Are you a fan of Chacos? Are you a fan of Keens? What about Teva's? If so, the Amuri Z-Trek Sandal may be an option for you! Xero Shoes have produced one of the only toe-postless sandals that are considered "barefoot" or minimal in terms of support of padding. The only other option available that we know of is the Unshoes Pah Tempe (one of our FAVORITES). The Amuri Z-Trek boasts a handful of pretty impressive specs: "-Super-comfortable webbing -Adjustable Z-pattern — get the right tension across your foot, over your foot, and behind your heel. -Three color combinations — Coal Black soles with Charcoal, Mocha Earth soles with Coffee Bean webbing, and Slate soles with Patriot Blue webbing. -5.5mm FeelTrue® outsole protects you from unpleasant surfaces without sacrificing ground feel -Elegant contour surrounds your foot, but doesn’t add unnecessary support -Super light weight — a Men’s size 9 sandal averages 6.5 ounces each -“Zero-Drop” — your heel isn’t elevated; your feet are anatomically correct -Rust-proof kirsite hardware -Ready to wear — the lacing is already done for you. Just slide in your foot and go -Heel cup — keeps your heel in place, helps keep out debris, and adds a splash of color -5,000 mile warranty! Wear out your Z-Trek soles in under 5,000 miles and we’ll replace them for a nominal cost (details here)" How did the Z-Trek hold up to our testing? We took them on a series of hikes, lots of disc golf, yard work and just around town wear and what we found is that they are incredibly comfortable to wear, easy to adjust, and you don't get strange looks from people like you do with standard huarache sandals or FiveFingers. They didn't slide around too much, and have seemed quite durable. The hardware holds well, and the straps adjust very easily! We had 0 quality issues with these sandals and think they would be great for light hiking, or a camp shoe or just an around town/everyday sandal. To be honest, the Z-Trek looks just like a Chaco was stripped of all that makes it so heavy and uncomfortable and left with a very minimal shell. The color options available are nice and muted and the Xero shoes owners/customer service are some of the nicest people to deal with! They did a great job of making the sandals look very polished and professional. While these are awesome sandals, we do see some small areas of improvement. As a backpacker, I do appreciate a little bit of cushion at times to protect from the sharp rocks that seem to be everywhere here in the Ozarks. A slightly thicker option (maybe 10mm?) would be great, and it would add to the overall sturdiness of the sandals (5.5mm can get a little floppy when crossing streams). The only other thing that seemed odd at first was the heel cup. It almost makes the sandal feel off balance, and you REALLY notice it at first. It did seem to vanish after a little more wear and we stopped noticing it all together after longer distances. I don't know how I would change that, or if I would as it did seem to help in keeping rocks away. One of the biggest complaints we have heard on these is the weight of the sandals. They come it at a combined 13oz, which is somewhat heavy. We didn't mind the weight, but he gram counters won't go for these when a pair of Crocs weighs half of what these do! Overall, we really liked the Z-Trek as an everyday option for a variety of activities and would encourage you to check them out as they are some of the more affordable options in the barefoot world. They come in at $59.99 and have that incredible 5,000 mile warranty. Give em' a look here.
*Amuri Z-Trek sandal was provided by Xero shoes for review purposes and did not influence this review in any way.
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