Vessi Footwear
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Vessi - what they don't tell you
I purchased for Christmas a womens soho,and weekend sneaker (both white) and two Alta's in the limited color green. I picked up a men's weekender to give it a try. Good shoes and when they are new yeah they do exactly what the pretty pictures and videos do. Water beads off and you walk around dry and comfy. Once you get them dirty and try to clean them, we'll that's a bit of a different story. They tell you baking soda and vinegar and a sponge or clean cloth. This is what they don't tell you: as soon as you touch that cloth surface of the shoe to remove the stain you remove a coating that allows the water to bead off. Just a wipe and it's gone. Now don't fret, the shoe maintains its waterproof ability BUT the cloth now absorbs the water and doesn't bead off. It's still waterproof but the surface now stops beading and water stays onto the weaved cloth. With the soho shoe, 90% is the pleather/vegan leather material and that is a breeze to clean. You can use the vinegar and baking soda on the vegan leather or pretty much anything else but the cloth needs the baking soda and vinegar. I also have an issue with how difficult it is to take out a stain and not make the white homeless grey smear everywhere on the nice white shoe. On the comfort: it is a spongy comfort. I feel it decent for walking but unless you have the storm burst or a higher sock the ankle friction might be harsh. They have removable insoles, seem to hold up to walking but for me the men's weekender has zero ankle support so if you have weak or ankles that need support, it's not a good investment. The women's soho and weekend sneaker have a robust heel area so ankle support is better. Also I feel my foot gets a bit hot in the shoe so in colder weather it's a bit of a positive. In the summer I might have to wash out the shoe more often to prevent foot odor or the excessive use of products to minimize odor. But the more you wash, the more of that coating washes off and you get a shoe that absorbs water in the weave. The next time you get a stain, it's a bit harder to get the stain clean and you end up scrubbing and that weakens the weave. Last thought. I know there are a lot of reviews on vessi but their website only shows 5 stars and I wrote a review noting the staining and it never was posted nor has this subject ever been mentioned in their entire review section, but as i talk to vessi owners they seem to have the same staing/dirt smear issue. Just something to keep in mind.