Keen Newport H2 review: the closed-toe walking sandal that started it all

The Keen Newport H2 is the top pick in my best walking sandals UK guide, and this review explains why. It's the closed-toe hybrid that made hiking sandals mainstream: a rubber toe bumper for rocky ground, washable quick-dry polyester webbing for water use, and a razor-siped outsole built for wet rock. If you want one sandal that handles coast path, river bed and campsite without asking your toes to take the hits, this is it.

One thing up front: this is a researched, spec-led review, not a field test. I haven't put my own miles into a pair of Newports. What I have done is dig through the spec sheet, the independent lab data and the owner consensus, and that consensus is unusually strong. Over 25,000 Amazon reviews averaging 4.5 stars, and a sustained top-10 sales rank in its category, is about as clear a signal of long-term real-world approval as footwear gets. My job here is to explain what that crowd is responding to, and to be straight about the trade-offs they mention too.

At £105 from Blacks (often a little less on Amazon depending on colour and size), it's not a cheap sandal. It is the most complete one.

Who is this sandal for?

The Newport H2 is built for walkers who want sandal ventilation without sandal vulnerability.

It suits you if:

• You walk rocky, uneven ground where an exposed toe takes punishment: coastal shingle, limestone paths, scree-scattered tracks
• You cross rivers or walk stony river beds, where a stubbed toe on an unseen rock is a matter of when, not if
• You want a true land-and-water hybrid: wear it wet all day, hose it off, machine wash it when it starts to smell
• You've had a bad experience kicking a rock in an open sandal and don't fancy repeating it
• You like Keen's roomy, foot-shaped fit (it's the same wide-forefoot thinking as the Targhee III boot)

It's less right for you if:

• Maximum airflow is the whole point of a sandal for you: the closed toe runs warmer than an open design
• You want the lightest thing on your feet; at roughly 381g per sandal it's one of the heavier options
• You walk a lot of fine sand or gravel, which finds its way in and needs shaking out
• You want a sandal that looks at home away from the trail; the leather Newport does that better

Specs

Weight

~381g per sandal (men's US 9)

Upper

Quick-dry polyester webbing, machine washable

Lining

Hydrophobic mesh

Toe protection

Full rubber toe bumper (Keen's signature)

Lacing

Quick-cinch bungee lace with lock

Footbed

Contoured EVA with arch support (Keen's metatomical design)

Midsole

Compression-moulded EVA, dual density

Outsole

Non-marking rubber, razor siping for wet grip

Lug depth

~3mm multi-directional

Heel-to-toe drop

~11mm

Odour control

Pesticide-free Eco Anti-Odor treatment

UK price

£105 (Blacks), often £80–105 elsewhere

The closed toe that made hiking sandals mainstream

Before the Newport, hiking sandals meant open toes and crossed fingers. Keen launched the original Newport in 2003 around one idea: wrap the front of the sandal in a proper rubber bumper so your toes are protected like they would be in a shoe, while the rest of the foot stays open to the air. That idea built the entire closed-toe category, and two decades on the Newport H2 is still the sandal every rival gets measured against.

The bumper isn't a token strip of rubber. It's a full wraparound cap, the same thinking Keen puts on the front of its boots, and it means a mistimed step into a rock or a hidden stone on a river bed is a non-event rather than a walk-ending injury. On the sort of ground where sandals usually get ruled out (stony descents, shingle, boulder-strewn stream crossings) this is the feature that keeps them in play.

Owners consistently rank the toe protection as the reason they buy Newports and the reason they replace them with more Newports. It changes what a sandal is for. An open sandal is something you walk carefully in; the Newport H2 is something you walk normally in.

Webbing, water and drying

The H2 in the name is the point of this version: it's the Newport built for water. The upper is quick-dry polyester webbing over a hydrophobic mesh lining, so nothing in the construction holds water the way leather or fabric does. Wade a river, walk on, and the sandal drains through its open sides and carries on working while wet.

That makes it the pick for the classic UK summer mix: a coast path walk with a swim in the middle, a river-bed scramble, a day that switches between dry track and wet foreshore. Wet webbing doesn't stretch, sag or stiffen the way wet leather does, and it doesn't need drying out overnight before you can wear it again.

The washability matters just as much as the drying. Because the upper is synthetic throughout, the whole sandal can go in the washing machine (more on that in the care section below). No other feature does more for the lifespan of a sandal that spends its time in seawater, river silt and sweat.

Be realistic about one thing though: a closed-toe sandal will never dry as fast as an open one. There's simply more material around your foot, and the enclosed toe box holds moisture longer than open straps do. It dries quickly for what it is, not quickly compared to a Teva Hurricane.

Grip: the razor-siped outsole

The outsole is non-marking rubber with multi-directional lugs around 3mm deep, and the detail that earns its keep is razor siping: fine slits cut across the sole that open up under load and bite into wet, smooth surfaces. It's boat-shoe technology applied to a walking sandal, and it's exactly what you want on wet rock, slipways, weed-slicked stone and riverside concrete.

Independent lab testing rates the traction as one of the strongest points of the sandal, and the platform underneath you is wide and stable, wider than most hiking sandals at the forefoot. Combined with the relatively stiff construction, it feels planted rather than floppy on uneven ground.

The non-marking compound is a small bonus that makes the Newport H2 as welcome on a boat deck or gym floor as on a trail. The limit is soft mud: 3mm lugs are not a mud outsole, and nobody should be wearing sandals for a boggy moorland crossing anyway.

Footbed and comfort

Underfoot the Newport H2 runs Keen's contoured EVA footbed over a dual-density compression-moulded EVA midsole: a softer layer against the foot, a firmer layer against the ground. The footbed is shaped to the arch rather than flat, and owners with high arches regularly single it out as one of the few sandals with real support built in.

The fit philosophy is the same one that makes Keen boots popular: a wide, foot-shaped toe box that lets toes splay. The bungee lacing cinches the midfoot in one pull and locks off, so the sandal holds securely without buckles or velcro, and there's no strap running between your toes. If thong-style sandals rub you raw, this solves that completely.

Break-in is minimal. The webbing is neoprene-backed at the contact points, so there's no stiff leather to soften and no edges to earn. Most owners report all-day comfort from the first wear, and the ~11mm drop and firm midsole give it a stable, shoe-like feel rather than the squashy vagueness of a foam slide.

KEEN footwear at Blacks

Prices pulled live from Blacks, updated daily. Links are affiliate links.

Keen Women's Targhee IV Waterproof Hiking Boot

£145

Keen Men's Hyperport H2 Sandal

£79.97

Keen Men's Targhee IV Waterproof Hiking Boot

£145

Keen Men's Targhee III Open Toe Sandals

£69.97

Keen Men's Newport H2 Sandals

£79.97

Keen Men's Newport Leather Sandal

£79.97

Keen Women's Whisper Sandal

£69.97

Keen Women's Whisper Sandals

£69.97

Sizing advice

Read this before you order, because Keen sizing catches people out in a specific way: the Newport runs roomy in width but slightly short in length.

The wide toe box gives generous volume across the forefoot, so the sandal feels big side to side. But the overall length comes up fractionally short of true, and RunRepeat's owner poll (over 2,300 votes) lands on "slightly small". The practical result is that a lot of buyers go up half a size, get the length right, and let the bungee lacing take care of the volume.

How I'd approach it:

• Between sizes: go up. The lacing can cinch out spare volume; nothing can add length.
• True to size normally, average feet: your usual size will probably work, but if your toes sit close to the bumper, exchange for the half size up. Toes touching rubber on descents defeats the point of the bumper.
• Wide feet: order your true size and enjoy it. The width is the reason to buy Keen.

Buy from a retailer with easy returns so you can compare sizes at home. Blacks and Amazon both qualify.

Care, washing and odour

This is the Newport H2's party trick, and it's the section that separates it from every leather sandal: the whole thing is machine washable. Keen's official guidance is a cold, gentle cycle with a small amount of detergent, then air dry away from direct heat. Do that a few times a season and a sandal that lives in rivers and sweat stays wearable in company.

The footbed also carries Keen's pesticide-free Eco Anti-Odor treatment, which uses probiotics to break down sweat before it turns into smell. It works better than untreated footbeds, but no treatment survives a full summer of barefoot wet wear without help. The wash cycle is the reset button, and it's a reset the leather Newport, the Birkenstocks and most of the Teva range simply don't have.

Between washes, a rinse under the tap after saltwater or silty river use keeps the webbing and bungee running freely. Salt left to dry in the lace lock is the one thing that degrades the cinch system over time.

Where it falls short

Every strength of the closed design has a cost, and it's fair to lay them out.

It runs warm. The enclosed toe box and full webbing coverage trap more heat than open straps, so on a still 28°C day the H2 is noticeably less airy than a Hurricane XLT3. It's still far cooler than any shoe, but if airflow is your first priority, an open sandal beats it.

It collects grit. Fine gravel and sand work in through the side ports and then have nowhere to go; the closed toe that keeps rocks out also keeps debris in. On sandy beaches and gravel tracks, expect to stop and shake them out. Lab testers flag this as the design's most persistent annoyance, and owner reviews agree.

It's heavy for a sandal. At roughly 381g per foot it carries around 50% more weight than a light open sandal, and it's also one of the stiffest sandals tested, which aids stability but costs some natural flex.

And it dries slower than open designs, as covered above. None of these are faults so much as the price of the protection. You decide whether your ground justifies it; on rock and river bed, it does.

Keen Newport H2 vs Newport Leather

The obvious cross-shop is Keen's own Newport Leather. Same last, same toe bumper, same razor-siped outsole, same bungee lacing. The difference is the upper, and it splits the two sandals cleanly by use.

The leather version looks smarter, moulds to your foot over time the way leather does, and passes in a pub garden or on holiday in a way webbing never quite will. The cost is water: leather takes on moisture, dries slowly, can stiffen after repeated soakings, and can't go in the washing machine.

The H2's webbing gives up the looks and the moulded-in comfort in exchange for total indifference to water and the wash-cycle reset. My steer is simple. If your sandal will get wet regularly (rivers, sea, wet grass at the campsite), buy the H2. If it's mostly dry-land walking, travel and everyday summer wear with the odd shower, the Leather is the nicer object to live with. Wrong-way-round buyers are the main source of unhappy reviews for both.

Closed toe vs open toe

The wider decision, before you settle on any specific model, is whether you need a closed toe at all. The short version: closed toe for rocky and unpredictable ground, open toe for heat and fast drying. The walking sandals hub covers this decision in full.

If you land on the open side, the Teva Hurricane XLT3 is the one to look at first: much lighter, cooler, faster drying and around £35 cheaper, with none of the toe protection. The two sandals bracket the category between them, which is why they sit first and third in the roundup.

Pros

• Full rubber toe bumper: real protection on rocky ground and river beds
• Washable quick-dry polyester webbing built for wet use
• Razor-siped non-marking outsole grips wet rock and slipways
• One-pull bungee lacing gives a secure hold with no buckles
• Contoured EVA footbed with proper arch support
• Wide, stable platform and Keen's roomy foot-shaped toe box
• Machine washable, with Eco Anti-Odor treatment between washes
• 25,000+ Amazon reviews at 4.5 stars: rare long-term owner consensus

What to know before buying:

• Warmer and slower drying than open sandals; the closed toe holds heat and moisture
• Collects grit and sand that needs shaking out on loose ground
• Heavier than open designs at ~381g per sandal, and notably stiff
• Sizing runs roomy in width but slightly short; many buyers go up half a size
• At £105 it costs £30–40 more than a good open-toe sandal

Verdict

The Keen Newport H2 is the top pick in the walking sandals guide because it's the sandal with the fewest ways to go wrong. Toe protection means it handles ground that rules other sandals out. The webbing means water and washing machines hold no fear. The razor-siped outsole means wet rock is its home turf rather than its weakness. And twenty-plus years of owners rebuying it, to the tune of 25,000 reviews at 4.5 stars, says the design holds up over years, not seasons.

The trade-offs are real: it's warmer, heavier and slower drying than an open sandal, and it hoards grit. If your walking is dry, hot and sandy, buy the Teva instead. But for the UK reality of rocky coast paths, river crossings and weather that can't commit, the Newport H2 is the one sandal I'd tell most walkers to buy.

Order half a size up if you're in any doubt, and buy from somewhere with easy returns.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Keen Newport H2 FAQ

Found this useful?

Coast & Fell is independent and reader-supported. If something here saved you time or a bad buy, you can buy me a coffee. Thank you, from Maple and me.