For clearing up that soggy feeling underfoot on rainy days: comfortable and stylish footwear with opanak rubber shoes

A pair of rubber shoes that aren't rain "boots"

On rainy days, footwear is always a worry.

You can't wear your favorite leather shoes because they'll get wet, and pairing an outfit with sneakers doesn't always feel right either—plus water can seep in. Rain "boots" feel secure, but honestly, they're heavy and hard to walk in.

I had always wished there were a standard pair of shoes I could wear casually and confidently on rainy days.

So this year, I decided to bring home a pair of rain shoes from Opanak, a brand I'd had my eye on.

Here's my report on how well these rubber shoes perform—not just on rainy days, but also while gardening.

ー　What is Opanak?　ー

Opanak, a maker of rubber shoes with a long-selling history dating back to 1935, is a brand from Serbia. In an era when agricultural footwear was still mainly made of leather, founder Mita Gaga and the Čekić brothers began making farming shoes for people in Serbia's rural regions using rubber—a material rarely used for shoes at the time. This was the beginning of OPANAK.

Because water doesn't seep into the shoes during work, and feet stay dry and warm, Opanak's rubber shoes became popular and remain a long-selling item to this day. Originally made as waterproof shoes for farmers, they're also highly durable, and their reasonable price is another appealing point.

*As these shoes originated as farming footwear, you may notice some excess glue or slight fraying in the lining—please understand this as a characteristic of the product.

Getting ready to wear the Opanak Strap

【Choosing your own size】

This time, I, staff member M, got hold of a pair of rubber shoes called "Opanak Strap," the strap-style version. I was torn between this and the "Opanak 1935," a slip-on style with a cute ribbon detail, but I chose the strap type thinking I could also enjoy coordinating it with socks.

I usually wear a size 24.0cm, but since these run wide, I chose size 37 (24.5cm).

The width is also fairly roomy, so when wearing thin pump socks, they feel a bit large. Still, since I wanted the option of wearing them with socks, I went with this size.

・When wearing pump socks, I'll add an extra insole.

・When wearing regular socks, I'll skip the extra insole.

That's how I plan to wear them.

【Making adjustment holes in the strap】

The Opanak Strap requires some preparation before you actually start wearing it. As noted both on the ZUTTO website and in the enclosed instructions, the strap doesn't come with adjustment holes already made. You'll need to make the holes yourself, according to your own size.

△When unpacked, the strap has no holes in it.

Since some customers have told us they feel uneasy about making the holes themselves before purchasing, we'd like to show you what the process actually looks like.

1. First, try fitting the shoe on to get a sense of roughly where the hole should go.

2. Push the fastening pin through the strap

△With a firm push, it goes through easily.

3. Make a hole in the other strap the same way, and you're all set!

On making the adjustment holes myself

Before I started, I felt nervous, thinking I couldn't afford to make a mistake, but I decided to take it easy—if the position ended up off, I could just make another hole. It didn't actually take much force to push the pin through, so I think anyone can do this without trouble. If the fastening pin alone doesn't work well, I think it would be easier to first make a small starting hole with something thinner, like an awl, and then push the pin through that.

This time, I made the holes to fit when wearing cotton socks, but I imagine the position would shift when pairing them with thicker socks or tights in autumn and winter, so I'll make another hole then if needed. It's rare to find shoes that let you freely adjust the fit depending on your own foot size, whether or not you're wearing socks, and how thick they are—so this is a nice feature. Of course, this is only possible because rubber is a material that's easy to punch holes into.

【Is this a concern for you?】From another staff member.

Actually, before this purchase, another staff member who already owns and loves the Opanak Strap came to me with a question.

She said, "When I walk in them, the opening of the shoe sometimes rubs against my ankle and it hurts. Could you try wearing them and let me know if the same thing happens to you?"

Having actually worn them and walked around, I didn't experience any rubbing against my ankle. So for me, there was no discomfort, just a comfortable fit. Whether or not it rubs seems to depend on the individual shape of one's foot.

By the way, that staff member found that adding an insole raises the ankle area enough to prevent rubbing. If you happen to experience rubbing at the ankle, try adding an insole and see how it feels.

How does it perform as rain shoes?

Now that we're ready to start using the Opanak Strap, we actually tried wearing them on a rainy day.

【Rainy Day Report】

It was a day when a gentle rain had been falling since morning. We wore cotton socks with the Opanak Strap, and found that we didn't slip on the wet pavement, no water seeped in, and since the strap holds the top of the foot in place, there was no worry about the shoes coming off. We hadn't put in an insole that day, and by evening our soles were feeling a bit tired, so having an insole might be a good idea for extra cushioning.

【Does the dye transfer onto light-colored socks?】

As a precaution, the product notes state: "The red ink on the insole may rub off and transfer onto other surfaces. We recommend choosing dark-colored socks when you first start wearing them."

When we asked a staff member who has been wearing these for years, she said that in her case, even light-colored socks never picked up any color, even from the very beginning. This may depend on how well the ink and the sock material interact, as well as how much moisture builds up inside. If you're concerned about this, adding an insole should let you wear light-colored socks without any issues.

【Care After Wearing on Rainy Days】

Even on rainy days, we didn't notice much dampness after taking the shoes off, but the humidity inside the shoes is likely high, so even if the inside doesn't feel wet, stuffing them with newspaper overnight after wearing should help them last longer.

If you let the exterior of the shoes air-dry while still wet, it will leave water stains, so wipe them lightly before letting them dry.

▼　You can find the Opanak Strap here