Are Hey Dudes Waterproof? What Happens When They Get Wet
No, and the brand does not claim they are. What canvas Hey Dudes actually do in rain, why that is survivable, and what the Hey2O line changes.
No. Hey Dudes are not waterproof, and HEYDUDE does not say they are. The Wally and Wendy that most people own are cotton canvas or knit, which is a material that absorbs water by design. Even the brand’s wet-weather range is called Hey2O and described as water resistant and water draining.
That is a more useful answer than it first looks, because the follow-up question is usually the real one: does it matter?
Getting them wet does not wreck them
Most non-waterproof shoes punish you for a soaking. Leather stiffens and cracks, suede stains, glued foam delaminates.
Canvas Hey Dudes are machine washable, and HEYDUDE builds them that way on purpose. A wet pair is a drying job, not a ruined pair. Pull the insole out, let them dry at room temperature away from a radiator, and they come back.
So the honest framing is not “will rain destroy my Hey Dudes”. It is: your feet will be wet, and your shoes will be fine.
What the Hey2O line actually promises
HEYDUDE’s own wet-weather collection is named for what it does. The upper resists water, and the shoe drains so water that gets in can get out.
That suits a wet deck, a boat, a splash-prone walk, or anywhere the problem is water arriving and leaving. It does not suit standing in rain for twenty minutes, because a water resistant upper with drainage holes has no ambition to keep your foot dry, only to stop the shoe holding a puddle.
If the difference between these words is the thing you actually want settled, we lay it out in waterproof vs water-resistant.
If you want to wear them in the rain anyway
Plenty of people will, and that is a reasonable choice for a shoe this easy to dry. Two things make it better:
Treat the canvas before the first wet day. A fabric-safe protector spray makes water bead and buys you time. Our waterproof spray picks cover which formulas are safe on canvas, since some are made for leather and will darken fabric. Reapply after washing, because the wash takes the treatment with it.
Accept the ceiling. There is no membrane in the shoe and the sole join is not sealed. Treated canvas moves you from wet in ten minutes to wet in forty. That is genuinely useful for a dash to the car and irrelevant on a rainy commute.
When to wear something else
If you need dry feet rather than fast-drying shoes, this is not the shoe, and no spray changes that. For a casual slip-on shape that is actually sealed, look at a rubber boot, or our rain boot picks if you can go taller. Both are built to do the thing canvas cannot.
Frequently asked questions
Are Hey Dude shoes waterproof?
No, and HEYDUDE does not market them as waterproof. The Wally and Wendy styles most people own are built from cotton canvas or knit textile, which soaks water up rather than shedding it. The brand's own wet-weather range is called Hey2O and is described as water resistant and water draining, not waterproof. That wording is the brand telling you what to expect.
Can Hey Dudes get wet without being ruined?
Yes. This is the thing that makes them different from most non-waterproof shoes. Canvas Hey Dudes are machine washable and are designed to be, so a soaking is a drying problem rather than damage. Take the insole out, let them air dry away from direct heat, and they come back. What you do not get is dry feet while you are wearing them.
What is the Hey2O line?
It is HEYDUDE's wet-weather version of the Wally and Wendy, using a water resistant upper and drainage so water that gets in can get out again. Treat it as a shoe that handles splashes, puddles and a wet deck rather than one that keeps your feet dry in steady rain. Water resistant plus draining is a different promise from waterproof, and the name is the honest version of it.
Can you waterproof Hey Dudes with a spray?
You can make canvas shed light water, and it is worth doing before the first wet day rather than after. A fabric and canvas protector spray keeps drizzle and stains sitting on the surface for a while. It does not seal the shoe: the upper is still porous fabric with no membrane behind it, and the sole join is not sealed either. Expect the difference between damp in ten minutes and damp in forty.