Rugged, Not-Hideous Sandals

by Lawyerish    

I had a pair of Nike ACG sandals for roughly ten years that lasted through trips to Vietnam, Italy, Costa Rica, Belize, and Hawaii, before I realized this summer that half of the sole was about to fall off and, honestly, they had kind of a permanent stench embedded in them from all that adventure travel.

I couldn't find any Nike shoes that were similar to my old faithful pair, so I poked around on Zappos until I found something that looked like it would foot the bill. (Argh! Sorry.) I have high arches and generally fussy former-dancer feet, so they had to be ultra-supportive and extremely comfortable. Also not so ugly that I wanted to barf from looking at my feet (which can be a tough standard to meet when you're looking at athletic, water-friendly footwear).

Here's what I found:

The Teva Tirra sandal. Although I had planned to get something black or gray, the Algiers Blue leapt out at me and said, "Hello! I am CUTE!" so I threw caution to the wind, and I'm glad I did (they have some other fun options, too, like purple or red). They look reasonably nice on my feet, and more importantly they are WAY comfortable. I can walk for miles and miles in these things, and I don't get a backache or feel like my arches are caving in. They dry quickly -- perfect for park sprinklers, beach walking, and sudden downpours -- and the soles are nice and grippy for security when you're clambering over wet rocks. (I think I'm making my life sound a lot more exciting than it is...) 

With luck, these shoes will last me another ten years and see me through even more exciting trips around the globe.

{Photo credit: Zappos.com}

Comments

[Jennifer Wolfe]

I have these and LOVE them. Great traction. I teach stream studies and these do so well in the water!

[Here We Go Harris]

I bought these in pink last summer. I mostly wear them on trips to the Oregon coast but have worn them around town too. They were the least ugly sport sandals I could find too! Still not the cutest but comfy! Good choice!

[Lisak]

Another brand that's good for support is Chaco. A bit more rugged, but they feel very good.

[Jess]

After this post, I looked them up and some colors were on sale through Amazon- I bought a pair and love them! They have so much support and the sole is really rugged. I wish I had bought them at the beginning of the summer for all of the traveling we did.