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Late last summer, I received a package; I didn’t know what it was, other than that it was from Deckers X Lab! After opening it, I found a pair of some of the strangest shoes I have ever seen, with no box, no description, and no explanation on Deckers X Lab’s website.
Well – it seems I was on the list to be gifted a pre-launch version of the X-Scape Baja (I later figured this out), which this one was in the White color! They then followed up by gifting me another pair (without my knowledge) of the Beige version as well. So now I have a collection of these shoes!
I’m glad I do, as while these aren’t shoes I normally would have bought for myself, they are THE PERFECT alternative to those clog-style waterproof shoes that everyone owns and have found their way into being used regularly.
So in this article, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know, what I like about them, what I don’t like about them, and if you should be buying them yourself!
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What is the X-Scape Baja?
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- They wear just like normal shoes.
- They look like normal shoes.
- It can be worn in the water, like water shoes
- Extremely comfortable
- The X-Scape Bajas don't shed sand
- They are quite expensive
- Not super breathable
- They aren't slip-on
These shoes aren’t your cookie-cutter tennis shoes; they also aren’t your cookie-cutter slip-on outdoor shoes; they are somewhere in the middle. Instead, they are what Deckers refers to as a “land/water sneaker.” Essentially, it’s a sneaker shape, with shoe laces and everything; however, the body of the shoe is made with a waterproof “Sugarcane IM-EVA” material, which feels a lot like what you would expect from the original Croc slip-ons.
The shoe has holes all throughout the outer portion of the shoe (not the soles), which allow for water to flow out of the shoe, making it possible to use these shoes both on land and in the water, and then back again without skipping a beat (or taking them on and off).
Now, does this innovative design make this the perfect every-day summer shoe? Let’s talk more about that.
What do I like about these shoes?
1. They wear just like normal shoes.
These Baja shoes are anything but normal. However, they are just like normal shoes. You lace them up like shoes, and you can wear them day-to-day like normal shoes. While they may be shoes you can wear in the water, you can walk right out of that water and onto land without any worries; the water just drains out of the holes in the shoes. The soles are well formed to my arch, meaning my feet don’t have to hurt just because I want to go in the water. This means there isn’t much of a trade off!
2. They look like normal shoes.
Outside of the holes all over the shoes, these look exactly like normal shoes! That means you can wear them with your normal outfit, rather than looking like a strange person, wearing water shoes and pants, but you can go anywhere you want, even into that stream next to the BBQ you are at. Now, we’ll talk a little later about what it is like to use these shoes as everyday shoes, so stay tuned.
3. It can be worn in the water, like water shoes
Most water shoes just don’t look good; there’s no way around it. So having a shoe that can be worn in the water but still looks like normal shoes is awesome. They have fantastic tread on the bottom, you don’t feel rocks under your feet (poking you), and they make amazing all-day water shoes. If you are in the market for a water shoe, what’s more, even if you use them just for that, it would be an amazing option.
4. Extremely comfortable
I touched on this a little earlier, but I wanted to give it its own section. These shoes are extremely comfortable! I’ve talked a lot before about how my feet are incredibly picky; I have to have the right shoes. Otherwise, my feet start to hurt immediately. Deckers X Lab, in general, has proven to be one of my all-time favorite brands, even if it was just for their comfort alone, and the X-Scape Baja is no different. The arch is comfortable, the fit is fantastic, and I have no qualms with the comfort of the shoe.
What do I NOT like about these shoes?
1. The X-Scape Bajas don’t shed sand
The one Achilles heel of the X-Scape’s tennis shoe design is that the design allows for sand to make its way into the shoe, but there is no way out. Some other water shoes that I have do have holes in the front, but they have an open heel, where the sand is able to flow out of.
However, once you have sand in the Baja shoes, because of the closed heel, they have a hard time finding their way back out of the holes, meaning you have to regularly take the shoe off to drain the shoe of sand. It’s a bit of a bummer.
2. Not super breathable
While these shoes are meant to offer the best of both worlds, water shoes and sneakers (and mostly hold up to that promise), I found the other downside to the material to be that they aren’t super breathable. After a while of wearing them (especially with socks), my feet started to sweat.
While they weren’t uncomfortable in the comfort department, the lower breathability of the foam build did cause some discomfort in the sweat department. This is THE ONLY reason I don’t regularly wear these as day-to-day shoes, and I save them for days when I know I’ll be ending up in the water at some point.
3. They are quite expensive
Someday, I’ll get over how expensive some of the products I review are. However, today is not that day. While these shoes aren’t in the upper tier of shoe pricing, they are still sitting dangerously close to $70, meaning you have to exchange a large amount of cash to have these shoes.
When you compare these shoes to shoes you can find on the cheap at a big box retailer for $5 – $10 on clearance; it might be difficult to justify the price. That said, if you are shopping for something that combines everything that is great about tennis shoes and water shoes, you can’t really go anywhere else but these Baja’s right here, then they would be well worth their price.
4. They aren’t truly slip-on shoes
One of the best things about most water shoes is their slip-on nature. It makes them awesome shoes for quickly running to the mailbox, going in the backyard, or stepping into the water at the beach. However, because the Baja’s are built like normal shoes, it takes a few moments to put them on. By no means do you have to untie and retie the shoes, but you do have to bend down and use your hands to slip the shoes onto your feet, rather than slipping them on from a standing position.
Who should buy them (Final Verdict)?
These shoes would be perfect for someone who is looking for shoes that are primarily meant for water shoes, with a bit of walking around in between. For example, someone who is going to the beach for the day but plans to go out to lunch between swims. These aren’t shoes that you are going to wear as your daily drivers; instead, they are more specialty shoes for when you are primarily in the water, with some walking in between.
Overall, these truly are amazing shoes. Deckers X Lab has a soft spot in my mind because they create truly amazing shoes that are some of the most comfortable I have ever worn. These X-Scape shoes may be slightly compromised due to their purpose, but they should really be considered a fantastic alternative to those generic and cheap water shoes.
Where can you buy them?
The only place I have found where you can purchase these shoes is directly on Deckers X Lab’s website, which you can find right here (Paid Link)! I guess there really isn’t much else I can say about that, right?
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