Xero Shoes Women's Z-Trek Sport Sandals - Zero Drop, Lightweight & Packable

I'm a relatively late comer to the minimalist shoe market and was already getting weary of seeing so many overdone styles and contrivances, not to mention the crazy sizing and fit variations in many 'minimalist' shoes. I love seeing all the innovation and creativity in the industry, the blends and interpretations of old style craftsmanship toying to make the most of high tech materials. There's a place for everything and to each his own. Yet, when I came right down to it, all I really wanted is the thin, flexible yet durable, truly anatomically shaped sole with an ideal balance of ground feel and protection, the perfect amount of light traction and an easy, secure way to hold that on the foot. I was coming to the conclusion that the only way to find that would be to engage is some intense experimentation with various materials and forms and pattern making and basic hand tools and make it myself from scratch. That would be fun and I'm sure I'd succeed if I wanted to take the rest of my life to get it done, or find a way to set aside everything else I need and want to do right now and do nothing else for an indeterminate time to come. Then I saw these. I didn't need to think twice that these are the ones. My only hesitation in ordering was, given the unreliable sizing for most shoe brands, there was no way I was going to trust the sizing chart alone. So what a boon to find the printable size templates available on the Xero Shoes website... along with lots of diy kits and videos if I ever do want to try making my own design. Maybe.. if I ever see a way to top this one! If this one was going to work for me though, I needed to be sure the strapping placement would be snug enough to prevent any lateral slipping at the ball of the foot without compromising adequate toe spread, and I couldn't be sure from the templates what the placement of the slots for the straps would be. So I still needed to be able to try 2 sizes to be sure. As it turns out, both the sizing chart and templates are completely consistent with each other and the actual shoe. I could have relied upon either, and it sure did help to have both. Wonder of wonders. That's what actually happens when the person designing the shoe actually makes the shoe, actually tests and uses the finished product themselves and actually cares to communicate with a realistic sizing tool for the customer that's going to be wearing it. (Pssst to Amazon too... are we ever going to see that Shoefitr again?). Then when I tried the actual shoe on, all those technicalities flew right out of my mind because the fit and feel was so light and conforming to my foot and the shoe so readily conforming to any ground it touched that it felt like my feet had instantly grown their own extra set of soles. I haven't felt that free and happy in this world since I was a kid. The only change I'd make if I could would be to step back slightly in time to the older version that has the hook instead of buckle on the front toe strap so that it or the heel strap don't have to be readjusted every time they're put on. I'm wondering if the reason for the change was functional - did it tend to slip off, or dig into the foot or some such... or is it simply a matter of availability? I'd find a way to do the alteration myself but I can't find a hook like it anywhere on Amazon or elsewhere, even if I had to buy a wholesale box of a hundred for the two or few I'd need myself. So I may be calling Xero Shoes directly to inquire - and if anyone else knows a solution, comments here are welcome! Meanwhile, that's a tiny nit to pick for a sandal that exceeds my wildest dreams. Many thanks to the people at Xero Shoes who've stayed the course long enough for little me way out here on the opposite coast to finally find you and to Amazon for making it possible for great innovators like this to reach the mainstream marketplace. To everyone else who might be doubtful about letting go of cushy insoles, high arch padding, stiffened heel cups and thick soles, I never knew how good letting go of all that - and all but the most minimal coverage that only can be found in a sandal like this - can most ultimately feel like till I tried these!

The media could not be loaded.  I’m an avid hiker / backpacker and I absolutely love these sandals! I typically wear trail runners (topo’s) when on trail and flip flops in every day life (one day trail life will be every day life!). Anyhow, I was headed to Kauai for a vacation and then heading to Texas for the summer and wanted my feet to breathe in the heat and humidity. I’ve tried Chaco’s and found them too bulky for my liking, so opted to give these a go. Using them in Kauai was great. Held up on dry trails really well. However, on rainy days, when trails were covered in wet clay, these proved to be very slippery; clay would get between my foot and the footbed and result in a lot of squirrely steps. Hiking on lava/river rocks was not awesome either and resulted in pokes and many scrapes, so I can not recommend for that terrain. But for dry, standard trails or easy river crossings they’re really great and super comfy.The fit issue that some people speak of was not present for me. I wear between a 5/6 US and ordered the smallest size. They fit great and were very easy to adjust.***Edit: So I was training for a backpacking trip today and used these on the treadmill. My regular strap adjustment (slightly loose) allowed for pull when using them on the treadmill so I adjusted them to be tighter. I adjusted the front and back straps to be much tighter. This is when I realized that it pulled my heel to the side like shown in other reviews. I loosened the back strap a bit to allow for heel movement but kept the front straps tightened down and it fixed the issue. I’m not sure if this is the issue for others, but I’d def play around with strap adjustments.. it takes a bit of time to find the right “setting”, but well worth it if you like minimalist shoes. These may not work for some with wide feet; I have fairly normal width feet and have about half a cm of footbed showing along the outer edges.**also, I do not work for this company, I’m not an ambassador, nor did I received these for free or at a discounted rate. I’m just a person that suffers from blisters while hiking and have been on the hunt for the most effective and efficient foot ware.

OVERALLI have never been so satisfied with a shoe purchase! I love to walk barefoot, but needed some protection for hikes. Bought these before a trip to the Rockies, and I had no issues with them - they have amazing grip due to the rubber sole, and worked well in both snow and water.PROTECTIONIf you're wanting complete protection from the trail though, these shoes are not for you - They offer protection, but you can still feel everything you step on. Personally, I think that's perfect, but if that's not for you then go for a sandal that's a little thicker. The shoes are so thin that I could roll them up and fit them in the bottom of my back pack perfectly. So far I've taken them hiking in the Rockies and in the Vancouver area and I would definitely recommend them!SIZEAs for the size, they fit well - I usually wear a women's 7 wide, but when I ordered the womens 7 they were a little narrow for my feet. Other than that they fit fine, so I'm sure if you typically get a regular women's size rather than wide it would fit will.Returned them and got the mens size 6 instead and they fit like a glove. I had no issues with the return.

My friend had been telling me for months to try barefoot shoes so I finally bit the bullet and did it. I had been suffering with ankle pain for months and after wearing these shoes my ankle pain has slowly gone away. Maybe a coincidence I don’t know but these are truly comfortable shoes. I wear a size 10 or 11 in women’s and I probably would’ve sized down but they fit fine. My only annoyance with these shoes is that when my feet get sweaty it tends to rub the skin on my feet. It’s nothing too concerning but can be annoying at times. I was an avid Birkenstock wearer before these shoes and I can say that I will never buy another pair of Birkenstock’s again. These shoes are really great for the price!

Muy cómodas, efectivamente se siente el suelo, las raíces de los árboles, el pasto, pero protege lo suficiente, para que no duela ni lastime el caminar sobre piedras . A pesar de que llevo un tiempo usando zapatos minimalistas, al usar estas sandalias mis talones se tallaron un poco, la piel se puso suave y roja como unos pasos antes dé ampollarse, pero esto es porque no hay ningún tipo de acolchado, como las plantillas de los zapatos, por lo que me tomó un tiempo encontrar el ajuste correcto de las cintas para que quede bien “pegado” a la planta del pie una vez hecho esto, son muy cómodas, perfectas para caminatas campo traviesa y hasta para correr. 😃👍🏼

I have bought Xero sandals before and I really like them. These were very comfortable, but the slot on the side where the strap feeds through broke after 2 months of occasional use. Very disappointed!