Teva Wraptor Shield eVents in action

The Teva Wraptor Shield eVents have performed remarkably well in my opinion. Due to the women's shoes not being available in my size at the time this test began, I am testing a men's shoe, US size 7. One thing I immediately noticed with the fit of the shoe is that the toe box is very roomy. I have not had any problems with blisters, corns or tender spots on my toes. My feet can sit perfectly in the shoe and my toes don't bunch up when running.

Teva Wraptor Shield eVents in action

The tread grips well on the many types of terrain on which I run. This includes: sand, dry dirt, mud, through standing water, through running water, gravel and grass. I am very impressed with the comfort of the footbed. Even on loose gravel, I don't feel the rocks poking up into my foot. I can feel the individual rock pieces -- which allows me to keep my balance -- but I don't feel any hard jabbing into my foot. This has the added benefit of keeping me from spraining my knees.

When running through water, the built-in gaiter works very well. Aside from sweat, my feet are comfortably dry and only the tops of my socks -- which are protruding from the tops of the shoes -- have any feeling of wetness [I always wear good, medium thickness running socks with the Tevas]. The shoes wick sweat away very efficiently and keep my feet at a comfortable temperature.

On dry dirt, sand or dusty areas, no debris gets into the shoes. My socks come out clean and there is no trail dust or grit between my toes when I'm finished running. For that alone, I love these shoes.

My only complaints are with regard to putting on or removing the shoes. It takes practice if I wish to do so quickly. Over time, I've gotten better at it, but there is a definite order in which I have to secure/unsecure items on the shoes. To put them on, [assuming everything on the shoes are already undone] I have to slip my foot in, secure the zip cord on the inner part of the shoe, then zip up the zipper on the gaiter while ensuring everything that needs to be inside the gaiter is actually inside. Then I pull the Wraptor Fit system taught and secure it.

Also, if I only have one hand free, I have a very difficult time zipping up the gaiter. This is because the Wraptor™ Fit system, which is a strap that encircles the foot all the way around, goes over the top of the zipper and requires one hand to hold the strap out of the way, while the other hand pulls the zipper up. I've tried it with one hand and was not successful, although if it were really necessary, I'd probably attach a small piece of line to the zipper and use that to pull it closed. I ran into this issue after being bitten by a wasp on my right thumb. The thumb swelled up so badly that it was unuseable and after fighting with the shoes, I ended up not running that day [which in hind sight was probably a good idea].

I've also tried putting the shoes on and taking them off in the dark, and although I am very familiar with the shoes, it's still a difficult task. I know that if I were out in a tent and needed to jump up quickly, these would not be the shoes I'd grab at the time.

The shoes are very light, considering their shape and size and the amount of gear on them. The soles have started to show some wear on the outside portion of both of my heels, but not of a significant degree. I have not washed them yet, but have wiped them down with a moist cloth. They do not have any stains or show any damage of any kind. All seams are holding up well, and the self-sealing zipper opens and closes with ease [when the strapping system is held out of the way].