This review may change your life, but if not, the Hari Mari Dunes flip flops certainly will. Chances are that we all knew someone in high school that seemed above all the nonsense that is high school but not in an elitist way. They weren’t concerned with popularity or sports or hair or fashion or whatever was trendy at that moment. They were who they were and seemed to be walking along a path that none of the rest of us even knew existed. They had their own style and identity yet held no hard feelings toward anyone else’s. They were somehow both a part of the moment and apart from it. They were “in” even though nothing about them checked any of the “in” boxes.
“It is all about the flip flop, nothing else matters.”
This is Hari Mari, a flip flop company that takes flip flop passion to a whole new level. My Hari Mari “Dunes” flip flops in navy, light blue and orange, arrived very casually inside a clear plastic bag stashed within a plain white cardboard box. In hindsight, this was a sign of the cool confidence that I would soon learn is at the core of Hari Mari flip flops. It is all about the flip flop, nothing else matters.
They have an Ocean Pacific, Hobie, and Members Only brand look to them but not in the conspicuously hipster retro way that is all the rage. Hari Mari is what Ocean Pacific, Hobie, & Members Only brands were then. Rather than aping fashion history Hari Mari is making it. These are then, now, and tomorrow condensed into a flip flop.
The Dunes are thoughtfully designed both in appearance and in function. As is the case with most any quality item, it is the details that matter. For example, the toe post (the part of the thong that goes between the toes) is made of seamless memory foam so that there is no rubbing or chafing. This is a game changer. Gone are the often long and painful break-in periods of a new flip flop. It’s pure genius.
“In a league all their own, walking a path that no one else even knew existed.”
The memory foam foot bed is rippled with tiny waves like sand in a shallow tidepool providing both comfort and grip. The perfectly placed two-tone blue (dark blue on top and baby blue underneath) thong is made of a soft nylon and placed at the perfect distance above the foot bed. There is zero toe curl and heaps of swagger. These flops feel every bit as good as they look.
These are hands down my choice for the perfect summer flip flop. They’re not trying to be more than they are and what they are is the perfect flipflop, effortlessly cool and amazingly comfortable. In a league all their own, walking a path no one else even knew existed.
