Finally, Birkenstock Goes Off-Road
If you're like me, warming temps means it's time to once again break out your trusty ol' Birkenstocks. And, just in time for the seasonal shift, Birkenstock has cooked up some sandals that can actually take you from street to stream.
Now, I basically wear Birks everywhere. Long walks, grocery store trips, day trips, whatever. It's all good.
The one thing that's given me pause is a proper hike — better to get something a bit more secure and water-resistant (and as outdoorsy as Dior's forthcoming Birks are, those are never going near a trail).
That's where the new Birkenstock Outdoor collection — available now on Birkenstock's website, stores, and select stockists — is positioned to take over.
Yes, they're elderly. Yes, they're not conventionally "cool." That's exactly the point. If you haven't yet embraced full-on dad style, where've you been?!
Birkenstock's new outdoor collection builds off the template set by its prior experiments with the Adventure outsole and models like the Tatacoa — slightly more rugged variations on its classic sandals that sport velcro closure and heel straps.
Indeed, these aren't even all-new models: the Sahara, Atacama, Tatacoa, and Kalahari have all existed in various forms prior to the Birkenstock Outdoor collection, complete with Birko-Flor insole and the aforementioned Adventure sole.
The difference is that these new models swap Birkenstock's signature cork footbed for an injection-molded polyurethane version that's "water-friendly" — according to Birkenstock — and contoured similar to the OG style.
However, unlike the cork original, the polyurethane footbed boasts self-cleaning lugs (!), shock absorption, and heightened grip, meaning that not only will these sandals take care of your feet but they'll take care of themselves, too.
It's nice to see Birkenstock organically adapting to the current gorpcore obsession without straying from its roots.
The phenomenon isn't dissimilar from Birkenstock's gently luxurious inclinations by way of the recent Horween and quilted sandals, not to mention its fancy Manolo Blahnik team-up.
