Review on 👟 Turquoise Medium Boys' Sandals: Merrell Lagoon Sandal - Ideal Footwear for Active Kids by Ryan Lawrence

I really wanted to like it, it's a high end brand and at the time they sold it for an incredible price because it was discontinued, but I ended up returning it. First some context: We are going on vacation. and I needed water shoes that could withstand the tides and hike in similarly wet, rocky areas. We don't plan on using them that often over the long term so durability/durability was secondary. We bought a few different pairs to compare, but unfortunately you can't "test" them in the real world they were designed for if you plan on returning the ones you don't like. So the only way I could judge them was how well they fit and how they cling to our bare floors at home. Surprisingly, out of the 5 or so different pairs of water shoes we tried, the Merrells were almost the last in terms of traction. And believe me I still wanted them because I figured they would last longer than the unbranded products as they definitely looked and felt the highest quality we tried. But since we probably won't be using them very often, the most important factor was maximum protection from my clumsiness, ie the grip factor. Being more slippery than the Chinese-made fakes, one thing that set them apart was the very thin layer of "velvet" - or something like that - on the sole of the shoe. I've attached a picture showing where the "regular" sole material of the water boot ends and this corduroy layer circled in red begins. It was this material that allowed the shoes to glide effortlessly across the bare wooden floor, an effect similar to felt pads that can be attached to the underside of chair legs. This seems totally counter-intuitive, so I can only speculate that maybe this layer offers better grip on wet rocks? Who knows. I really didn't want to risk damaging them if I was considering returning them. I would definitely consider these if you think you need water shoes on a regular basis and therefore need something that can wear out over time. Of course I didn't test it that long, but it just felt better than no-name brands and it was noticeably lighter too. I find it dries faster too. But if you want something basic for casual use, I think it's overkill and might not even offer the best grip. By the way, I tried to find information about this material and did not find anything. I haven't seen this with any of the other pairs we tried.