Olukai Hiapo Review

The Hiapo scores well across the board, though it's not ideal for excessive water activities. Still, its excellent comfort and good looks had our testers reaching for it more often than not.

Performance Comparison

The Hiapos feature a baseball glove-like stitching and a fully leather-wrapped footbed.

Photo: Matt Bento

Comfort

Breaking in this flop takes some work and commitment. If you're the type of person that wants a cushy flip-flop right out of the box, then this might not be the sandal for you. However, if you stick with it, you will be rewarded.

The footbed and the thong are both made of stiff, high-quality leather and can be a little rough on the feet at first. However, within the first week of wearing these class act flops, the leather begins to soften, and the footbed molds to the contours of the foot. After a month of use, they feel like an absolute dream.

After a long break-in period, these contenders will become a well-loved comfortable flop.

Photo: Matt Bento

Support and Stability

As a general rule, OluKai flip flops are quite stable and supportive. The Hiapo is a very slight exception to this rule as it is much more heavily focussed on being classy than it is designed to be planted on a trail. That being said, for a dress flip flop, the Hiapo is fantastically stable. The smooth leather ultimately broke in and molded to our feet in a way that absolutely gave a boost in the support department.

If you're looking for the ultimate in support and stability, the other synthetic OluKai flip flops in this review are definitely a notch above. We found the large lugs to give the Hiapo soft all day comfort but also a bit more roll than the other models which felt absolutely planted. That said, out of the box the footbed is compliant and supportive with a high arch and has truly aged to perfection.

The Hiapo as seen from above. While they don't have the absolute best support and stability, over time the footbed has aged to perfection. It's like having a flip flop made specifically for your own weird feet.

Photo: piper

Traction

Many of our testers are climbers and boaters, and we were immediately skeptical of this sandals traction abilities when we initially took them out of the box. The sole of the flop is wrapped in leather and there are only eight rubber "traction pods" to create a walking surface with grip.

However, our opinion changed when we took these flops to the crag, finding them to be more than adequate on not just loose dirt trails but granite slick rock as well. That stated, they are primarily an urban sandal, and if you're looking to get rad in your flops on a daily basis, you might consider purchasing something a bit more rugged.

The big lugs on the Hiapo's tread keep the leather footbed from breaking down.

Photo: Matt Bento

Versatility

The Hiapo ended up being so much more versatile than our initial impressions suggested, but still isn't a top scorer in this category.

At first glance, it seems this sandal is for weddings and fancy dinners only, but we quickly found that it does a few other things well too. We wore this flop on approaches to rock climbs and found it to be more than adequate. Where the Hiapo falters is in water sports. An all-leather flip-flop is not meant to get wet every day, especially one that costs as much as this one. That said, OluKai makes sandals with the water in mind, and this one is no exception. It can handle more water than you might initially assume, so don't feel like you need to avoid every puddle as you're flip-floppin' around.

These are our favorite flops for going out on the town, when we really need something to distract folks from our grubby climber toes.

Photo: Matt Bento

Durability

If your flip flops are uncomfortable out of the box and require some break-in, chances are that they're made of high-quality materials and are built to last.

There are, of course, exceptions to that rule, but we find that it mostly rings true. It certainly does with the Hiapo. The premium leather straps, thong, and footbed are of the highest quality construction — and for the price, they'd better be. This thong took a while to break in, but showed no signs of major wear even after months of use. The only thing our testers noticed was some wearing of the leather on the bottom edges of the outsole, where the rubber traction pods were not making contact with the ground.

The Hiapo does well in everything but water, earning a high overall score.

Photo: piper

Style

This is one of the most stylish flip-flops we tested. They look so good, in fact, that a few of our testers felt this flop was too nice to grace their haggard adventure-prone feet.

High-quality leather thongs and straps with prominent, bold exterior baseball-type stitching provide a look that is simultaneously refined but rugged. The EVA footbed is fully wrapped in full-grain leather with a handsome Polynesian graphic laser-etched into the footbed. It's hard to compare the style of the Hiapo with any of the other sandals we tested; it's really in a class all of its own.

These dress flops are supportive, not too bad for hiking, and even climb trees.

Photo: Matt Bento

Value

These flip flops are by far the most expensive in our review. However, after wearing them for a while, it becomes clear that you get a lot for the hefty price tag. Full-grain leather and hand-stitching with a compression-molded EVA sole mean this sandal is built to last. Like any well-built item, these flops only improve with time, and if you can afford a pair without breaking the bank, they're worth adding to your wardrobe.

Conclusion

The OluKai Hiapo is an outlier in our testing group. No other sandal we tested comes close to it in regards to craftsmanship or class… or price for that matter. What we thought at first would be a date-night-only sandal turned out to be an "anything but watersports" kind of flop. Its ability to do most things well, coupled with its incredulous style, easily won it a Top Pick Award. If you're the type of flip flop aficionado that can afford to have a pair for every occasion or just want the finest craftsmanship on your feet, then slip on a pair of these high-class sandals.

The Hiapo, keeping it classy during a day at the crag.

Photo: Piper