Ontario Rugged Hiker By Steve Mann

Would you buy a shoe so versatile that you could wear it with a suit or hiking through mud and snow? While you’re dreaming, might as well make it one of the most comfortable shoes you’ve ever worn. Well, pull out the Visa card, Birkenstock makes that shoe today—they call it the Ontario.

Birkenstock’s entry into the rugged walking/light hiking shoe category, called the Footprints series, is an unqualified success. Our field test crew threw everything from snow, sleet and rain, to sand, wet clay, and slickrock at the Ontario with consistently outstanding results. Hey, this shoe isn’t just for the outdoors either—our testers regularly wear their Ontario’s to the office, around campus, even to church. Wear the Ontario everyday as a casual shoe and it’ll stand up to just about anything the average day dishes out, year round. Your feet stay warm, dry, and very comfortable.

Birkenstock’s legendary comfort is the key feature of the Ontario. The leather upper is soft and supple, quickly molding to your feet. The cork footbed with the trademark heel cup and toe ridge make the Ontario a true Birkenstock shoe, with the unmistakable wide toe box accommodates the widening of your foot across the ball of your foot as you walk. A latex cushion under the heel softens impact while you walk.

Break-in is virtually instantaneous. We did notice that over a week’s time, the footbed seemed to adopt the shape of your foot, particularly in the toe area. One of our testers, unaccustomed to the European styling on the Birkenstock, found the shoe a bit awkward—not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar—during that week. After the first couple of days he wasn’t sure he really liked the Ontario, but agreed to keep wearing them a while longer, mostly based on the high praise from the other testers. One week later the Ontario rated high even on his comfort scale.

Top-quality leather uppers, watertight injection-molded midsoles, and dense rubber soles make the Ontario a very durable shoe. The leather recovers nicely from scuffs, simply apply a little NickWax. After nearly a year of almost daily wear, the shoe leather can easily be mistaken as that of a month-old shoe. Although soft and pliable to the touch, the lugs also proved surprisingly durable. One tester wore his Ontario’s over 300 days with almost no noticeable wear to the soles.

The Ontario’s polyurethane injection-molded mid-sole wraps up on the sides from ‡ to 1 inch above the sole. The combination of the wrapped mid-sole and thick sole give the shoe excellent performance in wet conditions, be they rain, snow or mud. The soft lugs give good traction, too.

Some of our favorite outdoor uses for the Ontario are:

• a light hiker on established trails;
• a winter-weather casual shoe, such as around the ski resort after a long day on the slopes;
• an office show in snow or slush that would douse less capable shoes;
• or a camp or car shoe, rescuing your feet from your boots on the drive to or from a trip.

You’ll find the Footprints series carried by a wide variety of stores, from Nordstrom to Outdoor Specialty stores. To locate the dealer nearest you, click on "Where to Buy" on the Birkenstock’s navigation bar at http://www.birkenstock.com/1.htm. The web site also list mail order sources for Birkenstock shoes.

Birkenstock offers the Ontario in black or brown leather at $210. Not the least expensive shoe around, but if you’re willing to spend two bills on just one shoe, this should be the one. Offered in metric sizing only, Birkenstock’s web site provides a sizing table to translate from US to European sizes. (From the home page, click on "Foot & Shoe Care", then "Unique Footbed", next scroll the text on the right frame to the bottom for the sizing chart.)

Steve Mann is the Editorial Director at GearReview.com

For more information, contact:
Birkenstock
8171 Redwood Blvd.
Novato, CA 94949
(800)761-1404