoes with a combat mindset, they offer features that I find important. Lets start from the bottom and work our way up.
The Teva Riva Leather Mid Event Hiker uses a Vibram sole that is well textured, and gives a secure grip in a variety of conditions and surfaces. I've worn these on rough and smooth concrete, fine sand, wood and grass. I had a chance to hose down a concrete sidewalk and see how these did in wet weather. In a pleasant surprise, I found wet traction to be very solid. The bottom looks aggressive , and more importantly it grabs the ground in the same manner.
Teva states "A blended polyurethane/EVA unit in the heel cup that evenly transfers the energy of impact throughout the footbed and away from the heel. This energy return actually provides greater spring with each forefoot push-off." I tested the heel cup the same way I did the other Tevas, by jumping and landing on the heels. The heel absorbs the impact well enough, especially when you consider this is sold as a "light hiking shoe", and not a heavy duty climbing boot. The heel cup snugs up quite well, and there is no slop in the heel when I wear these.
The toe box feels like it is cut extra wide. For people with fatter feet, or anyone who knows that their feet are going to swell in hot weather, this is a large plus. I've been told that feet can swell up to a half size throughout the day and in hot weather. This is a consideration any time we look at boot sizing, and it looks like Teva has taken this into account as well.
The lacing system of the Teva Riva Leather Mid Event Hiker runs through leather eyelets for the first four, and then uses metal eyelets for the upper three. I found the lacing to be secure, and even when the shoe is laced tight, there are no pinch points or areas of discomfort.
A wide rubber strip give protection to the leather by wrapping around the front. Its not like I can see polishing these, but this should prevent the toes from getting scuffed up when you kick a curb.
The interior of the Teva Riva Leather Mid Event Hiker shows smooth even stitching. There are no threads that need to be trimmed, nor are there any rough spots to cause irritation during long term wear. The Event Fabrics liner is clearly visible in this image. Event Fabrics state their materials are both wind and water proof. The benefit of Event Fabrics isn't that its water proof, because any manufacturer can slap a plastic into their boot and make it a portable sweat box. Event Fabrics is able to do this while retaining the breath-ability of the material, specifically, it allows sweat to escape. The ability to keep your feet dry is of obvious importance, even when its off duty shoes we are talking about.
My favorite Teva rep (Peter) pointed out the 5 fun facts listed below. I like it when a rep drops the fluff and gives me straight info.
* Full grain waterproof leather
* eVent waterproof breathable membrane
* Nylon shank
* Leather lining
* Vibram outsole
Appearances are subjective, but to me, the appearance of the Teva Riva Leather Mid Event Hiker is pretty classic, and these have a nice overall look to them. More importantly, these get the seal of approval from my off duty supervisor, which keeps me happy.
Good traction in wet and dry weather, comfortable fit, and looks that go with just about anything I wear give these a place in my closet.
Check out www.teva.com for more information.
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