I wear running shoes 90% of the time so I really like comfort. Which sandals have the best comfort? I hear Chacos are very good. Other brands?
Sanuk is my favorite. They are like walking on little clouds. I’ve been wearing them for about 7 years and only need a new pair once a year which is pretty good since I wear them 5 or 6 days a week.
Birks, of course…
I meant to add I don’t do the flip flop styles. I want something that will stay on my foot with straps. And birks and Keens are very ugly to me.
Check out Tevas.
I bought my first Tevas eons ago and have never felt the need to try any other brand. When a Teva style that didn’t do well ends up on Woot or Meh I automatically buy a pair.
I would also like to endorse Teva sandals. They are durable, stylish and comfy. I love mine.
Chacos were king of the hill for many years but quality has been dropping since they closed the Colorado factory and moved production to China – and the switch away from Vibram soles has seen a great increase in reports of the soles delaminating and falling apart.
For me, it’s Teva Terra Fi Lite and Keen Newport H2. The Tevas have a very short break-in period as the footbed molds to your feet and a bit of fiddling to find the perfect strap adjustment. The Keens are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn straight out of the box.
I love my Chacos. It looks like Sierra Trading Post, which I think sells past years’ styles, still sells the Vibram soled version (if the pictures are accurate). I got mine from STP a few years ago and I’m pretty sure they almost always have coupons for another 20-30% off.
That’s gonna be old stock on clearance at Sierra Trading Post – get 'em while you can. Chaco no longer uses Vibram.
I got some Tevas free from a friend for some reason. They were a size and a half too big, but I wore them when doing yardwork and when I took my dogs to the doggy beach. Since they were always covered with sand and grass, I left them outside when I took them off. This proved to be no good for them, as the layers of the sole came unglued and could not be put back together again.
However, I decided to buy myself a new pair that fit and I am pleasantly surprised at how comfortable they are and how there was not a “break-in stage” where I ended up with blisters on my feet. I wore them to a concert and had to do some walking, and also got wet in the rain, and everything was hunky-dory.
I am thinking about buying another pair of Tevas to keep indoors and out of the sand. Good stuff!!
I don’t bother with brand names: I just go to Wal-Mart and pick out something in my size with a strap. Never had a problem.
I, on the other hand, have seen catastrophic failure with generic sandals on first use. I carry a spare paddle on kayak trips but never a spare pair of sandals.
Bass also makes a very good sandal for men. I have a pair similar to this and they have proven both comfortable and durable.
Crocs are comfortable.
I got tired of clunking along in Birkies a while back (after about 20 years) and found Dunham sandals to be very comfortable. Of course, I have the issue of 6E+ width to contend with, which limits my choices, and Dunham inexplicably stopped making the full-heel, closed-toe fisherman’s sandal. They still make the open-toe model, but besides liking a closed toe I can wear more of the year (and not look quite so beach-casual all the time), I really hate the velcro-overstrap style that most wide sizes come in.
I tended to go through a pair in about three years, rotating the old pair to yard and garage duty when I got the new ones, and my last pair is about wearing out for grotty duty. When I found out I couldn’t get new ones, I wept over the two downstream pair I could have gotten another year or more each from, had I known.
Will pay good money for a pair of Dunham closed-toe sandals in 11 to 12-1/2 6E, should anyone ever find a leftover pair.
They (the open-toe style) come in more standard sizes, too and should last the average wearer for years of good-weather use.
quality in Chinese made goods is bad? That’s a shocker. 
I went with these as well after my last Terra Fi non-lite split open after laying hours in the sun, which also made the comfortable inner sole shrink. I like the lites a lot. Those canvas Tevas can be used for practically anything.
I’m considering Birkenstock Milano - with the heelstrap as a more leathery sandal. I wear the model withouth the strap in the house now, but I miss the strap if I want to walk any distance.
Seriously, I thought I was time traveling when I saw the new thread.
I still recommend Keens. Especially if you like running shoes.
I have an L.L. Bean pair that I like a lot.