2020-004 | TAPAK NUWANG SPORTS SANDAL

LAST YEAR, I RECEIVED a pair of free TAPAK Nuwang Sports Sandals in my home. Its arrival and purpose was to use it to my heart’s content; make a series of field tests and then give my opinions about its performance in social media; and make an impartial product review in this blog. “Nuwang”, by the way, is Ilocano word for the swamp buffalo, or more popularly known as the carabao; the Philippines’ favorite farm animal known more for its strength and its staying power.

It has a minimalist-style webbing of printed-orange motif as the thong, or strap, which you could adjust for fit at only one point. Once you slip your foot in, you just pull the webbing end through a small PVC ladder lock and secure it with another lock.  What I noticed about it was its weight. It was neither too heavy nor too light; considering that the outsoles are constructed of repurposed and upcycled rubber tires! Truly an inspiration and a product of Filipino ingenuity.

The first thing I did is slip it through the thong found at the heel. It is like fitting a shoe only you need to catch the other end of the thong with the slot between big toe and second toe. Once secured, cinch it tight, but not too tight. Then I walked it around my neighborhood and the downtown areas of Cebu City. I have to adjust my feet to get used to it because it has a different system. Most often, the smallest toes would be found beyond the edges and I need to adapt how it works for me. A little adjustment in my gait.

I wore it in my personal errands, rain or shine, intending to wear it down. I learned to walk it on dirt trails, sandy beaches and wade atop it in waist-high seawater. Exposed it to a full day of sunlight at its wettest conditions, with the intention of warping the rubber and undermine the adhesive that paired the insoles and outsoles. It had seen a lot of mileage, especially during the long lockdowns where I walked the empty streets because there were no public transportation running.

I did not use this in long hikes nor used this for running. Its minimalist design is not my idea of the ultimate in outdoors safety. I still stuck with the age-old principle of the proper footwear for the proper activity even though I know people wear this same type of sandals for their leisure activities in pictures. I would not recommend in such even though I know the TAPAK Nuwang is tough enough to withstand the force applied by weight and speed and uneven surface.

I find the minimalist thong system design very complicated to unravel and cinch in places where you are deemed to remove your footwear several times when entering areas far apart from each other. I experienced it where I have to do the removal and the wearing of the TAPAK Nuwang as I went to the outhouse, the restaurant and back to my cottage several times a day for four days. I thought I have only the home to do this thing. I was wrong.

Its toughest test was to wade in a mangrove area on a low tide. Mud would suck the soles, testing the hold of the thongs, while saltwater would naturally undermine the cracks of the sandwiched soles where the adhesives hold your year-old sandals together. For almost an hour I struggled to keep the TAPAK Nuwang to my feet, even though the slippery mud would interfere in my footing on the sandal itself. It was torture for any footwear immersed in watery mud that long but it held.

Should I rate the TAPAK Nuwang on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 as Poor and 5 as Excellent; I would rate it by its different characteristics like Comfort, Make, Function, Weight, Design, Material, Cost and User Friendly; before I could give the final satisfaction rating average. Here is how I do it and please follow me down:

• The TAPAK Nuwang is a sandal with an unconventional design, based on its minimalist form. Comfortability of wearing is supreme when doing a light walk although you have to adjust your gait to right sandal to the axis of your feet. Comfort is maximum at 4;

• For a locally-made sandal with a material originally of upcycled vehicle tire, the construction looked, felt and performed solid. Make is rated maximum at 5;

• Minimum requirements of a sandal is that it should keep your walking as comfortable as possible, protect your feet and does not fail. The TAPAK Nuwang have complied with that and this resulted to satisfactory functionality. Function is max at 4.5;

• Weight is the most obtrusive feature why people think twice of wearing a sports sandal. Weight is just about right which I rated at 4.5;

• This is not an original design but the manufacturer tweaked and added their own, for copyright considerations, like the upcycled tire tread. The design of the thong that held the feet is not the best though but aesthetically, it is. Design is good at 4;

• The choice of upcycled tires as the outsoles is a winner when choosing products that considers your carbon footprint. Materials used are satisfactory and could even better those expensive and imported brands. Material is fine at 4.5;

• At P550 per pair? Do I need to explain the price? Cost is best at 5;

• This is where the TAPAK Nuwang is not at its best moment. The minimalist thong design lets you to sit down so you could reach in unravelling and cinching the thong and remove or wear the sandal. It is never easy if you happen to do this more than what you expect it to be. User Friendly is 3.

Overall, the TAPAK Nuwang Sports Sandal has a Satisfaction Rating Average of 4.31, which is surprisingly high, considering that it is a local product. Personally, this is an excellent sandal to acquire and walk on with style among the suburbs and the frontcountry, notwithstanding its minimalist-thong system.

Tapak Outdoor and Sporting Goods, the maker and distributor of the TAPAK Nuwang, is an independent manufacturer built around 100 percent Filipino capital with address at Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Their products are all made in the country’s shoe-making capital of Marikina using local labor. You may call or send a message through their Facebook Page or a personal message to to Mr. Russell Pelingo and Mr. Russell Eustaquio for orders and inquiries.

The TAPAK Nuwang is sold at a retail price of P550/pair, with sizes ranging from 5 to 10. Strap colors are black, gray, orange, blue, brown, olive green, multi-colored tan, multi-colored green and multi-colored blue. They also have the TAPAK Nuwang Sea Games 2019 Edition in blue and red which sells for P350/pair. Then they have the TAPAK Aspin, in different strap colors sold at P550/pair. All their products are tested in different locations, environments and activities. They are also into production of trucker caps, cycling caps and neck warmers carrying the TAPAK name; and other sports equipment.

WARRIOR REVIEW: Rivers 3514M Hike Boots

THERE ARE ONLY TWO things that are very valuable to me when I am outdoors: a functional knife and a good pair of shoes. Why the shoes?

Good question. The shoes protect my feet from sharp stones, pebbles and thorns. I cannot travel a good distance without a comfortable pair of shoes. I cannot climb a mountain or run down a trail without a sturdy pair with threaded soles. So now you know why shoes are tops in my list of items.

Used to own good and not-so-good pairs which I acquire either by cash or through hand-me-downs but due to constant use, compounded by heavy loads upon my back, these got damaged. There came a time when my need for a pair of shoes got so very critical that a first cousin in Sydney, Australia came to my aid and promised to gift me a pair.

Last August 4, 2011, that promise became true as it was personally handcarried by Alice Lavilles-Reyes to my waiting hands as we were having a gathering to welcome her and her husband, Ollie. It is a RIVERS 3514M Hike Boots in brown and tan combination. What timing! It came at a time when I really needed a pair of shoes to do a camp assessment at Mount Manunggal, Balamban, Cebu the following day for a wilderness safety seminar.

RIVERS is an Australian brand but their products are assembled and made in China with the materials provided and shipped by the company to their overseas factory. Basically, I don’t patronize goods coming from China due to its inferior quality, poor craftsmanship, the state’s propensity to use slave labor and for a thousand and one political reasons.

I try the fit of the shoes and I instantly liked the feel that I shoved my thousand-and-one-political-reasons down to the backburner. I am consoled though by the thought that the leather, fabric, rubber, glue, thread and the whole design are made in Australia.

So the RIVERS 3514M Hike Boots got its first test at the dirt road going to Mt. Manunggal on August 5. The first thing I noticed about the shoe is that it is very light. The three-tone earth colors appeal quite to me due to its simplicity and would go well with whatever I wear. Besides, I believe I am the only one wearing this brand here which gives a fine accent to my personality.

I begin to feel the quality of its material as I change gaits as often as I could to test its flexibility, comfort and craftsmanship. It fits my Size 9-1/2 feet perfectly as it is a Size 10. I try it on grassy grounds and wet trails and the threads grip the surface well. The real test would be the route going down to Tabunan. Kapiyoan Trail is a good testing ground as it is a steep route with washed out surfaces and an abundance of polished rocks and mossy stones.

I lose a bit of balance as I slip on a steep but slippery part yet I am able to recover without falling down as I start the descent. I was not able to dig a heel onto dirt as it is rounded and angled. I long for those old-school type of soles where it is in right angles and could dig deep into surface and stop your unintentional descent caused by gravity.

I slow my pace a bit and the soles held on the same surfaces until I pass by vegetated areas where presence of exposed roots and broken branches are numerous. Common sense dictates that no amount of good rubber would hold on wet wood especially along the grains so I chose my steps carefully but tried a step or two on bare roots. I use the foot arch but I slip dangerously sideways.

By now, boulders of all sizes begin to appear along the trail. This is the ultimate test. I start testing the grip on different kinds of rock surfaces except that which I find angled and very smooth. It held. I take steps on several rocks and I am satisfied. I used the sole edges on angled rocks and it held after a short slip of about an inch.

I jumped from one stone to another and I get to temporarily develop my confidence in my footing but when it came to a ridged rock my footing slid sideways. I stepped on it using the arch of the shoe which could not get a grip. The same result as when I step on a root earlier.

The sole is foam-injected to make it act like a soft cushion when landing on hard surfaces. The thread is of radial pattern with wave designs. One wave line run from instep to outer-heel tip and this causes slips when you step on rounded surfaces along the arch. I see no good reason why the designers decide to omit threads along the middle of the sole.

By now, I reach a stream. I opt to cross the stream with my boots on. The shoe strings are just too thin to effectively hold the boots together and they tend to slip or loose its tightness when pressure is applied or when it is wet. I may have to replace it with a thicker one from a discarded pair.

I used the same RIVERS 3514M Hike Boots the next day – August 6 – for work. I am amazed that the shoes dried quickly even as I walk a kilometer on an asphalt road that had been made wet by an early morning rain. I even walked intentionally on a wet steel plate tilted at thirty degrees but it held on and I did not feel a tell-tale sign of a slip.

I guess, this pair would serve me well in all my outdoor pursuits like multi-day hikes, crossing streams, running trails, climbing mountains or just teaching people survival skills in a bushcraft camp. I care my RIVERS like a baby and use it, as much as possible, only on the trail. It had seen constant use and work and is a sturdy pair.

But last August 26, 2012 – more than a year since I own these – the soles showed signs that it is going to dismember itself from the upper fabric, so I brought it immediately to a cobbler and have the sole sewn tight to the uppers for good. A gesture that would bring in more miles and years of its life.

Although it lived up below my expectations in a January 13, 2013 exploration of the last wild place of the Babag Mountain Range, Cebu City and, before that, it had taken me to a lot of mileage from Mt. Manunggal to Mantayupan Falls, Barili and walked on the Mananga River from Buot-Taup, Cebu City to Camp 4, Talisay City five times in a span of a year.

The RIVERS 3514M Hike Boots is, definitely, one of the best pair of hiking shoes I ever had. It had chalked up eight cross-country hikes for my Cebu Highlands Trail Project and will be ready when the ninth comes. I would purchase another pair soon as it is listed at an approximate US price of $30.41 which may change anytime but, just the same, it is quite affordable considering that it is within the P1,250-P1,350 range.

I would recommend this hiking shoes anytime for those who are into hiking among mountain trails for extended days and those who are into recreation camping.

Document done in LibreOffice 3.3 Writer

WARRIOR REVIEW: Bamboo Millennium Patrol Shoes

LAST JANUARY 2011, DES Footwear, makers of Bamboo Military Shoes, approached me and made known their intention to test their locally-made shoes. This, they believe, would help them upgrade their product and procure the best materials that would give them better confidence to penetrate the market.

Their factory is located in Basak-Pardo, Cebu City, Philippines. Basically, their shoes are MADE IN CEBU; so very distinct from the more popular cheap shoes made in Carcar, which is also a part of Cebu. Their shoes, just like in Carcar, are hand-made and done by skilled local labor and are stitched for long wear and good shape retention.

And so, I was given a free pair of their Millennium Patrol Shoes and another free pair of their Charol Parade Shoes, both Size 10. Their parade shoes are made of shiny black leatherette uppers and locally-made rubber soles. I have worn the pair rarely and these have not seen much abuse unlike that of the patrol shoes.

The patrol shoes are made of genuine leather, dyed black, with local rubber soles. Inside are fully-padded insoles and flexible shank for extra support. It had seen constant pounding through walking and day-to-day use going to the office and on the field and holds all my weight of 95+ kilos. However, by May, the soles start to crack and, in June, water leaked inside.

In July, Bamboo Military Shoes replaced the much-abused pair with another free pair with much better rubber soles that is hard as it is oil-resistant. Aside from the walking and the constant daily use, the shoes have been used regularly to push the motorcycle stand upright which use the left foot and crank-start it with the other foot.

Likewise, the Millennium’s look and feel serve well in very official functions and setting. Although designed for rugged use, its simple design could very well complement any formal attire and the leather is very easy to buff and shine or daubed with commercial-dye solutions.

According to Mr. Fermin Uy, the bulk of their sales are from the Charol Parade Shoes which are bought and used by policemen, security guards and criminology students. Their patrol shoes have not caught on the trend yet but I can’t see any reason why these sturdy shoes would not be worn someday by civilian security forces and the military if it were advertised through conventional means.

Since DES Footwear is a small company, funds to spend for advertisement are very scarce and whatever income collected from sales are diverted instead for production expenses which are increasing every quarter due to an influx of demand. It is for this intention that DES Footwear decided to utilize this person to test and market their products.

This writer is indeed very glad to have DES Footwear as a sponsor to further his passion as an adventure-travel writer. This greatly helped me to possess a sturdy pair of shoes for my journeys which, sometimes, are a part of my day job as an officer of a reputable security company.

Another free pair of Millennium Patrol Shoes did land on my desk this January 2012 compliments of DES Footwear and I am proud to announce (as well as endorse) this in Warrior Pilgrimage. Prouder still I am, to have been given this privilege of wearing a product made by Cebuano hands.

The shoes are now available in the market and, if it interests you to own a pair, the prices are One Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (P1,500.00) for the Millennium Patrol Shoes and One Thousand Two Hundred Pesos (P1,200.00) for the Charol Parade Shoes. These are much cheaper than the cheapest competitor and a quality that is at par with established ones.

If you would like to order a pair or several pairs, I may be contacted at mobile phone number +639237162705 or email me at pinoyapache@yahoo.com.

Document done in Libre Office 3.3