Geared for water-ready traction, the all-new Hydratrek Sandal is Teva’s most innovative performance sandal yet. So, how does it work? We caught up with Seth Gerke, Performance Footwear Designer for Teva to dive deeper into the details behind the Hydratrek’s unique grippy design!
TELL US ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR HYDRATREK.
SETH GERKE: Our primary goal was to design a shoe that is specifically geared for water-ready traction. To create grip and stability it’s necessary to walk away from what traditionally works for outdoor products. Unfortunately, the typical lugs (the shapes on the bottom of shoes that are designed to provide traction) on most hiking and trail shoes are highly ineffective when it comes to these more water-focused environments.
Geared for grip: the Hydratrek Sandal is designed to get wet.
WHERE DID YOU FIND DESIGN INSPIRATION FOR HYDRATREK?
SETH GERKE: Biomimicry! It’s one of my favorite words. It essentially describes the incorporation of a totally natural and organic function that we can reference and apply to our own mechanical design. Nature has perfected whatever function we’re hoping to achieve 99.9% of the time, through many centuries of evolution. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Hydratrek features a textured topsole and sticky Spider Rubber® outsole.
For the Hydratrek Sandal, we had to first investigate which animals are most successful in sticking to varied surfaces and our deep dive led us to tree frogs. Specifically, tree frog toes. These tiny creatures have a surprisingly complex design on their toe pads, which are comprised of highly regular microstructures of hexagonal cells that are divided by deep fluid channels. Combined with the soft, sponge-like muscles of the toes themselves, the fluid channels between each cell allow moisture to disperse and be pushed out from underneath. This allows for constant surface contact, which is the key to the science behind grip and traction.
Our Hydratrek outsole design was inspired by the tree frog’s toe pad design, with a few key adjustments such as directional lugs and waved shapes on the toe and heel areas that were inspired by sawtooth-like edges on squeegee blades.
WHAT OTHER FEATURES MAKE THIS PERFORMANCE WATER SANDAL DIFFERENT?
SETH GERKE: The primary differentiator in our Hydratrek Sandals is the outsole design as we let the functional intention really drive how we constructed this style. The sole is made from our signature Spider Rubber® compound with a grippy topsole texture to keep your foot locked in. Teva’s iconic Universal Strapping System has been updated with more padding behind the webbing for all-day adventuring. Overall, the Hydratrek Sandal is lightweight, packable, highly durable and fully prepared to take you through various outdoor environments, especially the wet ones!
WHAT’S THE IDEAL USE CASE FOR ROCKING YOUR HYDRATREK SANDALS?
SETH GERKE: Our Hydratrek Sandals can be worn anywhere you’d rock your Teva sandals, but these are designed with water-side adventures in mind, think: boating, fishing, lake activities, and exploring caves or waterfalls! If it’s wet, choose Hydratrek!
