Customer Reviews OluKai Upena

One thing to realize is you can customize the fit a bit on these by shifting the straps around a bit on your foot. When I first put them on, they felt tight in a couple places, but a couple of adjustments eliminated that so don't be afraid to play with it a little when trying it on if it doesn't feel right at first. As for sizing, I was torn after reading reviews. I am an 8.5 with a slightly wide forefoot and highish instep. (I usually need to size up.) But I ordered both the 8 and 9 so I could be sure. I tried the 9 first and it felt like good sizing for me, though slightly long. (This is a problem I'm used to.) There was, however, a strange rubbing at one toe-loop. The shoe had a lot of movement when I walked. I tried on the 8 just out of curiosity and much to my surprise, it actually fit better. Rubbing sensation eliminated. And yet my foot is not squeezed into it, or hanging over. I also believe this leather will stretch somewhat, so sizing down worked best for me. Overall, this a great shoe. So comfortable to run around in all day like a flip-flop, and yet looks amazing with a dress at dinner.

My absolute favourite sandals ever. I have difficult feet with a host of problems that prevent me from wearing any type of shoe without my orthotic insoles. These are the only shoes I can wear all day long without insoles that don't cause me any foot pain. I wore them back to back to different theme parks (10+ hours walking both days!) and had NO pain whatsoever. My feet are also oddly shaped (wide in the front, narrow in the back) and the adjustable strap helps in keep my foot in place perfectly. The front straps were a little tight at first, but after wearing them more the leather stretched out to the perfect width for me. I've had them for over a year now and they're still going strong. I won't be buying any other sandals than Olukai's. You can't beat that level of comfort and quality for the price.

I'm a Chaco devotee for their versatility, comfort, and adjustability, but even I have to admit that Chacos look a little too sporty for certain occasions. As such, I've been on the hunt for a sandal that looks sleeker (i.e. something I could wear to work or out to dinner) while maintaining the arch support and comfort I'm used to with my Chacos. I've found a winner in the OluKai Upena! For a shoe with a thinner, sleeker footbed, I'm impressed with the support and comfort these sandals offer. I've walked several miles in these right out of the box without any sore spots or rubbing. The straps are not adjustable, but you can sort of shift them around on your foot to get the perfect fit, and the leather does stretch a little for optimal comfort and fit. For this reason, I went with the 7 in these sandals instead of the 8, even though I'm typically a 7-7.5 in other brands like Chaco (7), Born (7.5), Birkenstock (38), and Sperry (7.5) and occasionally have to size up to an 8 in brands that only offer whole sizes. I also prefer an 8 in OluKai flip flops. I have narrower heels and wider toes, plus what a Dansko sales rep once described as "low-volume" feet (which puts me between a 37-38 in Dansko) and what I call "pancake feet" because they're flat and kinda bony, and the straps of the Upena conform to my feet really well. The gold strap on the pair I purchased are a nice elegant touch. Another big thing for me was strap placement. Too often, I try on sandals where the front strap crosses over my 4th toe, and that always results in uncomfortable rubbing and blisters. As you can see in my photo, the strap on the Upena crosses over the base of my pinky toe, which is much more comfortable! Overall, these are really nice, comfortable sandals, and I think they look sleeker/dressier than the Chaco leather line. They seem to be very high-quality, and I expect they'll last awhile, even with the heavy amount of walking I do. I bought a second pair, and may purchase a third! If you're looking for a sandal that combines form and function, I'd highly recommend the OluKai Upena. I wish I had found these shoes years ago!

I purchased these and Chaco Dorra to compare the similar styles. I really liked the style of these better (and so did the office staff), but the strap adjustment in the back did not work for me. I need it tight as I have a narrow heel and it started sliding open after just a few steps. It also did not feel as secure as the Dorra.

I was on the fence- i love my OluKai flip flops for the pool, but wasn’t sure about these sandals working on my high arched feet. However, these are definitely keepers! I basically wear Birks all the time, which I love, but I wanted some fashion variety without giving up comfort. These are super cute and i wasn’t sure about the toe loop, but it’s soft and comfortable and hand bothered me at all. They are also adjustable at the back so you can adjust for your instep and get a better overall fit. There’s also a bit of elastic so the strap doesn’t slip off my heel when i walk and keep my heel in place which tends to supinate. The sole has a decent arch support- without looking clunky or orthopedic. I ordered my regular size and i would rate the width as average. I usually get wides to accommodate for my instep but the reg width was fine because of the adjustable strap. Now if only i has a place to wear them besides my house and backyard! (Thank you, COVID)

I was sure from the reviews about the great arch in these that they would work for me. Unfortunately, I wore them for two hours yesterday - not even doing much walking- and my feet still hurt today. If you need an average amount of arch support these are great. If you need lots (if you have had heel spurs or plantar fasciitis like I have) the arch just will not cut it. The sandals are cute. I ordered a size 10 and I am a 9½. They fit well and the arch is in the right place. I am disappointed that they won't work for me, but I think they are great for someone else.

These shoes are super cute but sadly have a design error that will probably impact many folks. The heel strap is only made to be long enough to fit into the loop if you are one of the smallest two of the four holes given. On the third or fourth hole it flips out, looking unkempt.

I love these sandals. I wore them for over 200,000 steps around Europe and they are the most comfortable sandals I have ever owned. I bought them because I am developing minor plantar fasciitis and needed a shoe that would give me enough support to relieve the symptoms but still look stylish. I could wear them with dresses, shorts and jeans and they looked great. My only complaint about these shoes is that I wish they came in half sizes. I ended up ordering a size up because I worried that the smaller size would rub and cause blisters. I had to put another hole in the strap for them to fit tight enough but that minor fix helped the fit a lot.

Off the charts cute - causal with skinny jeans or capris and dressy enough for a sundress. Olukai does it again.

When I took these out of the box, I saw that they were well made and I loved the color I chose (charcoal/pewter). I own several pairs of OluKai flip flops and was excited to see a slightly dressier style of this brand in a sandal. However, when I went to put them on, the straps seemed short and I could barely fasten them. I do not normally require a wider width shoe, and ordered my normal OluKai size in these. They seem narrow in width and after walking around the house in them for a while, they started feeling tight and when I took them off, the straps had left indentations in my feet. I might try a half size larger but the length on these is really fine so I don't think these will work for my feet. Disappointed as they are so cute! They probably would work fine for someone with a narrower foot.

I liked the style but since I have high arches and a bunion on my foot it didn't fit as well as I would've liked. It does seem like a versatile sandal though. Tevas tend to fit my foot better.

I sooo wanted this sandal to fit. But it didn’t My feet are on the wide side of regular width with one foot with some degree of bunion. This style separating the large toe is a good choice for feet with bunions but narrowness of the fit meant I couldn’t even get on the foot. Even the normal foot couldn’t get in the shoe. Length appears ok but width is narrow.

I love the way these sandals look and feel. They did take a few days to break in. At first when I put them on, I thought no way! I realized that the straps adjust a bit. The only part that needed breaking in was around the big toe. My feet are a little wide with a very high arch. They also swell, and I have been wearing these with no problems. I will say that when I first put the sandals on, they feel tighter than they feel after wearing them for about an hour. The leather warms up and stretches a little. The arch support is decent for a flat sandal. I usually wear a 9 to 9.5. The 9 fit well.

I am very hard on shoes and these lasted quite long for me with heavy use. I've walked in water, mud, streets, hiking, etc. I had a similar style in Chaco before and they fell apart in half the time. The leather is soft and felt good on my feet from day one. I'll be buying a second pair.

I love these shoes. Nice leather and comfortable. I have medium wide feet and normally wear a 9.5 but needed to upsize to a size 10.

Oh my gosh, these sandals are exactly what I was looking for! We just returned from a Western Mediterranean trip (Spain, France, Italy) and I was looking for a pair of sandals I could do all the walking required for such an expedition. In addition to the OluKai (which I’d never heard of), I tried Birkenstock’s and Chaco’s. Don’t get me wrong, both are great sandals. But my feet swell when I walk and get hot so I wanted sandals that would provide great support, look cute, transition from casual to slightly-dressy, and would be comfortable and have just enough “give” to accommodate the changing sizes of my feet. These sandals are AMAZING!!! We walked from 5-7 miles a day and these sandals are so comfortable, I didn’t even notice I was wearing shoes! No pain, no break in time, perfect right out of the box. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Very comfortable. At first I worried they didn’t have enough cushion, but I wore them all day and they were very nice and supportive. The leather is soft and flexible already so you don’t have to break them in or anything.

I have a pair of Keen leather sandals which feel like buttery leather, a pair of Chaco leather sandals....love both styles. Then I saw this sandal and thought it is a cross between my Keen's and Chaco's so why wouldn't I like these? Ordered them, got them, put them on my feet and sure enough just like I thought, it is cross between my two favorite sandals!! They fit great and feel great. The leather is not to soft and not to hard to cause problems. The foot bed is more like a Chaco but not exactly. Very happy with this purchase.

These are comfortable. What I really like about them is the base is slimming. I had another pair of sandals that the base made me look like I was walking on a plank.

LOVE! These sandals are great- stylish, sleek, with a formed footbed (versus being completely flat) that's supportive and comfortable for lots of walking, hiking, biking. Quite a few Zappos reviews mention this sandal fitting too tightly, which is why I thought they might work for me. I have thinner feet, so sandals with a fixed band that goes across mthe arch typically don't work. The top band is baggy, too big, has gaps. But!!! these sandal straps are adjustable rather than fixed. I'm not exaggerating when I say this may possibly be the BEST FITTING PAIR OF SANDALS I have ever owned. It's my first pair of OluKai and I'll definitely go to OluKai first when shopping for another pair. The design of this pair seems geared toward more athletic feet/low body fat feet. I'm a consistent 9.5 shoe size and ordered both a 9 and 10 to compare. The 10 fits perfectly!

Went round and round with this sandal just because I love the look so much. My normal size 9 in OluKai was the proper length I like for the footbed, but there was extra leather in the toe loop that bothered me and the strap on the little toe hit in a weird spot. Ordered another size 9 just to see if they were the same. Finally thought to try an 8 -- bingo! The straps hit in the right spot and the arch support is OK. Looks a little short compared to what I usually like for clearance around the foot, but nothing hangs over so I'm gonna stick with the size 8. Would be PERFECT if they had my normal size 8 1/2, but alas, no half sizes in OluKai. Really nice looking sandal!

My favorite sandals. Very comfortable and I've walked miles in these. The leather has stretched out, but I'm planning to buy another pair (in every color)!

I have these in the brown and gold and love them but did not like the look of these as much in black, they just seemed a little clunky. Also, the back strap that goes around the heel was made differently than the pair I own, they seemed bigger or had a different hole placement. These are very comfortable and provide great arch support.

Only leather is on the straps. No different from a cheaply made sandal. The sole is plastic and that is what tears up the skin on your heels. I have bought other flip flops from same brand and they are leather soles. For $80 it should have a leather sole.

The leather was so soft. The first time I wore them all day and they never hurt my feet.