Teva Sandals - Why Are They Popular?

You may be aware that now Teva Sandals are a division of Deckers Outdoor Corporation and Hebrew translation of this name means Nature.

Mark Thatcher is the chap who invented these in 1982. While working as a rafting guide, Mark realized there were not many shoes available for an enthusiast of water sports. Sneakers would become too heavy to wear once they got wet. The other option of footwear for people who liked participating in water sports was to wear thongs, but those would come off the foot very easily.

Mark Thatcher decided to spend time designing a suitable sandal. What he created came out to be a thong with a nylon ankle strap, which turned out to be the first ever-sporting sandal. He got his design patented and finalized a manufacturer to produce these sports sandals. And you know how many were sold in the first year-just 200 pairs. Initially, the users of these sandals complained of thong style strapping and many had blisters between the first and second toe of their feet. The following year, Teva sandals sold in good numbers as many young Americans considered these to be very fashionable shoes.

In the meanwhile Mark Thatcher entered into a partnership with Deckers Corporation, but eventually Deckers got exclusive rights to Tevas including the patent for the basic design that was granted in 1988 along with the trademark for the Tevas sandals. Simultaneously, the sandal was redesigned and Deckers started producing it with a newly developed universal strapping system. The first new design to be produced was named as the Harricane and till date this model forms the basic design of all Teva sandals being produced now.


All the Teva sandals available these days have a two layer sole with a softer inner sole and are generally provided with arch supports. Many of them also sport microbial zinc that helps preventing the odor often associated with sports footwear, as it kills the bacteria causing it. The outer sole of the sandal is harder and helps to provide the wearer a better grip over wet surface. The strapping system is divided into three. The toe post, the heel strap, and the side strap are all connected together thru triangular rings and each strap passes thru one side of the ring, making it comfortable for the wearer and reduces foot related problems.