[pct-l] Chacos

[Matt Impey]

I read a few days back about someone recommending Chacos for the PCT and I will weigh in with my extensive experience with Chacos. I have worn Chacos for five years now, and everyone I work with does as well, as a community we have a pretty extensive knowledge base regarding these sandals, and often discuss their pros and cons. First things first, do not wear your Chacos on the PCT! Everyone I know including myself who has done any kind of long distance backpacking in them gets holes torn through their feet. They are heavy, somewhat bulky, and on occasion are known to fail. Don't get me wrong, I live my Chacos, I even have a custom made pair, but they are not good through hiking shoes, or even weekend backpacking shoes, you are way better off in a pair of trail runners. Chacos are my go-to day hiking, canyoneering, river rafting shoe, and these are the areas that they excel in, but not for the PCT. They take weeks for your feet to build up callous in the right areas, then the callouses crack if you don't mind them and take care of them every night. Even with good foot care and tough skin they still get chaffed like no other if you try to use them for long distances, and you will have nice bloody holes where your skin used to be. In recent years they have been improving, but there have been quite a few cases of the soles delaminating, not something you want to deal with on the trail. The bottom line is buy Chacos for your day trips, but not the PCT

If you insist on buying a pair stick to the Z/2s. The toe strap is hard to get used to at first, but once you realize just how well it works with your body you will never look back, take my word on it. Also there are Unaweep soles, and Pro soles, the first is more sturdy, the second more sticky. Buy the Pros. Your sandals will fall apart before your soles wear out, and the added traction is not just a nice thing to have, it is a security measure. When stepping on slippery rocks that friction could mean the difference between a broken ankle and a normal step. Finally, avoid the ZX series the straps may look cool but they shred each other to frays and your foot does no better.