The HH 5.5M blend the performance of a sailing shoe with urban styling and would look just as at home pavement pounding in central London as they would on deck, broad reaching out of Lymington.
I’m not normally a fan of trainer style shoes, especially on middle aged men. They always seem to foretell a mid-life crisis and appear just before the Lycra and road racing bike.
As such, it was with some trepidation that I first tried on the Helly Hansen HH 5.5M sailing shoes.
They blend the performance of a sailing shoe with urban styling and would look just as at home pavement pounding in central London as they would on deck, broad reaching out of Lymington.
The colour scheme of blue, red and white looks stylish with a nautical lean. Striking without being garish. The construction, as with all Helly Hansen products is top end, with an almost obsessive attention to detail.
Features worth a mention include the extra wide lacing that allow you to cinch the shoe tight on deck, or loosen off for a more casual look around town, as well as the stiffened top part of the tongue that make donning the shoe a breeze.
The sole is grippy and excels on wet decks and wooden floors. The mesh shoe top allow for water draining and high breathability.
The 5.5M has a reassuringly thick but supportive insole, which a pleasant surprise compared to many similar shoes that make do with a wafer thin affair. It looked quite a wide shoe, although didn’t so on my narrow feet.
One of the first things I noticed is how comfortable this shoe is. Having converted to the dark side, this is now my all day, every day shoe that I hardly notice I’m wearing.