I am not cool enough to wear Chacos. And that’s the truth. I feel like people who wear Chacos are cool and they know that they’re cool. They get like these cool Chaco tan lines. But beyond the coolness factor, the real question is: Are Chacos comfortable for walking?
For the past four years, the sandals that I have worn pretty much every day during the summer are a pair of Luna sandals. Lunas are like a minimalist design kind of sandal. But eventually, the sole just started to wear thin, and I needed something new for a trip to Costa Rica.
That’s when I remembered that a year ago I had purchased a pair of Chacos for like 30 bucks at Sierra Trading Post. I thought, “This is a great opportunity for me to get out those Chacos.”
The Initial Struggle: Why Some People Hate Chacos
When I put them on my feet, I remembered why I’d only worn my Chacos a few times and why they’d spent the past year in my closet. And that’s because they’re uncomfortable and I hate them.
I think the straps were super rigid and tough against my tender feet. I have a fat big toe—at least I think my big toes are fat—and they don’t really fit well in the big toe straps. I probably wouldn’t have got the Chacos with the toe straps, but I got them for super cheap and I was going to become a Chaco girl anyway.
The Break-In Period is Real
So, the straps are uncomfortable. They don’t feel good around my fat big toe. And I didn’t wear them because they were just so tight. I bought the Chacos. A week later, I took them to Tanzania with me. I wore them for a couple of days around Moshi. And then I flew right from Tanzania to Washington DC for a family vacation. And I wore them for like four days around DC, and my feet were all jacked up from climbing Kilimanjaro and then wearing these crazy uncomfortable Chacos.
That’s when I put them in my closet and I just forgot about them.
The Experiment: Can You Make Chacos Comfortable?
I pulled them out of my closet a few weeks ago and I was like, I’m going to Costa Rica. I’m going to need sandals. I don’t have time to order a new pair of Lunas. Plus, I already have these sandals in my closet. Let’s just see if I can make them work because clearly a bazillion people are in love with Chacos and I’m the only one that doesn’t like them.
So, I thought I need to figure out how to make it so these Chacos are not so miserable on my feet. I just wanted to make them work. And I thought, how can I fix that?
The Fabric Softener Hack
And I did a little experiment. I soaked my Chacos in hot water with fabric softener for almost an entire day to try to see if maybe the fabric softener would loosen up the straps on my Chacos.
I filled up the kitchen sink with my Chacos, a little bit of fabric softener. I didn’t have any liquid fabric softener. I just had the dryer sheets. So I just used those because I just want to use what I have. I let them soak and then I put them on when they were still wet and I wore them for the rest of the day and that was fine.
I wasn’t like, “Oh, these are amazing. The straps are suddenly really soft and comfortable.” But I was like, “I can tolerate these on my feet.”
The next morning, I got up, I put the Chacos on. I went and did some drone flying with my kid. And then by the time lunchtime rolled around—maybe after eating the best burger I could find nearby—I was like, I hate these Chacos. I never want to wear them again because they did not feel good on my feet.
And I was kind of bummed because I just spent a whole day soaking them in hot water. I’d wasted a couple of dryer sheets. I’d worn them the evening before and then the entire morning and they did not feel good on my feet again.
The Turning Point: Walking in Costa Rica
But here’s the problem. I didn’t have anything else to wear to Costa Rica. So, I was flying out to Costa Rica like the next day. So, I had no choice but to put my Chacos in my duffel bag—perhaps alongside my trusty Travelpro luggage—and fly all the way to Costa Rica.
I get to Costa Rica and we’re doing all this adventure stuff. So, sometimes I’m wearing my water shoes, my Astral river shoes, which are awesome. Sometimes I’m wearing running shoes. Sometimes I’m just wearing my flippy flops, but other times I need my Chacos because I need a little bit more stability and support with all the straps when we’re wandering around the city and when we’re doing things in Costa Rica.
So, I thought I’m just going to have to suck it up and wear these uncomfortable Chacos. So, I wore them on our trip to Costa Rica. And honestly, I was having such a good time on this trip that I didn’t even think about how uncomfortable my Chacos had been.
From Pain to Extension of the Foot
And I noticed that every single day that I wore them, they started to feel a little bit better on my feet. And by the last day of our trip, when we spent the entire afternoon wandering around San Jose, Costa Rica, doing all of the fun tour stuff, I looked at my feet and I was like, “Whoa, they’re actually kind of comfortable in my Chacos now.”
And I don’t even notice that I’m wearing these heavy, bulky, weird sandals on my feet. And I also noticed that when I went to put them on, my feet slipped right into them.
And that was something that I found super annoying in the past with Chacos was like, I got to sit down and I got to spend all this time adjusting all these straps to try to figure out how to get my foot in there and it’s not comfortable.
So, I was really happy that at the end of our trip to Costa Rica, the Chacos felt like an extension of my foot. They did not hurt my feet anymore. The straps were not annoying. The straps had loosened up. The straps had softened up. And I could just shove my feet into my Chacos without needing to sit down and deal with all of the straps.
Why Chacos Are Comfortable (Eventually)
Chacos come in many different styles and models. They also come in a bunch of different colors but they all function basically the same. They all have a very comfortable footbed and straps that work together to help hold the foot in place very well.
The Footbed and Support
For the most part, all the footbeds in Chacos are the same. Chaco has an amazingly comfortable footbed that is recommended by the American Podiatric Medical Association. It has great arch support and promotes healthy alignment.
They have two different options however: the Classic and the Cloud. Basically, the Cloud just has an extra layer on top of cushioning for extra comfort right out of the box. A few of the sandals like the Mega Z Clouds have a bit more cushioning but other than that all the footbeds are basically the same.
The footbed is made up of polyurethane which is very durable and it doesn’t wear or compress with use.
The Straps and Adjustability
When it comes to the straps, you have two main options: there’s one with the toe hole and one with not. Generally, this choice comes down to comfort and preference. However, most of us in the store don’t like the toe loop and we find it a little uncomfortable. However, it is completely up to you.
There are lots of people that do really enjoy the toe loop. The one great thing about it is it is good for swimming so if you are a person who likes to swim with sandals on then having the toe loop helps secure your foot in the water.
Now we’re going to show you how to tighten the Chacos because at first it is a little tricky. The straps are all connected under the footbed so it’s really only one strap instead of multiple.
How to Adjust Chacos:
- Loosen All Straps: First, you’re going to loosen all straps like we’ve already done here.
- Tighten Toe Strap: Then once you put your foot in you’re going to tighten the strap that’s closest here to your toe. This is going to tighten by your pinky toes.
- Adjust Toe Loop (If Applicable): After that, you want to pull on this strap here. This adjusts the toe loop to fit around your toe nicely.
- Tighten Ankle Strap: After that, you pull a strap right here right by your ankle.
- Secure Buckle: And after that, you just pull away any extra slack that there is using the buckle and then there you go your fit.
For the non-toe loop models, this process is definitely a little more simple. So first you’re going to want to pull in this strap right by your big toe. This is again it’s going to tighten the strap by your pinky toe and your ankle. After this, you’re going to pull on the strap that’s connected to this buckle here. Once you’ve done that all you have to do is take away any slack with the buckle again and you’re done.
Durability for Adventure
Let’s take a look at the main features. To start we have the rugged outsole. The outsoles come in two different varieties: the ChacoGrip and the EcoTread.
The ChacoGrip is our standard outsole which is very durable and has great traction. The owner of our store has a pair of these and has used them for three years through rivers, deserts, biking trips, and hiking and they’re still holding up perfectly fine.
The other option is EcoTread. As I mentioned earlier it is the same perks as the ChacoGrip but is 25% recycled rubber. So if you’re like us and want to keep the environmental footprint down the EcoTread is a great option.
If you’re planning a trip where you might need to cancel due to unforeseen gear failure or foot pain, you might want to consider expedia cancellation protection just in case.
Final Verdict: Are They Worth The Hype?
So, I get back from Costa Rica and I take a shower, get dressed the next day, get ready to start my workday, and what shoes do I choose? My Chacos over all of the other shoes and sandals in my closet. It’s not even sandal weather yet, but I still chose my Chacos.
So, I don’t know if I’m the only person out there that hasn’t loved Chacos the moment that I shoved my feet into them. But where I’m at right now is I bought these Chacos for like 30 bucks. I think I’ve broken them in so they’re not quite so miserable and I’m going to just keep wearing them until they wear out and then replace them with something else.
Chaco Feature Breakdown Table:
| Feature | Details | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Footbed | Polyurethane / LUVSEAT | Durable, doesn’t compress, great arch support |
| Straps | Continuous adjustable system | Customizable fit to hold foot securely |
| Toe Loop | Optional feature | Secure fit for water activities and swimming |
| Outsole | ChacoGrip or EcoTread | Rugged traction for hiking and varied terrain |
| Cushioning | Cloud vs. Classic | Cloud offers extra layer for immediate comfort |
The truth is it’s really personal preference. There is no one that’s best. That being said a lot of people do love and end up getting Chacos.
If you’ve ever worn Chacos, I’d love to know if you are team “I love Chacos, they’re amazing,” or team “I hate Chacos, they’re heavy, they’re bulky, they’re uncomfortable, and they make my toes feel weird.”
But for walking? Once you break them in, they might just become the most comfortable thing in your closet.