I have a confession to make: I wear socks with sandals. That’s not so bad in itself — I live in Germany, where otherwise-rational men wear socks, sandals and fanny packs all at the same time, and ...

Ten years ago this month, a startup footwear brand launched in California. KEEN Inc. offered a hard-to-categorize shoe with a beefy outsole, a cut-out pattern body, and an oversize bumper at the toe.

There are plenty of concessions to minimalism in Keen’s new CNX series: a slim four-millimeter drop, deep grooves in the tread for a more flexible outsole, and a pared-down design overall. But we ...