Elefanten shoes in the test: comfortable, practical and great workmanship

Taps, taps, taps – I’m standing in the kitchen preparing lunch when I hear two small, bare children’s feet padding down the hallway. “Mom, are we going to the playground?” Samuel runs over, his eyes shining. “The sun is shining mom! Come on now!”

Sometimes my big one is unstoppable. He is simply the absolute outdoor child and would prefer to be on the go around the clock. For him, the world is one big adventure playground.

High-quality children’s shoes are a must

It doesn’t matter whether we’re playing in the sand and on the bark mulch on the playground or whether we’re marching over hill and dale in the forest and looking for beetles and bunnies in the undergrowth along the way – Samuel is happy as soon as we leave the house.

High-quality and comfortable children’s shoes are a must for our small and large adventures. Walking barefoot is always best for all feet because it allows the foot to develop optimally – but we all know that’s not always possible.

Barefoot in the big city? Not possible!

Unfortunately, in the big city I always have to worry that there will be broken pieces on the path, and in summer the asphalt here is much too hot to walk barefoot.

And then, just this week, in Samuel’s kindergarten, a child was bitten under the foot by a ground wasp – my personal horror. Therefore, Samuel mostly wears sandals in the summer. They support him in his freedom of movement and allow him to romp and frolic to his heart’s content.

Shoes with a little red elephant

When I think back to my own childhood, I still remember well how I used to go shopping for shoes with my mum and in the end they often ended up with shoes with a little red elephant on them. I’m sure many of you know him too.

That was a good 25 years ago and today Samuel wears sandals from the same brand: elefanten shoes.advertisementToday, the brand has existed for 90 years – it was founded in 1928 by Gustav Hoffmann, who was the first to start producing anatomically shaped children’s shoes. Since then, the red elephant has stood for comfortable, durable children’s shoes.

From the crawling phase to adolescence

In the meantime, elefanten has been bought up by Deichmann, tools and strips have also been taken over and Deichmann even works with the same suppliers – so ultimately not that much has changed.

Today, elephant shoes accompany a child from the crawling phase through learning to walk through to adolescence and are always trendy and at the same time of high quality – at a great price!

Comfortable and well made

I have the baby walker sandals from elefanten with my son Samueladvertisementtested in size 23. They are comfortable and well made. The sole is relatively soft and allows ergonomic rolling.

Thanks to the Velcro, Samuel is able to put the shoes on by himself, which of course makes me a bit proud as a mum and at the same time helps me – so I only have to get my younger son ready to go.

Fit and size are important

However, not only the quality is decisive for a good children’s shoe, but also the right fit and size, which results from the right ball width and the correct shoe length.

When buying shoes, you should therefore have your child’s foot measured regularly in the shop and also pay attention to information such as wide, medium or narrow. The correct shoe length results from the foot length and an addition of 12 to 15 mm.

Velcro straps could be longer

The sandals have two Velcro straps, one on the upper and one a little further forward in the midfoot area, which allows us to optimally adjust the shoes to Samuel’s foot width in order to give him sufficient support when playing, romping and running.

However, the Velcro fasteners could be a bit longer, I can only just close them on Samuel’s foot, so I have a small point of criticism at this point.

Unbeatable price range

The sandals are closed at the front, which I still find very useful at Samuel’s age. Because that way he doesn’t scratch his toes immediately if he falls down. In my opinion, the heel area is also very well padded so that Samuel’s foot sits comfortably in it. He himself also says that nothing presses or pinches him.

Incidentally, I find the price range of the elefanten shoes unbeatable, the sandals from Samuel cost just under 40 euros – you can definitely get a lot more expensive!