The brand’s divisive silhouette gets a clean reboot that everyone can agree on.
Keen
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You know it when you see it.
First released in 2013, the Keen Uneek is one of the outdoor industry’s most recognizable silhouettes, thanks to its unique open-air design and divisive two-cord upper.
That said, its latest update might require a double take.
The Uneek 360 is the latest evolution of Keen’s famed camping shoe, repurposing the cords as a cage that connects a removable knit liner with the design’s injected-foam midsole.
That kind of construction is notable from the outset, as the adaptive nature of the cords all but guarantees a precision fit regardless of foot shape.
Though perhaps even more notable is that it enables Keen to avoid glue in the manufacturing process, paving the way for wearers to recycle each individual part at the end of the shoe’s life cycle.
The release aligns with Keen’s Detox the Planet initiative to “create footwear that is 100 percent free of the most toxic chemicals,” the brand says.
On that note, the cords themselves are made with recycled plastic, while the knit liner avoids the use of PFAS, otherwise known as “forever chemicals.”
The Keen Uneek 360 drops on Friday, February 13, in two monochromatic colorways, black and light gray. It costs $190.
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