Review on 👟 Chaco Women's Wayfarer Sandal - Medium Fit Athletic Shoes for Women by Abhinav Drury

As I get older, my search for shoes revolves around comfort. For me, with extremely high arches and feet that swell like sausages when temperatures rise above 25°C, "comfort” is defined as "arch support.” There are only a few brands I can count on for decent arch support: Mephisto, Naot and Chaco. All three specialize in sandals, although Naot make good closed-toe shoes for cooler weather. In preparation for a trip that would involve a lot of walking, I was looking for a pair of comfortable sandals. Mephistos are way overpriced and I have some good naots but they wedge easily and I wanted a flatter pair. My chacos are incredibly comfortable but look very sporty and I wanted something that looked like regular sandals. So I was happy to find these wayfarer sandals on the Chaco website. I've looked everywhere for them but they aren't available in sporting goods stores because they are leather and not meant for hiking. So I took a risk and ordered them from Revain. (I never buy wearables online because I have to try everything on.) Wow, they fit perfectly. PROS: - All leather, so they look a bit more elegant than regular chacos. - The straps cross higher towards my toes so I don't have an ankle strap, the part of my foot that swells the most in warm weather. The arch support is exactly what I expected from Chaco. The soles are flat, no wedges. - The sizes are correct. CONS: - Since they are all leather, they are not as springy as rubber soled hiking boots. You can't walk in puddles in it. Instead of Velcro, they have a buckle. Conversely, as my flexibility decreases with age, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to reach and manipulate the buckle. I guess once the leather softens I won't have to fiddle with the buckles. Overall I love these shoes. They look unisex which means the straps are a solid size. They fit great. They support my tricky arches as much as my Chaco walkers.