BIRKENSTOCK Honnef High Oiled Nubuck Leather Black
Source: Honnef High Oiled Nubuck Leather Black | BIRKENSTOCK
One of the best parts of researching and browsing sites vs the cool images and videos dropped on social media, is finding footwear that pops. Birkenstock is obviously famous for their sandals and the recovery benefits of their footbed, but when the fall arrives and cooler weather sets in, fans of Birk have to resort to mules and sandals with shearling. This doesn’t mean sales slow, but Birkenstock can be somewhat overlooked unless they are partnering with brands like Dior or KITH. The site held a gem of a surprise in the Honnef High. The name sounds like a classic court shoe and the look holds two facets of the sneaker industry that have become more important as fans of winter outdoor wear look at comfort, durability and looks in their kicks. One of Nike’s best performing sneakers is the winterized sneaker boot Air Force 1. Timberland has shifted from its construction wheat to a variety of sneakerboot options as well.
I’m not certain of how long the Honnef has been available, but as I browsed the site the shoe immediately caught my eye as an alternative to winterized versions of sneaker company trainers. One look at the Honnef and there are immediate references to hoops classics like the adidas Top Ten, or even the classic Puma Ralph Sampson in the padded collar, but the premium construction Birkenstock provides delivers a more elevated look and when you consider the shoe is built on the foundation of that famous footbed, comfort won’t be an issue. The one detail that may be tough to get around is the anatomically shaped design of the toebox. Consumers have become so fixated on traditionally shaped toeboxes of trainers, many people fail to understand the true shape of the foot and Birkenstock does not explain in detail why the upper is shaped the way it is. If they tighten up the copy there with a short explanation of shape, it will certainly help in allaying any of the worries about width and design. Obviously, no one is going to lace these up and hit a basketball court, but they look ready for city hikes as the temperature begins to dip. If I had to choose one, it would be the grey taupe with the butterscotch gum outsole and lite colored jute midsole. Which would you choose?