You step out of the van at six in the morning and slide straight into them without bending down.

The grass is wet, the tent is still half packed and your trainers are somewhere in the boot. You put a foot in, the open heel takes it, and the closed toe box shuts over your toes. Then you walk across gravel to the standpipe and nothing gets in from the front.

The whole shoe is one moulding of EVA. A row of oval vents runs along each side, cut right through so you can see the contrasting midsole behind them, and a panel of smaller round holes sits over the instep. Underneath, the sole stands on rows of moulded round studs in a contrasting colour, with fine ribbing running up the sidewall, and the maker prints a 5 cm thick bottom on its own panel. There is nothing to fasten, nothing to adjust and nothing to lose.

Key Benefits

• Closed toe, open heel The toe box is fully moulded shut, so a stubbed toe on a step meets EVA instead of skin, while the open heel means you step in standing up without using a hand.
• Vents cut right through Oval openings along each side and a panel of round holes over the instep are real holes in the upper, with the contrasting midsole visible behind them.
• Thick studded outsole Rows of moulded round studs stand proud under the sole, with fine ribbing up the sidewall, and the maker prints a 5 cm thick bottom.
• One piece EVA Upper and sole come out of a single moulding, so there is no glued join at the toe to open up after a summer of gravel and hosing down.
• Nothing to fasten No strap, no buckle, no lace. The shoe is stepped into and stepped out of, which is the entire point of it at a campsite door.

Best for: campsites, allotments, boatyards, garden watering, the walk from the car to the beach, and the shoe that lives by the back door from May to September.

Why It Works

A slide leaves your toes exposed and a trainer takes two hands and a minute. This sits exactly between them: the front half behaves like a shoe and the back half behaves like a slide. That is what makes it the pair people actually reach for when they are stepping outside for four minutes rather than four hours. The one piece moulding is the other half of the argument, because a shoe that gets hosed down at a standpipe should not have a glued seam waiting to fail.

Quick Product Facts: EVA upper and sole, moulded in one piece; fully closed toe box; open heel; oval vents along both sides; perforated instep panel; moulded round studs under the sole with ribbed sidewalls; maker prints a 5 cm thick bottom and a 350 g gross weight; slip on, no fastening; colourways black gray, black orange and card orange; European size bands 40 to 41, 42 to 43 and 44 to 45; one pair per order.

How It Fits Your Routine

Week one, they end up by whichever door you use most. That is the honest test of a slip on, and a closed toe passes it in a way a slide never does, because you stop thinking about where you are putting your feet.

Through the summer they take the jobs that ruin proper shoes: emptying a chemical toilet, standing in a paddling pool, walking on wet decking, dragging a hose across a lawn. EVA does not absorb anything, so none of that stays in the shoe.

To clean them, run them under a tap and stand them on their side to drain. The vents mean water leaves as fast as it went in, and nothing needs to dry out overnight before the pair is usable again.

FAQ

Are the side holes real openings? Yes. The oval vents on each side and the round holes over the instep go through the upper, and you can see the contrasting midsole behind them. They are openings, and that is all we claim for them.

Will the studs stop me slipping on wet decking? We are not claiming that. The sole carries moulded studs and ribbed sidewalls, but no slip rating and no test report come with the pair, so treat the studs as tread pattern and mind your footing on wet timber.

Which colourway is which? The option names are the maker's own labels: black gray, black orange and card orange. The two black options carry a contrasting midsole and studs, and the third has a pale body with orange. Read the option photo before you choose, since the labels are the maker's shorthand rather than a colour description.

How do the size bands work? Each band covers two European sizes, so pick the band your usual European size falls inside. There is no fastening to take up slack, so if you are between two bands the smaller one holds the foot better.