View Full Version : Hking in Sandals
whiterockjock
02-09-2009, 13:57
I plan to hike 800 miles of the AT in sandals..any thoughts?
take-a-knee
02-09-2009, 14:00
One my June section from Wayah Gap to Amicaloa I ran into a young guy just north of Neel Gap sporting a brand new pair of trail runners purchased at Mtn Crossings, the sandals he started at Amicaloa with were on the way home, YMMV. He stated they had chewed his feet up badly enough it was causing him lots of problems.
go for it, lots of reasons to do it ie: ventilation, water drainage ability, light weight. i would get used to it by training in them first to see if its for you because its not for everyone.
Many Walks
02-09-2009, 14:11
Just be sure you hike in something like Keen's or a similar type with good toe protection. You'll be kicking rocks along the way. Socks are optional as to your preference.
Sandals have their own unique problems, but my own cost/benefit analysis weighs on the side of hiking in sandals.
Cons: Stubbed toes --doesn't happen as often as you would think. My last hike I stubbed my toe twice in GA and not after that.
Cracking feet --a definite problem. Moisturizer, oil or vaseline are a must.
Cold --socks.
Ankle support --my belief is that the ankle support from boots is overrated. I think the popularity of trail runners strengthens that point.
Pros: Comfort
No need to carry camp shoes
Rain is so much less of a hassle. In fact, hiking in sandals in the rain provides a perverse sense of fun. Puddle-jumping is fun. This aspect of hiking in sandals is so underrated. Hiking in wet shoes/boots sucks.
You can always start out in sandals and if it is not for you pick up a pair of kicks from Payless or Walmart to get you home.
yep keens and teva both have toe covers
Try Sealskinz socks. I used them for the Hundred Mile Wilderness with good results. They keep the feet cleaner than regular socks in mud, and keep sand from getting between toes, but are a bit clammy. I wore them under my trail runners in NY in temps as low as 10 degrees and feet stayed warm as long as I kept moving.
garlic08
02-09-2009, 16:06
I see a lot of sandal hikers and respect it. I haven't tried it, but most who try it swear by it. Cracking is a big issue for some, and I hear an ounce or two of bag balm will last a thru hike.
I've not done any serious mileage in sandals, but do prefer them or trailrunners like a Montrail's Continental Divide.
Look at Bite sandals for support and durability.
bigcranky
02-09-2009, 17:16
The Keen toe box is way too tight for my feet. I've done some long days in Tevas, which worked ok. I liked the lightness on my feet, the flexibility, and the quick dry. Not sure I'd want to do multiday hikes, though, since my feet and legs were filthy at the end of the day. (I know, I could wash them.)
berninbush
02-09-2009, 18:35
I do day hikes and overnights in Tevas. My pair has held up to almost-daily wear for going on four years now. (Yeah, I wear them to work too.)
They are the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. I love being able to wade across streams with them and have them almost dry within minutes. Air circulation on my feet is great. I don't think they've ever given me a blister.
You do have to watch where you step and try not to kick things. I've ended up with little scratches on my legs when I'm not careful and/or on an overgrown trail. Your feet will get dirty. To me, it's worth it.
I'm a holdout. I love my heavy leather boots, but I have backpacked in sandals when the trail's not to rocky and/or there's multiple river crossings. If you want to do it, go for it... personal preference is the way to go when hiking. The one recommendation I would make is make sure your feet are well broken in. I had my Chaco's give my a nasty cut on the inside part of my foot which took a long, long time to heal.
YoungMoose
02-09-2009, 19:52
do it. i saw a thru hiker doing the same thing. he had a good pair that had a vibram bottom so it was just as sturdy as a boot.
CrumbSnatcher
02-09-2009, 21:15
do it. i saw a thru hiker doing the same thing. he had a good pair that had a vibram bottom so it was just as sturdy as a boot.
two of my thruhikes were wearing chaco sandels. i just sent (2 pair) in to chaco customer service to have them restrapped and have them resoled(with the older vibram soles) for my upcoming thruhike. the chacos they sell today are not performance minded sandels like a few years ago. the new soles are more college campus than trail worthy. the person in customer service even admitted it. the soles are harder to last longer! if you buy chacos IMO don't use the z2 models. by the way i hardly ever kicked anything with my toes usually my heals after i stepped over something. very comfortable never needed campshoes!
sticks&stones
02-09-2009, 21:32
got 1,100 AT mls out of a pair of keen sandals. Stitching, lamentation, and tread held up wonderfully.
I just thought of one negative to hiking with sandals. Several times in the Hundred Mile Wilderness, I stepped on a stick which stuck up in the air and found its way between the straps of my other sandal - an annoyance once, very painful the second time. I got used to it after a few times.
streakerofAT
02-09-2009, 22:12
its easy
Montana AT05
02-10-2009, 02:51
You won't have any more problems wearing sandals than you would have had with trail runners. The problems will just differ (dry and cracked feet, possible abrasions or blisters at contact points, etc).
I plan on hiking a portion of the AT this year and I may do it in Tevas.
I would never use Keen's (you know, the sandals that look like shoes with every other 1/2 inch cut out?). I tried Keen clip-bicycle-sandals on a cross-country ride last year--yeouch. The toe box killed my toes. They were like wearing iron. Keens, for me, seem to exhibit all negative aspects of a sandal, all negative aspects of a trail runner and all negative aspects of a rigid boot without delivering any of the positives.
Keens are best worn while driving Yuppie-Grocery-Getters (Subaru's) and for zipping in and out for a latte-double-frappe-dash-of-hazenut-soy-skim-recycled-material-cup-of-coffee. :p
That said, I've some hikers in Keens who love 'em and do very well in 'em.
I often wear sandals. The Morton's neuroma problem I'm having in one foot seems to do better when I'm wearing sandals.
Ditto to the comment that your feet are more vulnerable to bruising/stabbing injuries. The worst one, though, was when I was wearing toe socks. Something snagged my little toe, jerked it to the side, and dislocated it. Not fun.
I usually have to wear socks with the sandals, not for warmth, but to create a layer between sandal and skin that alleviates the friction.
Sandals are great in hot weather, and on trails that have a lot of stream crossings.
nitewalker
02-10-2009, 09:04
thruhiker roy uses sandals all the time. i hiked 100+ miles with him and he could move rather quickly in those things. he says that he has been using sandals for quite some time now. over ten years if i remember correctly..
I plan to hike 800 miles of the AT in sandals..any thoughts?
GOOD LUCK w/ that!
If it works fer U...thats ALL that matters.
Lone Wolf
02-10-2009, 09:16
thruhiker roy uses sandals all the time. i hiked 100+ miles with him and he could move rather quickly in those things. he says that he has been using sandals for quite some time now. over ten years if i remember correctly..
yup. chacos. roy lives in damascus now
warraghiyagey
02-10-2009, 09:16
Vonfrick Superchick hiked all of Maine and NH and the Long Trail in Teva's and neoprene socks. . . :sun
IF it's the right set up for you. . . enjoy. :sun:sun
nitewalker
02-10-2009, 10:06
yup. chacos. roy lives in damascus now
good for roy. he was probably tired of the flat ground in florida. tell roy that nitewalker from the shenandoahs[07] says hello. did he go on the ozark trail with burt?
Montana AT05
02-11-2009, 01:21
Also, this young lady http://www.onegirlworld.com/at_index/ switched to chaco's after she experienced severe blisters. She hiked most of the AT in those chacos as a result--including the Mahoosuc Notch.
And the year of her hike was 2000--her gear didn't appear "lightweight" or minimal---which means pretty heavy load born on sandals.
So for those who don't think it can't be done, think again! At one point, hikers laughed at trail-runners (including me...duh me). Now look at some of us...creating entire threads on the best trail runners...
thruhiker roy uses sandals all the time. i hiked 100+ miles with him and he could move rather quickly in those things. he says that he has been using sandals for quite some time now. over ten years if i remember correctly..
Are you speaking of Roy Sumney of Damascus, VA? If so, I stayed with him in D last year and he told me that hiking in sandals was the way to go.
Speaking of foot cracks. I presently have severe cracking on my left heel and nothing seems to help it. Any ideas anyone?
Ramble~On
02-11-2009, 16:01
http://shop.crocs.com/images/product/medium/1688_1_khaki.jpg
Croc's trying to compete with Keen?
I've hiked in Keen's and Sealskinz are excellent. I still like a full (light) leather hiking boot though for carrying a pack.
YoungMoose
02-11-2009, 16:12
for everyones information www.ems.com (http://www.ems.com) has a blowout shoe sale up to 80 percent off. you can get a pair of asolo boots for 25$!!!!. they also have sandles for 10$ that are by keen.
I have a pair of Teva Dozers, love them. I also think Teva Omnium's are worth a look.
vonfrick
02-11-2009, 20:14
what warrghy said. i only wear the neoprene if its raining, just liners and socks on dry days. you learn to not stub your toes and my particular problem is my toes get squished in anything with a toebox so using tevas or the like with one would defeat the purpose. nice thing is you can play in the mud, don't need camp shoes and with the neoprene, while your feet do sweat, your socks stay incredibly clean. infact, i think there's a pic of me somewhere when i face-planted in a bog after trusting a floating bog-bridge and the only part of me that stayed clean were my socks :)
CrumbSnatcher
02-11-2009, 22:06
what warrghy said. i only wear the neoprene if its raining, just liners and socks on dry days. you learn to not stub your toes and my particular problem is my toes get squished in anything with a toebox so using tevas or the like with one would defeat the purpose. nice thing is you can play in the mud, don't need camp shoes and with the neoprene, while your feet do sweat, your socks stay incredibly clean. infact, i think there's a pic of me somewhere when i face-planted in a bog after trusting a floating bog-bridge and the only part of me that stayed clean were my socks :)
i usually hike with no socks, i carry smartwool socks and seal skins. leaving the neoprene on even on sunning days will help stop the cracking of the feet. i use a low cut gaiter also. its nice when standing in a creek an your feet stay dry! or your in camp for a few hours before you even realize sometimes you still have your foot gear on, its that comfortable, no camp shoes needed!
nitewalker
02-13-2009, 07:51
Are you speaking of Roy Sumney of Damascus, VA? If so, I stayed with him in D last year and he told me that hiking in sandals was the way to go.
Speaking of foot cracks. I presently have severe cracking on my left heel and nothing seems to help it. Any ideas anyone?
yes that would be the man in sandals. good ol roy. real nice guy with tons of trail knowledge. it seems he has a true fact for every mile of the AT. it was a pleasure hiking with him for the short time i was with he and his group. did he brew any cowboy coffee in that pot of his and if he did i bet it was not with a camp stove but over a real fire? old school the way i like it.
if hiking with sandals how do you keep the dirt off your feet? it seems to me the dust penetrates the socks and makes for dirty feet. i have trail runners made of mesh and in dusty conditions they let it rite thru[dust].
can you wear sandals in the winter with snow?
CrumbSnatcher
02-13-2009, 10:37
yes that would be the man in sandals. good ol roy. real nice guy with tons of trail knowledge. it seems he has a true fact for every mile of the AT. it was a pleasure hiking with him for the short time i was with he and his group. did he brew any cowboy coffee in that pot of his and if he did i bet it was not with a camp stove but over a real fire? old school the way i like it.
if hiking with sandals how do you keep the dirt off your feet? it seems to me the dust penetrates the socks and makes for dirty feet. i have trail runners made of mesh and in dusty conditions they let it rite thru[dust].
dust will penatrate your socks which also adds to making your feet dry out and crack. cracked feet can be worse than blisters. if my feet are drying out badly i'll keep my sealskins on the dampness and lotion will help with the cracking.
CrumbSnatcher
02-13-2009, 10:39
can you wear sandals in the winter with snow?
on really cold or wet days i will put on my socks ,sealskins over that chacos on then my low cut gaiters. your feet will stay dry and warm. i've broke snow a few times with no problems.
Now that the weather has warmed up, I have switched to hiking in sandals all the time. Morton's Neuroma seems to be a thing of the past.
I wonder what the difference is between sandals and any sort of shoes or boots I have tried so far? The stiffness of the sole? It really puzzles me.
berninbush
03-30-2009, 13:32
I wonder if the tendency of feet to dry out and crack has something to do with how used they are to being exposed to the air. I'm one of those folks who would probably never wear shoes at all if society didn't expect it... I compromise by wearing sandals (no socks) as much as I can. And I don't think I've ever had problems with my feet drying out, nor do I use lotion on them. Of course I do live in a very humid climate.
Morpheus
03-30-2009, 22:04
One thing nobody's mentioned is the texture of the foot-bed. If you were socks or neo-type socks it's not as big of a deal, but since many sandals were designed for river use, rougher textures were added to reduce foot slippage in the sandal when wet. I can hike longer in my old Gecko Z1's (1992) than my Chaco Z1's when barefoot because the Chaco's rougher foot-bed is like sandpaper after a few miles.
I noticed the Keen Newport sandal is a rougher foot-bed than the new Venice version.
Maybe I'll just glue a Dr. Scholl's gel'n insole to my Chaco...not!
superman
03-30-2009, 22:30
I wore tevas during the heat of the summer months of 2000. I started by only wearing them the last hour of my hiking day and then expanded it until I wore them all day. I had to wear them with my smart wool socks.
Saint Alfonzo
03-31-2009, 13:43
Teva Sandals and socks works for me.
Sirclimbsalot
04-01-2009, 12:52
Over a decade ago I carried a 65lb pack for for several miles in a very light pair of tevas in the colorado back country (maroon belles loop). My boots had gotten soaked and were drying. With today's boots, toe protection, and lighter loads I can't see why hiking in sandals is not more popular. I had less problems carrying that load with ultralight open-toed sandals than I thought I would. I do not use sandals anymore since the majority of my trips are for climbing off-trail and in the alpine.....but for trails in decent shape I would!
bpenpusher
04-28-2010, 02:31
Im also using boots for hiking before, esp. in off-trail... hiking in sandals has been a nice alternative since it's more comfy... though im using chacos sandals for hiking i can say that it's really great, provides sturdy comfy feel and it's not slippery... :)
did it with chacos thru new hampshire and maine..mainly NH trail was to wet i was messn my feet up wearin shoes so i desided for sandles
maicheneb
05-16-2010, 15:06
Also, this young lady http://www.onegirlworld.com/at_index/ switched to chaco's after she experienced severe blisters. She hiked most of the AT in those chacos as a result--including the Mahoosuc Notch.
And the year of her hike was 2000--her gear didn't appear "lightweight" or minimal---which means pretty heavy load born on sandals.
So for those who don't think it can't be done, think again! At one point, hikers laughed at trail-runners (including me...duh me). Now look at some of us...creating entire threads on the best trail runners...
Great trail journal on her site!
As far as sandals are concerned, I never thought of it as an option -- I will have to look into that. Good first-hand information in this thread.
safn1949
05-16-2010, 17:36
Sure it can be done,it's just not for me.I'm clumsy and my boots show it,also I have a good pair of sandals I were around as camp shoes but I don't think at this stage in the game my feet would take it on the trail with a pack.
But give it a try,if it works for you go for it.:D
I hiked one day on the PCT in Chacos. I wore socks with them. I got terrible blisters from the straps rubbing the outer sides of my feet. The arch felt too high.
But I'm going to give them another try. I'm going to wear them on some day hikes. The arches don't seem to bother me right now so we'll see how it works. When I wore them on the PCT it was over the notorious Fuller Ridge. They did just fine in snow and getting my feet wet in snow didn't bother me very much at all.
I've also ordered some handmade leather sandals. I don't think they'll have a grippy sole like my (old) Chacos, but they might work anyway. I'm going to give them a try.
I tried the Keens but they were absolutely horrible. Never wear them for river walking. Rocks get in them and never come out. Sand and gravel get stuck inside and grind your feet to hamburger. Despite the grooves on the bottom, something about the chunky sole has no traction at all. I fell into a yucca bush and was impaled on my arm and leg. The custom sandals might also have no traction, but sometimes smooth shoes will do ok if the bottom is made of the right stuff.
I'm tired of the pain and the problems of buying running shoes for hiking. The pain of getting a pair that doesn't feel right (like most of them). The pain of blisters from shoes that you thought felt right but ended up too narrow. The problem of your favorite shoe being discontinued. If the custom sandals work, I can get them resoled with a lug sole, I can get new ones because they aren't a corporation trying to practice "planned obsolescence" and if they go out of business, I can just find another cobbler that makes similar sandals, the style is so classic.