The Ultimate Water Adventure Sandals

July 11, 2018Michael Dally75 comments

Edited by Colin Evans

The Earth Runners team has continued to ReWild our lifestyles ever honing in on a more ancestraly based approach to our health, happiness and community. As a result we have been spending more and more time in the dirt, outsourcing less of our movement to modern technology. This has involved traversing on foot ever greater distances over all of Earth's geology and hydrology to keep our soles strong and free. One key advantage to our sandals that we have focused on over the past few years has been their ability to transition between land and water seamlessly, proving them to be the ultimate water sandals.

The Key Features of a Perfect Pair of Water Shoes:

Minimal Upper: reduced resistance in the water & superior drainability.
Footbed Water Traction: excellent adherence of the wet foot to the footbed.
Outsole Water Traction: the tread of the sole grips wet surfaces well.
Foot Security (In water): the hydrophobic binding or upper of the shoe effectively secures the foot to the sole.

Minimal Upper: All Material above the sole

Our modern rendition of the ancient huarache running sandal has proven to be the simplest yet most secure upper we have yet to encounter in our 5 years of R&D on land and water. Considering the amount of security achieved by the minimal amount of upper material, Earth Runners has a very lean weight-to-security ratio. We have torture tested endless numbers of prototypes where we tried adding and removing materials to the upper and have not come up with anything that is more efficient or effective than the tried and true minimalist lace design of the ancient huarache sandal for amphibious exploration.

Footbed Water Traction

In the Spring of 2017 we released our Hemp Earth Grip footbed with a great deal of excitement due to it being a huge step forward in the evolution of Eco Traction. We have been very happy with its increased water performance and reception by the Earth Runners tribe. We received a tremendous amount of information in the form of feedback from the thousands of miles logged by the Earth Runners Community. We analyzed the data and came up with something better! Hemp is known for the extreme strength of it’s natural fibers but what we have learned is that it’s durability does not meet our standards when it comes to abrasion resistance in an aquatic environment. Being that strong abrasion resistance is one of the main attributes our water sandal footbed needs to exhibit, we have found another natural fiber that holds up better for this application while still providing all of the excellent characteristics that made the Hemp Earth Grip bedding so effective. Our new 2018 Earth Grip footbed is made of 100% low impact dyed (GOTS certified) cotton. It has proven to hold up substantially longer while ensuring effective function over the increased lifespan of the sandals. We are excited to offer the greatest combination of traction, wicking and longevity to date with our new heavy duty Earth Grip footbed!

Water Adventure Sandals

Outsole Water Traction

The goal of an amphibious sandal outsole is to provide excellent grip on a variety of surfaces both in and out of the water. Achieving superior traction on both land and in water takes a fine balance. Many factors must be considered including not only the height, contact area and spacing of the tread lugs but also what compound they are made of. We have put a lot of energy into testing all these variables utilizing the world leaders in rubber, Vibram, to find the best combination for the ultimate water tread traction. Our new water sandal outsole is still in development and we are excited to offer this to Earth Runners worldwide when the time is ripe.

Foot Stability (In Water)

Given the minimal yet demanding role of our single lace binding mechanism, the design elements of this system are crucial. It has taken years to understand what is specifically required to create ever higher levels of performance from our lacing system which continues to evolve. From tensile strength/stretch, to dry material properties, to water performance, there are seemingly endless variables . After fully understanding the required functions of our lace we have been working with specialty mill manufacturers to design the ultimate water performance lace. This has involved much testing, trial and error to determine what material combination would achieve the greatest longevity function and comfort on both land and water. Our new Performance Laces are in the works and will be available once all the production details have been finalized.

Available Now: Shop Performance-Laced Adventure Sandals


Trail ready light weight cushioned sole	The ultimate barefoot traction running sandal

75 comments

Tomasz August 23, 2018 07:32 PM PDT

Keep up the good work, only thing I’d like is that they’d be available at the store in Canada so I can try them on

Pat P August 23, 2018 07:31 PM PDT

As a whitewater kayaker, I feel like I have always been in search of the perfect water sandal. A couple of the criteria I look for are below. I hope this helps. I really look forward to yours since it is flexible and will let my foot move and shape around rafts and terrain. I stopped buying Chacos because they were too stiff and inflexible. Criteria - grippy outsole. I would favor grippy over durable. Big lugs aren’t the best, in my opinion the softer material is more important than pure lugs. - Secure closure- in the whitewater environment, I have seen many a shoe ripped of someones feet. I would suggest a pass-through style buckle vs the locking one that can come unclasped. The pass through buckles tend to not loosen even when wet and also have the advantage that you can wet them and really lock them down. Finally, you can clip your shoes to something to dry or while you hang out and not have to worry they might unclipped. -For the footbed, I usually prefer a non natural material but would be willing to try the one you developed. I get concerned about fabrics when it come to durability and the potential for transferring waterborne parasites, easily remedied though by washing. Felt has been used for years, but is falling out of favor due to the contamination potential. - I appreciate that you are seeking a durable webbing solution, with the right webbing one could expect years of service out of these. - I’m excited about the flexible footbed. I sometimes paddle small playboats and these might even be able to fit in there. Thanks for the opportunity to comment. Pat

Hannah Sea August 23, 2018 07:24 PM PDT

Living in a four season climate, I would love to see closed toed or boot Earth Runners. Here in Utah, you can really only wear sandals 4 months out of the year. When it gets cold, it would be great to still be grounded and have it feel like you’re wearing no shoes at all! They do make flexible footwear options that are closed toed/boots, but none with the amazing earthing options. Thank you for all you’re doing. Your products are amazing!

Mike August 23, 2018 07:24 PM PDT

I think you guys should keep the uppers and use a thinner sole for those of us that want to have more ground feel! I have two pairs of the circadians and love them! Would really like a thinner version for normal everyday/street wear. Like maybe a 3mm or 4mm sole or something ultra thin. The upper would keep it from being flimsy as well.

Mike DeAlto August 23, 2018 07:23 PM PDT

Hey guys! I own a pair of your circadians and while I REALLY love them, I would love to see you make a model with a thin layer of Vibram Morflex instear of gumlite as the sole. I love gumlite for hiking and trail running but find morflex better for road running. So I would love to see a 6-8mm sandal with the FANTASTIC earthgrip footbed, your WONDERFUL lacing system and a morflex sole. Hope you consider this but even if you don’t I’m still a customer for life!

Kristin J Price August 23, 2018 07:22 PM PDT

Honestly, y’alls sandals are the bomb!!! I’ve gotten 2 of my pals to purchase a set already! I wear them all day everyday and my feet thank you!!! My only wish/suggestion is to have more vibrant color options! I would buy a pair for every outfit… vibrant colors are eye catching, which lead to compliments, which lead to me having a great opportunity to rep these must have footwear!! Look forward to many wonderful years of amazing sandals, y’all are the BEST! Peace and Love ✌🏼

Michelle August 23, 2018 07:22 PM PDT

I would say waterproof straps but that is hard to develop environmentally friendly. Other than that I can’t think of anything developmentally but maybe a repair, return or recycle program for the sandals. Current customers could attest to the shoes they already have and may find initiative to recycle in part of those the making of new shoes. You guys would also be furthering your steps to reducing your environmental footprint.

Chris Goodyear August 23, 2018 07:21 PM PDT

I absolutely love these sandals, and I have been weating them all summer in the city, and on canoe trips and portages. I was thrilled with how they performed, but there was one small thing i woild have liked. At one point during a portage, i managed to get dirt netween my toes where the laces are. i ended up gwtting a blister there as a result. It would be great if this one part of the lace was somehow either softer against my skin, or else could repel dirt and grit more effectively. I am still recommending these sandals to everyone all the time. ill be sad to put theae away when the snow flies. Thanks for making an excellent product!!

NatePribble August 23, 2018 07:20 PM PDT

I don’t know how much more minalimalist you could go, but if you could shrink the strap a little more while keeping the conductive copper and keeping it comfortable, that would be awesome. Also, a mostly hemp blend earth runner would be amazing. Always trying to support Hemp, especially because it’s anti-microbial.

Jenny yaeger August 23, 2018 07:20 PM PDT

i would like if the part of the sandal thar your foot is on was softer. i feel like theyre a little rough/tuff.

@mme.saturne August 23, 2018 07:20 PM PDT

I love these sandals, but still prefer barefoot it in some hiking/yoga situations. I would love to see additional copper grounds in the sole of the shoe. I like to ground all four corners of my foot when taking yoga breaks during hikes and additional grounds could help me feel more connected in my shoe.

Peter August 23, 2018 07:19 PM PDT

These look awesome. Can’t wait to get a pair

Sunshine Ritter August 23, 2018 07:19 PM PDT

Please make Kid sizes!!!

Kevin MacCallum August 23, 2018 07:19 PM PDT

New development needed: a hand held grounding tester to verify laces and sandals are still grounded! The whole reason I choose earth runners was that they are grounded. I would love a way to quickly verify they are still working!