Editorial: Bodega x Crocs "Off The Beaten Path"

But when your terrain can vary from minute to minute let alone hour to hour or day to day, you really do need some reinforcements down at toe level. A flexible force ready to roll over any obstacle and adapt to changing surroundings quicker than you can say Crocodylus acutus.

With the Bodega X Crocs All-Terrain "NICT-TECH" Clog, we fill this need while keeping comfort and style front of mind through the development of a first-of-its-kind attachment inspired by our scaly friends down at the swamp. That's right, the crocodile behind the Crocs empire didn’t just make for the perfect mascot (shout out Duke) but an unexpected muse.

With the help of their inner eyelids which protect their eyes from dust while keeping them moist, known as nictitating membranes, crocodiles never miss a beat - a mantra that stuck with us in the development of a man-made version.

After a period of trial, error, and natural selection, our creation came to life. Consisting of a hood and pouch installed on top of the AT Clog, our NICT-TECT Conversion Kit was ready to roll us out of trouble in the blink of a membrane.

But like any project worth its weight in Croslite™, the story doesn't end when the All-Terrain NICT-TECH Clog rolled off the assembly line. After all what good is an off-roader stuck in the showroom? It was time for a test drive.

However, to see how our Crocs performed out in the world, it needed a spirit animal in its corner - a vehicular embodiment to get it from location to location with the same force and grit we built into it. But with the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile and Red Bull Mini Cooper setting a breakneck pace, we realized the average vehicle wouldn’t cut it.

Enter the 6x6 ATV, a 6-wheeled menace ready to tackle everything from main roads and back roads to roads lack thereof. Purchased from Craigslist in Upstate New York (which was probably a given), the transformation was complete thanks to a tree bark wrap mirroring the print on the Crocs themselves.

Taking our traveling caravan all over, from the sidewalks of downtown and park trails to the mucked-up shores of the ocean, the 6x6 wasn't the only thing cruising. Ready to adapt to the world around it, through different environments, we might need to pursue anthrozoology grants because our first-hand study on the performance of nictitating membranes for your feet could just be the next evolutionary step in footwear.