UL Camp Sandals
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Inspired by this thread I wanted to try making some UL camp sandals.
I had a couple of old CCF yoga mats laying around, which seemed like good material to try.
Didn’t like the idea of cords penetrating the sole or walking on knots so made this with two layers. The cords with knots at ankle and across base of toes wrap around and under the top layer. Can’t feel them. Foot and sole held securely together for actual walking; your foot stays in place and doesn’t roll out the sides or slide back and forth. Layers bonded with E6000.
The two CCF’s are quite different. The light blue is soft and cushy, the dark blue much stiffer. Poured water on polished granite and rubbed with samples of each to determine which had better traction.
The paracord is heavy af. With lighter cord I’m sure the weight can be reduced to 1.0 oz or less.
Replaced the paracord with some UMWDPE and simplified the design:
Glued the cord to the sole with E6000 and sprayed on some PlastiDip for traction.
This is the lightest version, but I would use it only on smooth dirt, sand, snow because rocks are painful to walk on:
These work on rock:“Heavier” versions with increased padding and/or durability:
Trying out a pair of these. The light blue foam wasn’t ccf after all and absorbs water so it’s out, and have some doubts about the traction and abrasion resistance of the dark blue ccf, so decided to go with the cross-hatch eva floor mat material. It’s made to be walked on, so I figure it has the best traction and abrasion resistance, and being denser it definitely does a better job protecting your foot when stepping on small/sharp stones. Decided to penetrate the sole with the cord to minimize potential usability issues if the E6000 glue doesn’t hold the layers together for some reason, and I think it’s more stable too. Glued the cord to the bottom of the sole and then sprayed with Plasti-Dip to protect it.
Not the lightest, but for a 3-week trip the most likely to go the distance.
These work on rock:
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