ChacoMen's Z/1 Classic Outdoor Sandals

To start with, I have caveman feet. My arch is non-existent and I epically over-pronate. I have to buy custom orthotics for most of my shoes or buy shoes that come with insoles that can be customized. Flip flops, or other flimsy, lightwieght sandals are not an option for me. All of that being said, I love these sandals!I ordered the 10W - having previously owned a pair in 9W that were on the brink of being too small. Even with the almost too-small fit of that pair, I wore them consistently for most of 8 years, until they were lost on a camping trip. I often wore those sandals in place of hiking shoes, l was so comfortable in them. This pair is no different.The 10W fits me a lot better. They are definately a wide fit and until I step down and my foot spreads out, they look almost too wide but they are not. The Vibram soles provide good grip on any surface, and the arch support is good as well. The straps of the Chaco sandals are the key to thier fit - they seem to be almost infinately adjustable and can be manipulated to postion your foot and hold it securely wherever needed on the footbed of the sandal. The construction of the Chaco Z1 is top notch - you will be hard pressed to find any other sandal in this price range that is made as rugged and as durable. These are meant to last. I ordered the grey - only because it was cheaper. Color is not as important to me as comfort.The only negative thing I could say about these sandals is that they are heavy - even heavier than some of my shoes. That is due to the thickness of the Vibram sole, I would guess. After wearing them for a very short time, the weight has not been noticable to me, though.Thankfully, it does not appear to me that Chaco has not tried to change much in the way they do things since the first pair that I purchased years ago. Chaco figure out a long time ago how to make a high quality, comfortable sandal that will last and they are sticking to that. Highly recommended

The seller (Backcountry) and Manufacturer (Chacos) were both great and super helpful. This is my first pair of Chacos and the sizing can be confusing (for 1/2 size ppl at least), as well as knowing the style you want. I tend to overthink, especially when buying something that I'll be walking on/in for years. Had I known more, I would have had it all figured out (size/style) before ordering online, but these were a great deal/price, so I jumped at it and then tried to make sure I'd bought the right thing. I'm a 9.5 normally, so I didn't know whether to get a 9 or a 10 since Chacos only comes in whole sizes. Chacos blog says to size up, so I bought the 10. When I got them, they SEEMED a bit large, so I got spooked and went online for advice (probably my mistake, ha). Lots of reviews say to size down (I'm panicking), although some more "scientific" articles/reviews said to use a Brannock device to measure Arch length, as that is the most important factor (more confused). I emailed Chacos support, who told me to ignore their blog and size down (major panic now). I literally boxed them up for return (sadly), but decided to make a trip to my local outdoor store for one last, in-person recommendation. I'm glad I did. I tried on 9s and 10s, in multiple styles (toe loop, no toe loop, classic, VOLV) and measured my arch lenth (turns out it's a 10). The conclusion was that, althought the 9 appeared to fit my overall foot size slightly better (the 10 has some extra footbed at the toe), the 10s felt/feel WAY more comfortable and fit my arch perfectly. I jumped right in (again, maybe not smart) and wore them to two, all-day events last weekend (8 and 10 hours respectively, with LOTS of walking and standing) and they are fantastic. Super comfortable, no blisters, chafing, or any issues (besides dusty feet and a weird tan). FWIW, I didn't realize that most ppl wear them pretty darn loose compared to what I thought I'd wear them, which also helped with what I was concerned would be too much "excess strap" after pulling them tight. Anyway -- moral of the story is to GO TO A STORE WITH A KNOWLEDGABLE SALESPERSON THAT YOU TRUST and get properly sized for Chacos and choose the style you like (toe strap/no strap) best BEFORE ordering online. If it's a place you shop at regularly, they'll be happy to help you (hopefully), or just tell them you are putting them on your birthday/holiday list for someone else to buy so you just need sized correctly (haha). If you get the right style and size, Chacos are excellent.

Sandals fit well - as-expected based on size. If you're a half-size, I'd err on the closest size down (I'm a 10.5, went with 10s and this fit great). But what I'd really recommend is buying both sizes through Amazon's try-before-you-buy program. Super easy to try both and send one pair back.Support is nice - more than you'd expect from a sandal. I've had these for a whole summer season and been on multiple beach trips in and out of the water, and they still look brand new (though I am making sure to rinse them in fresh water after being in the salt). I'd feel confident & comfortable wearing these all day in most (open-toe-safe!) scenarios.Only gripe is that the straps you pull on to secure the sandals are ~2" too long, the way they fit my feet anyway. I feel like that's not a real criticism though, it'd take like 20 minutes to shorten them myself.

These are my favorite basic outdoor sandals — particularly due to the available W width, which is a 2E or greater and runs a bit large; I usually take an 8 1/2 EE-EEE but wear an 8 Wide in these very comfortably. The failure points are two: the lamination/gluing and the feed of the straps. The first can easily be fixed, when you notice that you're flip-flopping around on a half-loose sole, with just the application of a ton of glue, clamped until dry, and little more. The second, though, is an inherent problem of the design. The straps feed beneath the rubber-foam insole, between it and the rubber sole, and need to be able to travel somewhat in order to tighten and loosen. The trouble of course is that they eventually become stuck. The manufacturer's advice is essentially to lubricate them with fabric softener, which I find doesn't work very well. Eventually, it becomes nearly impossible to tighten, loosen, or adjust the fit. But you can get years out of them in the meantime, anyhow.