Best Adventure Sandals Checklist

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Protection and Comfort: of the sole

People are drawn to the adventure sandal experience for the added proprioceptive awareness, absence of an enclosed upper (the part of a shoe that covers the top of the foot), and relatively responsive soles. Depending on the outdoor sandal adventures to be had, one needs to decide the level of protection needed to keep one's feet in touch with the ground, while remaining comfortable. A sole's protection and comfort ranges from more minimal and responsive, to luxurious and shock-absorbing. If you go on a hike wearing adventure sandals that are too minimal for your foot strength to handle, your feet will be overly strained and stiff, creating a lack of mobility. This can result in injury.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, when you choose a sole that is too thick for your outdoor adventure needs, it will hinder the precision and efficiency of your bio-mechanics. An overly muted sole–in relation to your body mass, foot strength, and the terrain profile–doesn't allow enough biofeedback to maximize your efficiency and coordination. This causes your feet to push through the soles in search of a hard, stable platform to react to, leading to excessive energy loss into the mushy sole and more clumsy movement which can also lead to injury.

Protection and comfort underfoot can be boiled down to three factors: density, thickness, and shock absorption. The longer the distance–and rougher the terrain–the more sandal you should consider underfoot to help reduce the impact on the body and allow your feet to relax into each step. Here is a look at some different adventure sandal sole archetypes for different uses and lifestyles.

Traction: For sure-footing.

The outsole–the part that comes into contact with the ground– should have a tread pattern and composition that resembles outsoles of other hiking shoes, running shoes, and adventure shoes designed for the type of activities you partake in.

Compound:

• EVA foam: ~50% the weight that of solid rubber. Lighter, less grip and longevity–but mold to the shape of your foot.
• Eg. Vibram Morflex Compound

• Hybrid: EVA Foam / Rubber: ~30% the weight that of solid rubber. Medium weight, grip, longevity and molding ability to the shape of the foot.
• Eg. Vibram Gumlite Compound
• Rubber:  Heaver, more grip and longevity.
• Won't mold to the shape of your foot if the outsole rubber makes up the majority of the sole's composition in volume.
• Softer rubber-dominant compounds are best for gripping to wet and slick rock.
• Eg. Vibram Megagrip Compound

Sandal Model	Outsole	Footbed	Ideal for:
	EVA Foam: Vibram Morflex Compound; Short Lugs	Earth-Grip, moisture-wicking	• Cushion • Trail Running • Backpacking • Long distances
	Hybrid: Vibram Gumlite; Short Lugs	Earth-Grip, moisture-wicking	• Water Performance • Traction • Walking • Hiking
	Hybrid: Vibram Gumlite; Short Lugs	Pure Vibram, quick-drying	• Ground Feel • Hiking • Parkour/MovNat • Camping

Tread–The height and pattern of the lug tread profile

• Lug Height: 
• Taller (Heavier): Enhance traction on loose gravel and mud.
• Shorter (Lighter): Lower stack height, well suited for urban surfaces.
• Lug Spacing:
• Greater: Mud shedding ability with less rocks getting lodged in the tread.
• Less: More precise grip on surfaces with finer features.
• Lug Area:  
• Less dense lug pattern: Lighter
• More weight transfer through less tread lug area allowing deeper penetration of the lugs into variable natural terrain–allowing for enhanced trail traction.
• More dense lug pattern: Heavier
• More tread lug area contacting the ground of flat man made surfaces–allowing for the potential of a greater grip on flat ground.

Footbed: textured and moisture-wicking material for water sandal adventures

To maximize the adventure-ready potential of an outdoor sandal, adherence of the foot to the footbed material is crucial–whether in dry, sweaty, or soaking wet conditions. Given the minimal upper of outdoor adventure sandals, security and stability rely on having a grippy footbed material to keep the foot secure. A wicking footbeds ability to pull moisture away from the foot and into its membrane, helps to minimize the loss in traction caused by the presence of water. By preventing moisture accumulation and pooling under the foot, the texture of the footbed is able to maintain traction in both wet and dry conditions. This kind of footbed combined with their open toe advantage to tread through water and shed it quickly gives the advantage over other types of footwear in an amphibious environment.

Connectivity

True adventure sandals are minimal by their very nature, exploring Earth with no restrictive upper enclosure. Anything which helps preserve the primal freedom of being barefoot in ancient adventure sandals will promote the sense of connection experienced when adventuring in sandals. The connectivity of adventure sandals is a product of their open toe, ground feel and conductivity, that resemble both the physical and electrical (earthing) experience of being barefoot. Minimalist sandals offer the physical sensation of being barefoot, while earthing sandals provide the ancient primordial component of being connected to the earth, same as all life has evolved on this planet throughout time. Minimal grounded sandals reduce interference between your foot and the Earth for to maximize the sense of connection experienced when adventuring.

Adventure Sandal Upper: Secure Yet Ergonomic 

The function of an adventure sandal upper is a challenging one–to maintain as much barefoot freedom as possible, with maximum security, that can match or better regular all-terrain footwear.

To ensure confidence, the adventure sandal upper must effectively secure the foot in both the front-to-back and lateral directions under all terrain scenarios. Security is maximized by triangular anchor junctions between the lacing upper and the sandal sole. The closer the upper anchors are on either side of the adventure sandal to the longitudinal axis of the foot, the more lateral security it will offer the foot.

With a minimal upper, the materials used for the adventure sandal upper (laces) must offers high tensile strength and longevity with minimal stretch. The fastening mechanism must lock to ensure no slippage or loosening.

One of the main advantages of adventure sandals -vs- a running/hiking/adventure shoe is the enhanced mobility of the foot. The adventure sandal upper needs to be designed to allow for maximum freedom to preserve this functional edge. The huarache running sandal design offers the most simple and effective means to secure the foot while allowing max freedom of the toes to fully extend and forefoot to splay naturally. Thong-less adventure sandal designs are not able to secure the forefoot without compressing and restraining the toes and forefoot, limiting their ability to fully splay out upon impact with the ground. In addition, thong-less adventure sandals struggle to keep the forefoot as secure as thong adventure sandals on sideways sloping terrain, as there is nothing for the toes to grip onto laterally to prevent the forefoot from from falling off the edge of the sandal footbed and rotating itself inside of an over-the-foot lacing system.

Simplicity: For ease-of-use

Simplicity is best. Less components means less opportunity for the components to fail, and makes the adventure sandals easier to use and repair.

Simpler technology requires and builds more movement, mobility, and strength. Avoid over-engineered technology that interferes with biomechanics and bodily ancestral wisdom honed-in over thousands of years.