Teva Ellwood Mid Review: Boot Scootin’

Introduction to the Teva Ellwood Mid

SAM: Hiking boots have a pretty distinct look. And, while the rise of sports-style fashion has brought trail footwear into the mainstream, I think there’s always going to be a segment of consumers who wish hiking shoes looked, well, not like hiking shoes.

It’s that consumer that the Teva Ellwood Mid is made for. Case in point: the first time my brother saw this shoe, he instantly asked where he could get a pair. “I’ve been looking for a shoe that looks good that I can take on short trails,” he remarked while deflecting a body check from my meteor of a son, “I’d like a shoe for camping that I can wear to dinner on the drive home.”

And this really is the shoe for him. It’s a nice looking casual boot, packed with the tech to make it through a day on the trails. Specifically, it has a tough woven and suede upper with a TevaRAPID PROOF ankle-high waterproof bootie incorporated, an EVA midsole, and a Spider Rubber outsole. For only $120, this falls in the range of most cheaper casual boots you could buy that would probably disintegrate two miles into a trail, so fingers crossed it’s good enough to fill the niche it’s designed for. Teva could have a real winner on its hands.

What we like about the Teva Ellwood Mid

SAM: I’ve logged quite a few casual wears and hiking miles in the Teva Ellwood Mid, and I’m impressed with the shoe overall, but especially with the durability of all its components. I’m pretty picky about my boots, and this offers rock-solid mid-height protection for the price. On top of that, it features seamless waterproofing with the TevaRAPID PROOF inner bootie. The knit and suede upper and Spider Rubber outsole are especially great, so let me break those down a bit.

My casual time in this shoe included a decent amount of use as a work boot, and I gave it everything my job as an espresso tech could throw at it. Maybe my pair is decorated with a few extra coffee stains, but there are no nicks, rips, or tears. Even the toe crease and lace indents in the suede are barely there.

The Spider Rubber outsole is similarly tough. There’s no real wear after all the hiking and casual miles I put in, and the lugs themselves are plenty deep still. I suspect this shoe is going to stick around like a 2007 Toyota Corolla.

Speaking of sticking, that same Spider Rubber outsole that didn’t show too much wear is fantastically grippy. There isn’t a whole lot of spacing between the lugs to maintain a flat feeling underfoot over miles of casual wear, but I didn’t find myself wanting for better grip at any point, either. I had just as much traction on a slick cafe floor as I did on rocky switchbacks.

What we don’t like about the Teva Ellwood Mid

SAM: Look, I know better than to expect high-stack, cushy comfort in a boot. I have a 10-year-old pair of American-made Danners that basically have only Vibram outsole rubber underfoot, and they will forever be in my regular rotation. However, I do think that a shoe sold — if only just partly — on being made for hiking should live or die based on how comfortable it is over several miles. And while the EVA midsole on the Teva Ellwood Mid isn’t strictly uncomfortable, neither is it comfortable.

The best word I have to describe it is “weird.” It feels slightly bowl-like underfoot — higher around the edges and thinner in the very middle. This is fine in the heel, where it creates a comfortable heel cup, but it’s not the best feeling along the medial and lateral sides of the ball of my foot or my toes. The last of the shoe is narrow already, and the weirdness around the edges of the midsole heightens a crunched feeling in the toebox.

This also shouldn’t be considered a technical hiking shoe. It isn’t sold that way, and it isn’t made that way. It can handle light day hikes, and if you push into technical trails or longer distances, you might find that the security of the upper is somewhat lacking, and the EVA is not overly soft or supportive. That EVA also compressed relatively quickly. Most of the softness that was to be found underfoot isn’t there anymore. Again, ultimately, that’s all fine. This is a casual boot, after all.

The TevaRAPID PROOF waterproofing keeps as much moisture in as it keeps out, and this shoe gets pretty toasty on the foot from that lack of breathability. Finally, I hate complaining about laces, but these are thin enough to fit a pair of dress shoes, and they’re annoying to tie and untie.

Final thoughts on the Teva Ellwood Mid

SAM: Look, if you’re like my brother (or if you are my brother, hey!), and you want a single shoe that will do what you need in the woods around a campsite and in a restaurant the next day, you can do a lot worse than the Teva Ellwood Mid. The weirdness of the midsole isn’t enough to write the shoe off. I’m still wearing it often if that gives you any indication of how unbothered I am. If you have a narrower foot, you might not notice the weirdness at all.

But really, it’s the price point that makes this a real winner. This is essentially a fully waterproof hiker with a high traction outsole for only $120. I don’t know if you’ve eyed the shoe wall at an outfitter recently, but that’s at the very low end of the majority of the comparable shoes available. Maybe it’s not a full-throated hiking boot, but it has enough to keep most people happy, especially since it could mean one less pair of shoes in the closet.

You can pick up the Teva Ellwood Mid for $120 from Teva by using the buttons below.