As with any walking shoes, you need to go to the experts to get properly fitted. A top quality outdoors store will have a selection of trail sandals, and a top quality running shoe store will have some running sandals. Another option is The Walking Company, which will also provide a digital foot analysis and has sandals available with different footbeds for different needs. Visit, get fitted, and compare prices both online and in the shop.
Outer Sole: Specialized rubber manufacturers like Vibram offer durable treads for hiking and portaging over rough terrain. Stealth Rubber, featured in Five Ten climbing shoes and Astral river shoes, is designed to stick to rocks to keep you on your feet in the current. You can spend days researching rubbers but at the end of the day, reputable brands use excellent proprietary sole materials.
The Justin Timberlake take on the new Air Jordan 3 wasn’t just a game changer because it used the original Tinker Hatfield sketch for the iconic Jordan 3 as the design base (that includes a Swoosh that seems intrusive 30 years later), but also because Nike dropped the shoes when Justin Timberlake took the stage during the super bowl. It was a true sneaker moment that definitely goes down as a hallmark of 2018.
The one that fits. A particular brand or style might be popular right now, but next season, that popular brand or style could change. Your best bet is to try all the brands and styles available in your price range and pick the one that feels best. If you hear great things about a shoe, try it on. If it feels good, wear it. If not, try another style.
Hiking, River, and Surfing Sandals: If you’ll be playing in the mud and muck, look for a sole made of hard rubber compounds. Choose sandals with a deep tread, which will serve you well when you’re going up the face of a steep mountain or balancing precariously on wet river rocks. The upper portion of your sandal, including any straps, should be made of breathable and durable material such as nylon webbing or polyurethane. For the top sole, memory foam allows for supportive cushioning and comfortable wear. Moreover, these materials are water-resistant, whichmeans they won’t become saturated when you stomp through a creek and won’t rot away after a few wet wears.
The Adidas Crazy BYW deserves to be on every list it can get on. The shoe perfectly blends the heritage of Adidas’ Crazy line that launched in the early '90s while incorporating contemporary materials and design. Further, it’s an amazing representation of how Adidas is forming a new identity in the last few years: wild soles, fun texture, and playful lines. One of our earliest introductions to the shoe was the collaboration with Bristol Studio that brought us not just one take on the silhouette but two. The collaboration represented and early apex for the shoe that has been approached since, but never quite met again.
Closed Toe: Sandal manufacturers such as KEEN have heeded the cries of stubbed toes by extending the sandal outsole up and around the front portion of the foot to create a rubber shield for ultimate toe protection. Closed toe sandals are ideal for hiking and fording fast rivers where there is a higher likelihood that you will bash your feet on a rock. Closed toe sandals offer superior toe protection with the only downside being that debris can collect in the toe area.
Each year in sneaker hierarchy can be measured in technical innovation just as well as hype or style. This year, Jordan Brand applied Flyknit technology to the Air Jordan III, a move that required amazing dexterity and development when it comes to creating new textures from the material. The III is famous for combining smooth and tumbled leathers with the legendary elephant skin print. Jordan was able to get all those textures, and more, in 3D out of the Flyknit, making for a sneaker—and a process—that combines old and new.
The Yeezy brand has taken a status hit this year, with a dizzying amount of releases in super high volumes, fronted by Kanye—who has become an embattled figure in his own right. But in terms of aesthetics, the Mauve Yeezy Boost 700 represents a high watermark in design. The right tones of deep purple are on grand display thanks to the textural variations of leather and suede, and get just the right break from two hits of neon green. If you can separate style from politics, these are the best sneakers from Kanye and Adidas in years.
Many of the walkers who wear sandals for walking 10 kilometers or more wear socks with them. Socks put a barrier between the straps and the foot, reducing the risk of hot spots and blisters. Many walkers say they wear their walking sandals year-round, which they can only do by adding socks. Socks can also wick moisture away from the sole of the foot to keep it dryer.
We actually put Louis Vuitton's Archlight on our list for 2017 and the shoe didn't even drop that year. At the time we put it on our list the name hadn't been made public and all we saw were pictures. Now that we've had a year to see the shoe in action, it's good enough to make the list again (this time it's at least it’s official). The Archlight is a truly amazing in sneaker design for a few reasons, but the biggest is the most obvious: the sole. At a time when heavy, chunky soles are in vogue, Louis Vuitton has created a sole that plays with the eye to different ends: This was all about reshaping the perception of the foot and making it far more dynamic. And it works. For reconfiguring how we see our own biology, the Archlight is definitely one of the best of the year.
Every year, the greatest basketball sneaker brand in the world brings together the greatest technology in the industry to create a new shoe in the name of the greatest player of the game. It's a heavy task and it doesn't always mean that the shoe will end up being the most aesthetically pleasing pair, but this year it all came together. The last few years Jordan Brand has drawn inspiration from the past, but this year it looked to the future. The upper is mostly a single piece of knit, the lacing system is simplified to wires, and the internal pieces of the shoe are top-of-the-line. Rather than trying to hide all the technology under an aesthetic perfected in the '80s, the shoe looks like it's as futuristic as it is, and one of the launch colorways—Desert Ore—leans into the smattering of colors we've come to expect from cutting-edge design. The shoes represent practically the entire color wheel, but they blend together into a chorus, making for a sneaker that sings.
We don't want to confuse the two very different trends of Dad Shoes and Chunky Shoes, but the Balenciaga Triple-S represents the peak for both of them. Those trends are petering out, but we cannot deny that the Triple-S has had a massive impact, and the reverberation continues. Each chunky sneaker released since the Triple-S seems like a weak knock-off of the sneaker that truly set the tone. The year has also seen the silhouette develop and change in both look and price because the shoes sell out as quickly as Balenciaga can make them. It's truly a phenomenon.
Walking sandals must have enough adjustment points to keep your heel at the back of the sandal and prevent the foot "traveling" forward and back, rubbing against the straps with each step, which can lead to blisters. You must test sandals at an actual walking distance to see whether foot swelling during walking makes your toes bump against the toe guard, which can lead to black toenail or blisters, or just over the front edge.
We have all types of sandals for sale - from chic gladiator sandals to comfortable flip-flops to stylish platform sandals. We have active sandals perfect for adventuring, great-looking slides, and wedges that make an impression. You can also find your favorite sandal colors, sizes and styles like slingbacks, strappy sandals and thong sandals, perfect for dressy evenings out.
LeBron’s sneaker line slowed down over the last few years, bringing us uninspired offerings and fading into the background. But this year, that all changed. Nike and LeBron finally approached the tech sneaker with lifestyle responsibilities. The first few colorways sold out immediately, but the real intro came when LeBron teamed up with Ronnie Fieg and Kith for this “Long Live the King” collection. The shoes dive deep into royal symbology, creating a series of styles that transcend the technical aspects of the sneaker. When the kicks released, there was no way to know that LeBron would lose out on a ring, leave Cleveland, and create a school set to reshape a generation of youth in Ohio, but these remind us that 2018 has been a roller coaster.
