Sandals Recommendations

John Dawson wrote:
> Whenever I go away on an organised walking trip I'm told to take
> trainers for use in the evenings. I don't find trainers comfortable,
> possibly because wide feet and I have arthritis in my big toes, so I'm
> considering sandals. One of my possible future trips requires sandals
> for a river crossing so I need to get some that are OK in water.
>
> Any recommendations for that dual duty?
>
> TIA
>
> John D.

I've used a pair of Merrels (can't remember which ones but they were from
Blacks and were around the £45-55 mark) for the past year or two, they are
excellent in and out of water and I'd recommend them. So far they haven't
shown any sign of wear, i.e. coming apart!

R.

"Richard Phillips" <raphillips@ntlworld.com> writes:

>John Dawson wrote:
>> Whenever I go away on an organised walking trip I'm told to take
>> trainers for use in the evenings. I don't find trainers comfortable,
>> possibly because wide feet and I have arthritis in my big toes, so I'm
>> considering sandals. One of my possible future trips requires sandals
>> for a river crossing so I need to get some that are OK in water.
>>
>> Any recommendations for that dual duty?
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> John D.

>I've used a pair of Merrels (can't remember which ones but they were from
>Blacks and were around the £45-55 mark) for the past year or two, they are
>excellent in and out of water and I'd recommend them. So far they haven't
>shown any sign of wear, i.e. coming apart!

Sounds like the pair I have and which I like, but one of the reasons I
like them is that they fit me better than Tevas, where I usually find the
heel too wide. The OP mentioned wide feet so I expect that he will get on
better with Teva than with Merrell.

Roos

Geoff Berrow wrote:

>Message-ID: <eonpxpnxl18l.1cm8tf6srf0v0.dlg@40tude.net> from PeterC
>contained the following:
>
>>> After a while you can get yourself the legendary "Teva tan lines"! ;-)
>>>
>>> Pete.
>>
>>OK, I have to admit that I wear socks with sandals :-(
>>Just can't tolerate sandals on bare feet.
>
>I think sandals are much more comfortable with socks.

If your straps are comfortable enough it isn't a problem. Tevas for me
too.

>As for walking in sandals, I hate it. I'm forever having to stop to
>remove stones.

When I get a stone in between the sandal and my foot I stop for all of
two seconds and pull the sole away from my foot and it's gone. Far
less of a faff than getting a wrinkle out of my sock or a stone out of
a shoe.
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Angletarn Pikes via Beda Fell.

On 10 Jun 2007 09:10:23 GMT, Roos Eisma <roos@xs4all.nl> wrote:

>The OP mentioned wide feet so I expect that he will get on
>better with Teva than with Merrell.

I have wide feet (but narrow heels).

I hated my Merrell sandals, and they almost put me off sandals for
ever, but I love my Teva Terra-Fis. I found that the Merrell straps
weren't adjustable enough for my funny-shaped feet. (With hindsight,
I wonder why I ever bought the things!)

Judith

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:00:37 +0100, Peter Clinch
<p.j.clinch@dundee.ac.uk> wrote:

>I found the previous incranation of the Terra Fi (with a wavey sole
>pattern) a bit odd around the arch.

I didn't realise they had changed but, from your description, I
realise that I have the older type. For the first few days I found
the instep to be very high, almost uncomfortably so, but I had heard
that some people do notice this..... so I persevered.

>Not uncomfortably so but not
>as comfortable as they might be (normally arch shape isn't much of
>an issue for me as I have fairly gothic arches). The current one
>(with the studded sole) works much better for me, but again this
>just goes to show that trying on is a Good Thing. Even the same
>manufacturer's different incarnation of the same model in the same
>size can feel quite different.

Why do they have to change things just when I get comfy!

Judith

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:40:28 +0100, Judith wrote:

>>Not uncomfortably so but not
>>as comfortable as they might be (normally arch shape isn't much of
>>an issue for me as I have fairly gothic arches). The current one
>>(with the studded sole) works much better for me, but again this
>>just goes to show that trying on is a Good Thing. Even the same
>>manufacturer's different incarnation of the same model in the same
>>size can feel quite different.
>
> Why do they have to change things just when I get comfy!

It's The Rule: if something's good it has to be 'modernised', redesigned or
stopped.
The current version of my Merrel is getting a bit flimsy. Many so-called
trekking sandals are almost useless due to stuck-on junk.
--
Peter.
If you can do it today, you didn't put off enough yesterday.

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:43:09 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:

> ave to admit that I wear socks with sandals :-(
>>> Just can't tolerate sandals on bare feet.
>>
>> I think sandals are much more comfortable with socks.
>
> It's an accilmatization thing IME. At first, yes, after awhile
> you don't notice in benign terrian, and in bogs and rivers you seen
> find that otherwise bare feet /can/ be a good thing.

I've tried, but can't get used to it. Either my feet stick to the sandals
or the sandals stick to my feet - either is uncomfortable.

Part of my problem with getting footwear is due to running around with bare
feet when a child.
--
Peter.
If you can do it today, you didn't put off enough yesterday.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:41:43 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:

> PeterC wrote:
>
>> I've tried, but can't get used to it. Either my feet stick to the sandals
>> or the sandals stick to my feet - either is uncomfortable.
>
> What sort of sandals are these?
>
>> Part of my problem with getting footwear is due to running around with bare
>> feet when a child.
>
> I'd see that as a potential bonus as much as a drawback. Tougher feet,
> and used to more than socks next to them.
>
> Pete.

Yes, but one then has feet that are foot-shaped and don't fit in to
shoe-shaped things.
Many a shopdroid has said that my feet should fit in to ordinary widths of
shoe - until I stand up and put all of my weight on the front of 1 foot.
Anyway, in a few days I can go back to my wet-day sport of annoying shops
by trying on boots. Used to do it a lot in the'70s, but never found
anything to fit.
--
Peter.
If you can do it today, you didn't put off enough yesterday.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:48:27 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:

> PeterC wrote:
>
>> Yes, but one then has feet that are foot-shaped and don't fit in to
>> shoe-shaped things.
>
> Though that's not so much of a problem in sandals, because for the most
> part the uppers aren't there to get in the way. As long as the
> strapping supports are far enough apart you should be okay. Tevas seem
> wider than many other brands in that respect.
>
>> Many a shopdroid has said that my feet should fit in to ordinary widths of
>> shoe - until I stand up and put all of my weight on the front of 1 foot.
>> Anyway, in a few days I can go back to my wet-day sport of annoying shops
>> by trying on boots. Used to do it a lot in the'70s, but never found
>> anything to fit.
>
> You could always get some made-to-measure.
>
Bit expensive! I did do so in the '70s and still have a pair (but my feet
aren't the same shape, so I'm trying short walks to decide which pair to
take.
There was an owner of a shoe factory (when we still had those in
Northampton) who was a walker (had a cottage near Llanwrwst) and he made
boots for me at about half the price of those in shops.

Also got 2 pairs from Lawries - rode to London and put the boots in the
panniers. Still have both pairs, but 1 pair is more for crampons and
rock-climbing (last used on Pillar Rock).

--
Peter.
If you can do it today, you didn't put off enough yesterday.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:14:43 +0100, Peter Clinch wrote:

> PeterC wrote:
>
>> I've used Merrell rather than Teva because I prefer 2 side-straps, but
>> might try a change.
>
> Teva do quite a range, if you want more side straps look at the Volterra
> Alp and Karnali Wraptor.
>
> If you have width problems (not enough width) Teva generally seem to be
> wider than Merrels.
>
OK, thanks, I'll look out for them. Quite looking forward to getting back
on to 'proper' hills and in to good shops.

--
Peter.
If you can do it today, you didn't put off enough yesterday.