- 01Comfort is identical across the range. Coverage, breathability and speed of getting them on are not.
- 02Flip flop for heat and errands, slide for in-and-out, clog for a shift on a hard floor.
- 03The prices sit close together, because the expensive parts of the shoe are the same in all of them.
If every pair runs the same footbed and the same sole, does the shape matter at all? Underfoot, no, and we would rather say that than sell you an upgrade that is not one. What the shape changes is coverage, heat and how fast you can get out of them, which is enough to make the wrong pick annoying for a year. Here is what each of the 5 styles is, who it suits, and why the prices sit so close together.
The flip flop, for heat and for leaving the house
A toe post and an open top make this the airiest shape in the range and the fastest to kick off at a door. For most of the Indian year it is the default, and if you are only ever going to own one pair it is usually this one.
The trade is coverage and the post itself. If you have never worn a toe post it feels unfamiliar for a day or two, not painful, just present. Ours use a shaped toe bridge rather than a thin hard band so the pressure spreads instead of concentrating on one point between the toes.
The Ultimate is the everyday one. The Ardour is the same idea with a sportier upper. Neither is better; they fit slightly differently across the top of the foot, and that is the whole difference.
The slide, when you are in and out all day
A slide replaces the post with one wide band across the foot. You step in without using your hands and step out the same way, which is why it wins in changing rooms, at the gym and at a front door you cross ten times a day.
It covers a little more of the foot than a flip flop while staying open and breathable. If toe posts irritate you, this is the shape to buy and there is no penalty for it.
The Aroma Pro is the plain one. The Adventure has a chunkier upper for people who want the slide to look like it can go outside.
The clog, for a shift on a hard floor
Closed over the toes and across the top of the foot, so it protects the most and stays on when you move quickly, while still going on without laces. That combination is why clogs took over kitchens and wards long before recovery foam existed.
It is also the warmest shape and the most enclosed, which is what the coverage costs you. The upper is drilled through, so a spill drains rather than pooling around your foot, but a clog in May is still a clog in May.
The Halo is the only closed style in the range. If your day is spent on tile with things being carried past you, it is the one.
Why the clog barely costs more than the flip flop
A clog is visibly more shoe. It is not more shoe in the places the money goes. All 5 styles sit on the same contoured footbed, the same fused foam and the same outsole, and what changes between them is how much of your foot the upper covers. Pricing the clog far above the flip flop would be charging you for surface area.
So the 5 styles sit close together on price, across 16 colourways. Nothing is held back for a higher tier, because there is no second sole to hold back, and the decision in front of you stays a decision about shape and colour, which is the only honest reason to prefer one of these over another.
A rule of thumb, and permission to buy two
Think about the day rather than the shoe. Hot, casual, errands: flip flop. Constantly on and off: slide. Hours on a hard floor, or you want your toes covered: clog.
Plenty of people end up with two shapes for two kinds of day, and since the price does not change with the shape there is no upgrade path to agonise over. If you would rather not decide alone, the fit quiz is four questions and points at a starting shape.
Where this guide stops
We cannot tell you which shape you will personally prefer, and we do not have a wear-test panel to average that out of. What we can tell you with certainty is what does not vary: the footbed, the foam, the outsole and the price. Everything else on this page is a description of coverage, and you know your own day better than we do.
CloudFoam™ is heat-sensitive, keep every pair out of direct sunlight and off hot surfaces, and store it in the shade. Sun or heat damage isn't covered by returns.
