Footwear isn’t exactly very techy, so why am I writing about it? Well for starters, I don’t always write about tech. There are other things in life too, or so I’m told. Supposedly you have to sleep, eat, get dressed, shower, work, get exercise, laugh and do some other non-tech related things…right?! Let’s rewind a bit to the “get dressed” part – I have to admit, I don’t really buy my clothes since my wife has much better style choices than I do…but I do know what I like. So when Crocs asked me if I wanted to test out their new line of Men’s shoes, I was really interested, especially since my kids LIVE in Crocs during the summer. I had never tried them out so I wanted to see what all the hype was.

But wait, if you were here to read about tech…I will get to that in a second as there is a tiny bit of cool technology involved. But first, let’s talk about 2 pairs of shoes that I actually tested out, the Crocs Bowen and the Crocs Hover Lace Ups. Before I go into the details of the shoes, it’s important to explain the rigorous testing I put them through. I took these with my family down to Los Angeles on a trip to Disneyland. I figured that a really good test would be 12+ hours walking around Disneyland from attraction to attraction, being dragged on every ride imaginable. And I was correct!

Crocs Bowen

I chose the Bowens to be my feet protection at Disneyland. I like the way they look and they definitely were comfortable.

If you look at the white sole, it almost appears springy. And, they were. As you walked, your feet practically bounced.

You can see that the back part of the shoe is made with suede, while the front part is a type of plastic. While this did make for the shoes to get a bit hot (my feet actually sweat a lot naturally), the shoes were so lightweight and bouncy that I sometimes forgot that my feet were sweating. If there was one complaint that I had, it was that the shoes had a bit less breathability than a similar type of fully canvas shoe might have. But I won’t really complain much, because the comfort was a more critical factor. I simply bought a pair of inserts for them and I was pretty good – and I do recommend getting inserts to make things even more comfortable.

Crocs Hover Lace Ups

The Hover Lace Ups are pretty much a direct throwback to Converse All Stars. But having worn both brands, I have to say that the Crocs are a lot more comfortable.

The Hover Lace Ups seemed to be even lighter than the Bowens. Given that they were made almost entirely of canvas, as opposed to the “plastic” that the Bowens were made of, these seemed to breath a lot better for me. I still got some “odor eater” inserts for these as well.

Like the Bowens, the Hover Lace Ups have midsoles that are made of a material called Croslite which is what I like to call the “springy marshmallows“.

Both shoes are extremely light weight and Crocs has come up with term for it, the “7 oz. Bounce“. And actually, this is where the cool technology comes into play.

The “7 Oz. Bounce”

Crocs produced a pretty cool video that showcases these new shoes in action. First, take a watch of this innovative video.

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Those videos were used to create their Facebook video/app which has 3 “personalities” (once you “like” the page). Here is the Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/Crocs and if you want to jump directly into the “7 Oz. Bounce” video/app is here. You can also see the video on the Crocs’ Sneakers page.

I love how the camera is focused right on the shoes the entire time. Well, if you want to see the gear that was used to film the video, have a look below.

Above is the camera strapped onto the leg.

Ready to go but check out the backpack that needs to go with the actor!

That’s a lot of gadgets to take a shot!

Getting some air!

HighTechDad Ratings

So, this is a bit hard to rate using my traditional rating system, but I will give it a shot. Well, both of these Crocs are definitely easy to “get up and running” – literally! In fact, I’m giving them pretty high marks for the “running” factor because they are so springy. Remember though, they are not running shoes. They don’t have the support nor design to be used as pure running shoes. However, an occasional sprint is fine. Crocs are definitely family friendly (not just the new sneaker line). My kids wear them regularly throughout the summer. If your feet tend to sweat like mine do, you might want to get some charcoal inserts. This is the only complaint I have currently, particularly with the Bowens. Your feet tend to heat up a bit.

The Bowens retail for $59.99 and the Hover Lace Ups are $49.99. You can pick the Hover Lace Ups on Amazon as well for $49.99. The sizing is pretty true. I normally wear a 10.5 or 11 Mens and the sizes I got were 11’s and they seemed to fit pretty well (even with the insert – which made them a bit snugger). The Crocs Bowen model isn’t yet available on Amazon. I do feel that the price point is a bit high, but I realize that you are paying for the Crocs name here. I think a $10 reduction off of both prices would make these two styles real winners (so $49.99 for the Bowens and $39.99 for the Hover Lace Ups). As these are new to market, it will probably take a few weeks before you see that kind of price drop. Overall, the new Crocs Sneakers are very comfortable and springy shoes!

EASY TO GEEK FACTOR – is the device easy to get up and running

FAMILY FRIENDLY – does the device fit well into family environments

RECOMMENDABILITY– would I recommend it to others (more means “yes”)

PRICE POINT – does the price reflect the product function

OVERALL – my general rating

Disclosure Text : I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. More information can be found in my About page as well as here.

HTD says: If you plan on spending some time on your feet, you could strap some marshmallows and springs to your current shoes, or you could get some of the new Crocs Sneakers and have some cool looking shoes as well!.

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