Staff gear review by Drew Barnicle
Chacos have been my go-to outdoor sandal for years. They lock onto your feet, they have sticky rubber soles and are versatile as hell. What more could you want? Well, I just sold mine. That's right, you heard me. What?!? Why?!? How do you work at an outdoor store without your uniform? Do you still like going outside? What do you use to get a weird strap tan in the summer? Are you okay? Hey listen, Chacos are friggin great- but I found something better.
Over the last few months, I’ve been wearing Bedrock Sandals. They straight up kick ass. Since buying them I have worn them almost everyday. They’re minimal and light, yet feel incredibly stable and supportive. I have the Cairn 3D Pro II version which means it has a bit of arch support and toe mapping, sticky vibram soles and their heel hook strap. The arch support is minimal, which I love, because my feet don’t like having much support- other than verbal encouragement. The con I have found with more minimal sandals in the past is my foot sliding side-to-side on the footbed while walking on off camber sections of trail. These sandals-of-the-gods lock your feet in just perfectly. We’re talking absolutely zero slippage top to bottom, as these vibram soles are gee dang grippy.
Now, the worry of having a toe thong is real, I get it. As someone who wore flip flops a lot growing up it doesn’t really bother me. I noticed that the heel strap on these sandals makes it so the toe strap doesn’t give you a massive toe wedgie- so it may not bother you like it does on flip flops.
One con I’ve been able to find with these sandals is that you can't wear them totally loose. They flip weird and flop all wrong, but they aren't flip flops so that has been a relatively small con. Another would be that it's hard to wear socks with them, but Bedrock actually sells a rather inexpensive sock with a toe thong slot built in. I just got a pair and voila, problem solved.
If you see me in the store, at a brewery, out for a hike or around town I will be wearing my Bedrocks. Swing through the store at any point if you want to try a pair on- the proof is in the pudding.
Explore our selection of Bedrock Sandals!