Customer Reviews Birkenstock Gizeh Oiled Leather

I have worn Birkenstocks for many years. This winter I bought a pair of these Gizeh sandals with suede leather, and I truly enjoyed them...for a short while. Within a month, the buckles and the decoration on the toe bar had rusted completely. This is not the quality I had come to expect from years of Birkenstock use.

Leather strap is stiff and uncomfortable between the toes. Edge of strap covers the big toe completely.

I have heard rave things about these shoes so I thought that I had to get a pair. But after wearing them I truly regret shelling out the money for them. I heard about a break in period for these shoes so I stuck it out. But four weeks later and my feet look awful. The bottom of my feet are full of blisters from rubbing against the suede bottom of the shoes (poor choice for a sole). The top of my feet have scabs from where the leather straps rubbed against my foot and broke the skin. Now I have tried ever adjustment on the buckle for the straps of the shoes and nothing worked. Every time I wear these shoes I end up with blistered and bleeding feet. The arch support is nice, but the discomfort from the materials used is unbearable. I am not quite sure what I am missing because everyone loves them, but rough leather edges on the straps and suede in the bed of the shoe does not equal a comfortable shoe.

I have loved all of my Birkenstocks over many years. I am so disappointed in these. The center toe piece is miserably uncomfortable. Why is it not leather and soft? I really was hoping for the best as they are a bit more feminine looking. I am going to return them and try another style.

The upper leather was so stiff that it kept digging into the top of my toes. For this price I am not going to see if they break in.

The most horrifically uncomfortable thing I’ve ever put on my feet. Why oh why would they make the thong part a piece of thick hard plastic???? It just needs to be a strip of leather and then they would be great. No amount of breaking in would ever make that plastic piece wearable. Huge miss Birkenstock. You need to fire whoever made that unfortunate design decision.

The Thong is most uncomfortable- actually painful. Tried wearing them for 4 weeks no change, It is made out of hard plastic. Been wearing this style sandal for maybe 20 years. First awful pair, The right sandal is fine, the left is unbearable. Hopefully i can get an exchange

This is my fourth pair of Birkenstock Gizeh sandals. This time, I am so disappointed. I hardly wore them and ended up with a blister between my toes even though I wear my other Gizeh's every day all summer. Not sure if they changed the width of thong part or material but ouch. It is stiff and I am so disappointed!

This is the most uncomfortable sandal I have ever worn. It feels like metal underneath the toe area, I guess to help you grip the shoe when you walk. But there is not enough padding over the metal and it hurts to walk. I can use it take out the trash and that's about it.

Although the size is correct, once again I received the incorrect color... I desire the tabbaco oiled. Customer service rep said she would get back to me, however have not heard back. I was also told t leave the return item at my door for a FedEx pick up. This has not happened, so I will try to get out next week to local UPS.

The right shoe had two staples protruding from under the buckle and had the cut out from the footbed where the toe thong/leather attached still attached to the footbed - so a manufacturing issue with the right shoe. I've included a picture of both issues. With the staple issue I've included both shoes for comparison, although it's tough to get a sense of the issue from the picture but the staples cut into my foot when I walk.

I thought these were incredibly uncomfortable- even painful. I tried every adjustment possible And I usually do not have a problem with fit of shoes. Just terrible- returned them.

Ítem arrived used with visible marks. Stretched bout strap. Terrible.

They arrived and are two very different shades of brown. Being returned

I love this style Bike stock, but the color depicted on Zappos is t what was shipped. The color shipped (twice actually) is a light tan soft leather.

The left shoe is acutely painful at the toe post. The right shoe is fine. I have worn this size in the Birkenstock Gizeh for decades; I'm currently using a pair that is getting worn out. I've never had this problem before. Disappointed. Returning.s

In a word: nah. After many years of folks telling me Birks are THE BEST, LAST SANDAL YOU WILL EVER BUY, I finally broke and got some. I will say this - they’re comfortable right out of the box, and look much nicer than the classic Birk… at first. After only 4 months’ pretty tame wear (like, around the house teleworking and walking the dog to the park), whatever coating is on the cork is delaminating at the heels, and both cork foot beds have huge splits at the point where the sandal bends underfoot. For the price point, I would never recommend. I’ve had $100 pairs of OluKai flip-flops that were just as comfortable and have lasted 3 years of constant wear.

The piece between the great and second toe is horrible. Plastic with sharp edges. I wore them for 15 min knowing I would have to gradually acclimate my feet to these shoes. The footbed is not the problem with these shoes. And trust me, I wear rainbows a lot! So I am used to having something between my toes. But, with rainbows, it’s soft ,pliable leather. These shoes definitely need to be redesigned at that point. I even tried padding the plastic with various wraps just to see if I could make them wearable. Nope! Nothing worked! That sharp plastic edge continues to dig into my toe web….

toe divider too stiff...needs to bee cloth or soft leather

I ordered these twice and had the same problem both times: the color sent to me was significantly lighter than the color displayed. In fairness, there is a note indicating that "oiled leather" has variations in color, but the pairs I received were far too light to be considered "tobacco". If you're looking for a dark brown shoe, you may want to chose something other than the oiled leather tobacco. Returns were very easy. Customer Service reps were helpful.

PAINFUL PLASTIC TOE TONG! For the price of these shoes, I was surprised to find that the tong that goes in between your toes is stiff and painful PLASTIC. I have many shoes with toe tongs and have never had a problem before. For the price of these shoes, Birkenstock can upgrade the tong to something remotely comfortable. it hurt to even walk the length of a room. The quality from this company is going down, and these shoes are going back.

Absolutely killing my feet. Uncomfortable in every way but especially between my big toe and first toe. I was getting into my SUV and they slipped right off the running board and shin was slammed into the car. They still slide but I’ve been hanging on for dear life. I hoped I could break them in but the pain is too much. I’m sending them back.

I just received these from zappos. Inside the zappos box is a generic box (not a blue birkenstock box). These are NOT at all what I ordered and I think they may be "fake" birkenstocks. I have done lots of shopping on zappos for many years but may be done after this.