If you are planning to buy some Hey Dude Shoes and are unsure of whether they are going to work for you I have been road-testing the brand to give my personal thoughts on their footwear. I wanted to know are Hey Dudes comfortable and would they work well for casual use?
Buying comfortable shoes is absolutely essential for me as I have flat feet, mild plantar fasciitis at times as well as tendonitis. I need shoes that deliver support, cushioning and a comfortable fit. I am fed up with buying shoes that hurt, pinch or aggravate my feet and I’m guessing you feel the same.
So I wanted to talk in detail about the pros and cons of one of their typical styles in this case their women’s Wendy Sox to give my opinion. This can help you to decide whether they would work for you or if you need to think about a different style of shoe to meet your needs.
So with that, I’ll talk about the positives and move on to the elements of the shoe that I wasn’t so happy with.
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Hey Dude have bestsellers include:
Hey Dudes Wally Sox loafer style shoes which have a simple slip-on design with laces to tighten.
Hey Dude Wally Funk Shoes which are breathable, cushioned and machine washable.
Hey Dude Misty Slip-On Shoes which are great if you are in a rush and don’t want to bother with laces.
How Comfortable Are Hey Dudes?
Let’s start by talking about how comfortable these Hey Dude Wendy shoes are. I think it is important to note how I felt from the initial wear as opposed to what they were like to wear all day.
Initially, I found these Hey Dudes to be extremely comfortable mainly I think because of the soft fabric uppers and the memory foam insoles. I am a person who needs cushioning to walk on and the memory foam insoles certainly helped with this.
These Hey Dude shoes were easy to put on and tighten with the elastic laces and I was quite happy walking around in them for the first few hours in my house. What I found however is that they didn’t hold up so well for longer periods of time because I also need arch support and more structure in my shoes to help my feet. This means that after a few hours, I felt my feet start to ache a little and I could feel my feet leaning to the side slightly as they had nothing to support them properly.
So if you have flat feet and need arch support I would say that Hey Dudes are great for short-term use but if you are planning on doing significant walking or are thinking about wearing them all day you would need a different shoe or orthotics.
The Lightweight Design Helps With Wearability
Clumpy heavy shoes and boots certainly have their place but in summer it is lovely to wear shoes that feel like you have nothing on your feet.
These shoes weigh less than 6 ounces so you probably won’t find many shoes that are more lightweight than these. This makes Hey Dude shoes a great choice for the warmer weather as they literally are so easy to wear.
The ultralight outsole is perfect for the warmer weather and because they are so light they take minimal effort to walk in.
They Are Breathable
Not only are Hey Dude shoes lightweight they are also made from breathable materials which is a big bonus when it comes to summer.
Can you wear Hey Dudes without socks? Well yes, most people do but that can cause problems. The fact is that feet sweat and when that moisture is trapped in a shoe it can cause your feet to slide around leading to blisters. Plus it can encourage fungal infections to take hold. I always like to wear no-show socks with shoes like these.
Breathable sneakers and shoes make a huge difference as the moisture is able to escape leaving your feet dry and cool. Luckily my feet don’t sweat too badly but I appreciated the breathability of the shoes as my feet felt cool and comfortable in them.
If you need a little extra help you could use Carpe Anti-Perspirant Foot Lotion to stop your feet from sweating. This is particularly useful when you are wearing Hey Dudes as they are normally worn without socks or tights.
Easy to Put On
This next plus point about these Hey Dude shoes won’t matter for everyone but it will if you have difficulty with putting shoes and boots on your feet.
Hey Dudes are easy to slip your feet into and then you can simply use the elastic laces if you need to tighten them to get the perfect fit. This easy-on system is great if you want to slide shoes onto your feet.
I know this won’t matter to everyone but if you have limited flexibility as I have being able to slip these shoes on quickly makes a huge difference to me.
Why Are Hey Dudes Comfy?
Are Hey Dude Shoes Comfortable? Well, they certainly are initially and part of the reason for this is because of their flexible soles.
Their flex and fold technology makes a difference because the shoes are easy to bend and manipulate as you put them on. They also are able to flex with your feet as you are walking.
As the shoes are relatively soft and pliable they are also far less likely to cause blisters and rubbing that you might find in leather shoes and sandals. The soft material definitely made my feet feel more comfortable as opposed to stiff harder leather which can take a lot longer to break in.
Are Hey Dudes Good For Wide Feet?
If you are buying a new pair of Hey Dude shoes the good news is that you can buy styles for wider feet.
There is nothing worse than trying to break in shoes that feel too tight which is why it always makes sense to buy footwear that fits right from the start. What I like about the shoes is that their styles all have a wide toe box which stops your toes being squished into a small space.
I have vivid memories of my mum and her terrible bunions which were caused by her wearing shoes that were too small for her when she was a child. Her aunt used to send shoes over from America to where they lived in rural Ireland and the children would wear them even though the shoes weren’t the right size for their feet. The consequences were deformed feet with huge bunions which eventually she needed an operation for.
That taught me that getting wider shoes was important as I didn’t want to suffer like she had. So these Hey Dudes fit this brief perfectly as they allow your feet room to move and spread out.
Are Hey Dude Shoes Comfortable?
These Hey Dude shoes and the others on the market have a great feature which is that the memory foam insoles can be removed as you can see from my picture. This means that I am able to swap out the normal insole and replace it with one of my choosing.
As you can see from this picture the Hey Dude Insole has a bit of arch support built in but it is not significant.
I often add insoles to my shoes or use orthotics for arch support to help give me that additional cushioning and stability. If the shoe insoles aren’t removable my own insoles are harder to use and make my footwear a little too snug.
Having a removable memory foam insole makes it easier to swap them for something more comfortable for my particular needs. Of course, you may be happy with the existing insoles but if you have special requirements this makes everything so much easier.
They Have Reasonably Good Traction
Since having a hip operation a number of years ago I am always careful to make sure that any shoes that I buy have a non-slip sole. I can’t take the chance of falling over so I always look for shoes with better traction.
I should point out these are not shoes that I intend to wear in the winter when it is raining or in the ice and snow. I am just going to be using these when the weather is milder so I just want something that can deal with normal walking on sidewalks and malls.
These Hey Dudes fit the bill as they EVA soles with grooves for added traction that works really well as this picture of my shoes shows.
They Are Washable
Are Hey Dude shoes comfortable if they are washable? Well clearly not but it is a plus point that I thought was worth mentioning because most shoes don’t have this feature.
I hate to see my shoes looking grubby so knowing that I can wash them in a washing machine and air dry them to keep them clean is a big bonus. You can read more about how to clean Hey Dude shoes in my article on the topic. It won’t make them a more comfortable fit but it makes me happy to see them looking good for longer.
Are Hey Dude Shoes Supportive?
So I’ve talked about the positives of Hey Dude shoes what about the negatives?
No Hey Dude shoes review would be worth anything if it didn’t tell you some of the things that weren’t so great about these moccasin-style sneakers. The number one problem I have with the shoes is that they are simply too squishy and comfortable and that causes them to be less supportive.
When you suffer from pronation problems your foot can start to lean to one side and that causes not only issues with your feet and ankles but with your posture and muscles elsewhere in the body.
I tend to wear supportive shoes with arch support to prevent my feet from leaning to the side so that I can walk without causing pressure elsewhere. The problem with Hey Dude Shoes is that the material they are made from isn’t particularly stiff so it stretches relatively easily and allows your foot more movement.
Plus the insoles themselves have no arch support at all which means that anyone who needs stability in their shoes is going to have a problem. Part of that can be resolved by taking out the insoles and replacing them with orthotics to help support your feet but you can’t change the material the outsole is made from.
This is why in my case I’ll only wear these for short periods of time and never for walking significant distances. Instead, I will wear sneakers with arch support which are better suited for standing or walking for longer periods. If you don’t have the same problem feet that I have then you may not have a problem but the issue is certainly worth flagging. My thoughts are that young people are less likely to have an issue with this than older people who tend to have more foot problems as they age.
Are Hey Dude Shoes Good For Flat Feet?
I’ve probably answered this question already but to be clear if you have flat feet you normally need some form of arch support to stop any foot pain.
Hey Dude Shoes do not have great arch support which means if you have flat feet you will need to buy an arch support and place it in your footwear.
Sizing Issues
I am someone who has been preaching about buying comfortable shoes that fit well right from the start of the buying process. In order to do this a brand should offer half sizes to help their customers get a better fit.
I am lucky as I am usually a full size, not a half size so these Hey Dude Shoes fit me well but if you need something in between you are going to have to make the decision to size up or down. This means that you are making compromises right from the start which would make me want to buy a different brand.
Don’t ever think about buying shoes that run too large or small and think you can live with them because you can’t. Ill-fitting shoes are going to cause you blisters from rubbing and movement which is clearly the opposite of comfort!
They Are Not Designed For Bad Weather
Luckily I am trialing these shoes in a bit of a heat wave in the UK so their lightweight breathable design has worked rather well. This would have been a different story a month ago.
The UK has had a bit of a washout summer this year with weeks of non-stop torrential rain. If I had chosen to do my Hey Dudes Shoes review earlier this year they would have been a bit useless.
Are Hey Dudes Waterproof? Well, the fact is they don’t keep your feet dry in wet weather and if it is cold they won’t keep them warm either. This means they are not great for everyday wear when the weather is bad. That said plenty of other shoes like Vans and Converse have a similar problem but it is worth noting because with climate change we are getting more unpredictable weather that is going to impact our clothing and footwear choices.
More About Traction
Whilst I mentioned that the traction on these Hey Dude Shoes was fine for the summer weather they are not great when the weather isn’t sunny.
The soles of the shoes can get slippy whilst it is wet and that means you need to be cautious walking on them when it has been raining or on wet floors. I’ll state the obvious which is you should never wear these in icy weather. I’m not going to call this a problem with comfort however as they were never designed to be worn in that type of climate.
There is Minimal Ankle Support
If you need shoes with good ankle support then these are not going to be the best shoes for you. Whilst many of the Hey Dude shoe designs have a cushioned ankle collar for comfort they are not really designed to support your ankle.
If you want better ankle support then you are probably better off buying a pair of high tops to wear instead.
They Are Not Designed For Heavy Activity
Are Hey Dudes good for walking long distances?
Well if you are just going to use your Hey Dudes to take a quick stroll or to wear when you meet friends at a coffee shop then they work just fine. They are less useful if you are proposing to do something a little more strenuous. These are not shoes designed for standing in all day. I certainly wouldn’t wear them for any type of athletics or running and jumping and they are not that great for ground that is uneven and rocky.
Luckily I don’t need my Hey Dude shoes for any sort of heavy activity but if you do you are probably much better off buying a pair of good supportive sneakers. These are casual shoes that have minimal uses beyond simple everyday use so take that into consideration if you are thinking of buying them.
In Summary
So to summarise are Hey Dude Shoes comfortable?
Well yes, they are but they do have limitations which makes them less useful for people who need extra support from their footwear. I personally will only be wearing them for a few hours at a time and in situations where I am doing limited activity. Even then I will be swapping out their memory foam insoles for my own orthotics to stabilize my feet. If you have no issues with your feet you can wear them for longer but if you get any signs of foot pain or discomfort swap to something with extra support.
More Information About Hey Dude Shoes
Where Are Hey Dude Shoes Made?
Are Hey Dudes Good For Your Feet?
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