Customer Reviews KEEN San Sebastian

Review: Keen San Sebastien Water Shoes I’m writing this review in 2024, in the ballpark of 20 years after I bought my first pair of these perfect shoes. These are the best shoes I’ve ever owned, period. I still look for them or ones with similar design every season, holding on to hope that Keen will eventually remember the perfection they once achieved. The second pair I purchased 15 years ago is still my favorite, especially for walking on trails/gravel. The foldable/collapsible heel was the first time I ever saw such a design and it was a complete game changer for me. I can’t imagine for the life of me why Keen abandoned that groundbreaking technology and left it to inferior brands to popularize. What made these shoes so special? The rugged, all-terrain hiking sole, the secure, supportive foot bed, the flexible upper with bungee cord adjustment that allowed for a customizable glove-like fit, the fact that these worked equally well with or without socks, and *especially* the fold-forward disappearing heel that allowed these shoes to switch in the blink of an eye to be worn as slip-on sandals, if desired. I’ve actively tried ever since to find something, anything, to replace these someday. I know my 15-year-old second pair won’t last forever. Nothing comes close. I have tried and rejected many dozens of other styles and brands, to NO avail. It’s going to be impossible to settle for less function in a shoe after basically living in these for two decades. Maybe each pair’s super longevity worked against the longevity of the design itself as a viable commercial product, since they never seem to wear out. I only wish I had bought 4-5 more of these when they were still available, so I would never have to worry about buying different walking shoes again in this life.

Great shoe! I love, love, love this shoe... I've taken this baby walking/running/hiking all over the planet and its sooo comfortable... almost like not wearing shoes at all! Yet your feet feel protected and safe. Excellent traction. Can be worn with or without socks and never mildews! Looks cool too. No break-in required. One major problem though: one of my laces broke prematurely... you can't replace them and they are hard to fix!!

Great Fit - This is a very comfortable shoe. It's easy to get on and off, yet holds your foot snuggly. The design allows you to easily tighten the shoe without laces. It has nice cushion and arch support inside. It's my favorite shoe.

Awesome shoe - I just got these and loved them immediately. Very cushiony support. I had been looking for a good slip-on style sneaker and these fit the bill perfectly. Very cute too.

Great shoe for just about anywhere - I love the comfort of this shoe, whether I'm hiking, driving or doing yard work. I haven't quite figured out what makes it convertible (the ability to squish down the heel, perhaps?) but all I wanted was another pair of Keens that were a little more enclosed than my Keen sandals.

This is the perfect hiking sneaker for easy/moderate trails, especially in the summer. I wouldn't recommend this sneaker for more difficult trails, since there's no ankle support. It took 2 good hikes to really break these sneakers in, and now they're extremely comfortable. Very light weight and quick-dry. But not as "convertible" as I expected based on the online description. They pretty much convert into closed-toed mules, not really sandals.

I love this shoe! I ordered this shoe based on the reviews that I read from other customers. I am on my feet most of the day and am gardening in them also so I needed a good shoe that would hold together and not make my feet feel tired. So many of my shoes split between the body of the shoe and the sole, I guess because of the soil getting in them. I like the rubber toe that goes over the shoe on these for that reason. I was worried about the sizing (from some of the reviews) but I bought my regular size 10M and even though it has a little "slippage" I think with a thicker sock it would fit like a glove. I have worn them now for a week and I took them right out of the box and went to work and they were just perfect in comfort. I will surely order more pairs of Keen shoes. They look a little wide from the top but they fit so I guess that's the shape of my foot too! I like that they are not so busy as so many of the tennis shoes etc are. I bought mine in the green and they are great, will be my everyday shoes! Thanks for the reviews; they really helped me decide which is why I thought I'd enter one also.

FANTASTIC all around. What a wonderful shoe! I am a huge Keen fan (own many) and recently had to return my first pair due to comfort and bought the San Sebastian instead. Zappos, you made this so easy! The shoe was perfect out of the box, very cute and I love that I can change it to a slip-on sandal. I typically wear a 7.5 and ordered a size 8 as I have learned Keens run a bit small. At an 8 they are a perfect fit every time.

One of the most comfortable hiking shoes for warmer weather. The mesh keeps out all of the pebbles, twigs and rocks, but the air is allowed in.

Like they were made using my foot as a mold. I've never had a pair of shoes that felt like they were custom-made for me, until now. These shoes are my new heaven. I feel like I'm walking on a cloud, and I feel more sure-footed and dexterous when wearing them. I have wide feet, always have a problem finding shoes to fit, but these were perfect, and they don't even come in wide sizes -- I am wearing a 7B and couldn't be happier. When I tried them on, I couldn't take them off. And there was ZERO break-in time, which I have never seen before. I have never loved a pair of shoes this much! I really do feel like someone made a mold of my feet while I was sleeping and made these shoes just for me.

Love these shoes!!!! I purchased my regular Keen size and the fit is fine. I have very bad, tender, post-op feet. I turned down the heel, swung the heel grip to the front, inserted my HUGE custom orthotics and I have wonderful slip on shoes that give me support. The shoe itself has some stretch and a bungee adjustment so they fit both my normal foot and my swollen bad foot.

Very comfortable, lightweight, & smart looking shoe for moderate walking, biking or spending a lot of time on your feet.

Just what I hoped for - These shoes are as comfortable as my Zappos sports sandals. They provide excellent support and I like the way they convert to clogs. As usual I ordered them 1/2 size larger than my shoe size in other makes.

Nice All-Around Shoe - I was looking for a shoe that I could easily slip into but that had a covered heel. I was also looking for some new tennis shoes, and I may have found both in this shoe. My other two pairs of Keens are size 10 so that's what I initially ordered, but found them to be too roomy in the toe area and a little loose on the heel so I exchanged them for a 9.5. I have used them for walking and bicycling, but have not yet tried them for hiking or in wet conditions. I like them a lot and in the grey they go well with jeans and just about any top. My only complaint is the insole makes my feet smell, which is not normally an issue in my other shoes.

Best so far... My ideal Keen would be the tread pattern on the Sebastian, but with the upper of the Newport. I use these for light to moderate hiking on a daily basis and my only complaint is the blister factor. There are some rough lateral seams inside that rub blisters into the foot. I found applying band aids to the shoe instead of the foot solved the problem, (just need to be sure and remove them before they go in the wash, and they do wash up nicely). Size is a bit large, but I went with my reg size of 6.5 (street size) and it works fine. Newport 6.5 is a bit snugger than these. Overall, I will buy them again unless Keen gets smart and combines the Newport upper with this tread bottom.

These shoes are great - I got these for riding a road bike. They are very light weight and comfortable. I love them.

Most comfortable shoe ever! These shoes are great -- no surprise considering the Keen brand. I bought these for a trip to Italy this spring, and wanted to wear them a few times beforehand to break them in. Now I want to wear them everywhere and my trip isn't for another month!

They’re Keens. What could be bad??? These are my, I don't know, 8th or 9th pair of Keens... glad to see the new style - love them, love them, love them...

The one pair of shoes I am taking to Italy! These shoes are supremely comfortable. They DO NOT rub in any of the wrong places. Perfect fit from the moment I put them on. Easy to slip on and off but also provide great support all over. They are the one pair of shoes I am taking to Italy for a 2 week vacation.

Best of both worlds - This is a perfect Keen - both a shoe and a modified sandal. Pull out the removable footbed, fold down the inner heel liner and replace the footbed & voila: sandals! The back strap can also swivel up and over the top of the shoe to create an open-back style clog. This shoe felt a bit large - I usually wear a 9.5 & I needed a 9 in this style. Very comfy & breathable - molds to your foot after only a few hours. Not the best for running, but great for all terrain hiking & wet ground.

A lot of features! Great travel or around town shoe. Excellent arch support. I wish there was a manual to tell me the right way to convert the shoe. I wear a 9 and ordered a 9 1/2 - fit perfectly, after adjusting the laces (I suppose that would be felt 1/2 smaller so order one size up. Has a wide boxy toe, the footbed seems to mold to your foot. Excellent arch support stretch laces to adjust the fit. A good rugged well made shoe. Not as sexy as my other Keens, perfect for rough ground and traveling. There's a sock at the back you can fold down if you want to wear them as a slide, or pull up to protect your heel when you want to wear back of the shoe up. I got the grey and it can pass off as a light blue for wearing with denims. I really do miss my Jamestown slides. Wish they'd make them again.

Not *so* keen - Although I am devoted to Keens usually, these fell slightly off the mark. I was looking for a substitute for a sneaker that I could also wear on low-key hikes if I had to, and I would not recommend this model for that purpose. My heel slips out when I stride, even with the heel strap in position, so I feel a bit unstable on uneven terrain. That said, I like this shoe anyway. It is clunky-cute like its Keen siblings; has good arch support and good toe room. Note: it's a bit snug around the arch, even with the elastic let out as much as possible. The slip-on feature is great.

Pleased overall - My husband and I were looking for all around shoes for a trip to the Galapagos so I ordered these. In my experience barefoot shoes always require a breaking in period. My husband walked around the house for a few minutes and sent his back. I put mine on for an hour's walk. Small blisters started in several place on each foot. I broke them in slowly for a week and now they are comfortable. I will probably take them to Galapagos but will also take hiking shoes (with socks) and sandals. Bottom line, very cute shoe good for hanging around boats, short hikes, etc.

Unlike other Keen shoes I have, this shoe, as well as the Laguna H2, runs true to my size. I usually have to order a half size larger. This is an easy to put on shoe with a little more weight than I'm used to with my other Keen shoes. Good for hiking.