Sandal people, where you at?

Tried:  Lunas, Xeros, Tevas, Chacos, Bedrocks, EarthRunners (for a hot second), and Shammas.

Currently have: Bedrocks

The thicker bedrocks are hands down the best sandal I’ve worn in my long-haired, barefoot, hippie lifetime. (I think Cairn 3D is the model I wear now, but have worn the thinner soles too.) They aren’t great in water – debris gets trapped underfoot and your foot loses traction in the footbed unless you crank the straps down – but good enough that you can canoe/kayak in them. (You cannot kneel at all in them, lest the toe-thong saw its way into your instep, which is extremely anti-Canadian.) The straps are streamlined and no-brain-needed. They will loosen up when wet. I am very much anticipating Bedrock coming out with a leather, stroll-ready version (called Rokassins, of course) but my psychic powers have not as of yet succeeded in making them appear on the website. Disadvantage: you need special socks under them, if you wear them.

The Xero z-trails felt great when they were dry, and were very nice to hike in all day, but were absolute murder as soon as they got any sort of wet. (Mud, sweat, water, anything – and to be fair this is the Achilles heel of most light/barefoot sandals.) They’d slip halfway around your foot, and the straps would loosen while they did it. I wore them for five days portaging boats in the St. Regis one time and I will never wear them again on trail. I’ve still got my pair, though, and they’d be good beach shoes or camp shoes or whatnot. Advantage: You can wear normal socks under them, no toe strap.

Lunas (I think I had skinnybears) were good, they had great soles. The strappage wasn’t the best, in terms of layout and adjustment, and you’d have to have a lot of miles barefoot or in sandals under your belt to last all day on a trail in them. I really liked the shammas but the footprint was huge (very wide) and the way the straps were set up wasn’t very intuitive. A few hours in them and my feet would start to ache, but I don’t know if that’s because they’re simply very thin or there was something affecting my feet from the layout of the shoe. They were extremely comfy for those hours, though. Earth Runners seemed sort of gimmicky, I got a pair but sent them back, they have a little copper plate in the center of the sole but apart from that I didn’t see they were anything different from something I could make myself. (The super-ultra-mega minimalist options from various companies didn’t seem much better than you could make at home, too.) All of these have a toe-thong so you’d need special socks under them.

Tevas and Chacos, I haven’t had a pair in years, so they may have come out with thinner, lighter options recently, but they’re great sandals all around just very heavy for sandals. I’ve gone totally zero-drop over the past two years or so, and never done a better favor for my knees, so I will say my sandal experience is limited to zero-drop.

N.B. – I hike a lot in sandals but I don’t run much at all, in or out of sandals; Lunas seem to be more popular with runners rather than walkers.

Recently, I’ve used Tevas (with socks) backpacking in the Oregon mountains, despite owning some Bedrocks.  Partly due to Tevas being on sale (and informal wear in San Diego/Tucson ..though urban wise I’ve been wooed by Keen’s sandals), looked like more support (perhaps just my perception as I just found out one of their guys did the New Zealand TA trail in  them), but also sock options were limited as of last year (now they’ve got Tabi” socks from a major sock maker).   May be giving those a try, though my credit card will cry.

Now when they first came out, I used the heavier but more supportive Chacos in northern New Mexico mountains.   Worked great until I hiked into an unavoidable puddle full of mud .. and horse poo.  Those socks got a rinse, but really had to wash my hands after that.  Another reason I’m a little hesitant besides rain, but maybe I need to experiment with unused “bread bag” plastic, choosing trails with less horse-riders/cattle grazing.  Then again, would fabric trail runners have been any better?

Future? Some long thru hikes have altered my forefoot shape it seems, so I’m looking at using hike ready sandals like Bedrocks .. or Tevas.

If doing a comprehensive article, you may want to reach out to “Medicine Man” on the PCT Facebook sites if he’s not on here (I’ll PM you his real name).  He recently hiked the PCT in its entirety using Tevas (including snow) so that would be interesting.  He’s older so that’s a plus as he can provide a prospective on how it affects his joints, feet etc.. vs younger sandals wearers whose young feet can take anything.

Met a couple younger hikers using Tevas on it too,  this year in “the desert”.  They are more the nose ring set so may look for sandals, Tevas, nose ring hashtags?

I backpack most of the year (and everyday wear) Chacos  (Banded Z Clouds). My feet hate shoes. No blisters with sandals. Only time I wear shoes is in the desert of southern Utah (oddly shoes are needed for that). But my mountain (typical backpacking) Chacos all the way. First off, no socks required (less crap to pack and keep track of). Better for creek crossings. Feet dry fast and so do the shoes. 2nd, no blisters. I seem to get blisters no matter what and my feet hate shoes. I played college basketball and was forced to wear team shoes…man did that ever suck. So after hiking in shoes that I always seemed to get blisters I switched to sandals (I was a wilderness therapy trail guide so I have plenty of experience lol). Sandals for me are easier, less stuff to fuss with work just as good and have excellent support. Again, all this is specific to terrain, time of year and trail conditions. But if I’m not bush whacking or in sand I will almost always be in Chacos.

..  and sticks

Tbf I’ve had a small pointed branch slice through trail runner fabric like butter in the Gila once.  Some companies were making Kevlar socks as standalone footwear but think a lighter version would be ideal for use with sandals.

need for toe socks

There’s toe socks even in “warm” versions but a Japanese maker of waterproof “tobi” socks stops at a smaller size than many westerners (at least males) need.

Been wearing Chacos 350+/365 days a year.  When it snows I just wear thick wools socks and if the snow gets really tall I will then wear boots.  Been doing that for at least 13 years.