Best Hiking Sandals of 2026

Quick verdict: The Z/1 Classic is the sandal the rest of this category gets measured against. Chaco publishes a 3.5 mm lug depth on a non-marking ChacoGrip outsole, and the LUVSEAT polyurethane midsole above it is contoured to the arch.

One length of webbing runs the whole sandal and closes on a ladder-lock buckle, so any adjustment moves everything at once and takes a few outings to settle. Once it's set, it stays set. Chaco's Michigan facility will also re-strap and resole a worn pair instead of selling you a new one.

It isn't light and it isn't soft. Switchback Travel weighs the closely related Z/Cloud at 1 lb 14 oz a pair, and the firm footbed is the usual complaint. If that puts you off, the Zcloud further down is the same platform with a softer topsole.

Quick verdict: The Newport H2 is the only closed-toe sandal on this page, and the rubber bumper wrapping the front of its sole is why both Switchback Travel and Treeline Review pick it for that job. Kick a buried rock in an open sandal once and you'll understand what you're paying for.

KEEN builds it on a razor-siped rubber outsole with a washable webbing upper, a quick-dry lining and a bungee lace that cinches the forefoot in one pull. It's been in the catalog long enough to pile up almost triple the ratings of the next sandal here.

You pay for the toe cap in everything an open sandal does well. Sand that washes straight out of a Chaco stays in here until you rinse it, the airflow is worse, and Switchback puts a pair at 1 lb 12.2 oz. It sits second because for most warm-weather hiking, drainage beats armor.

Quick verdict: Teva pitches the Terra Fi 5 as its hiking sandal, and the spec sheet backs that up: a TPU shank to stabilize the foot on uneven ground, a molded polyurethane midsole, a Spider Rubber outsole. The shank is the part that matters under a pack.

The three-point hook-and-loop closure adjusts faster than either Chaco, and the quick-dry webbing is Unifi's recycled REPREVE polyester. You can set it one-handed at a crossing and keep moving.

At 4.2 stars it carries the second-lowest average here, off a pool of a few hundred. That's a newer listing talking, not a verdict, but the pool is thin enough that we ranked this one on the shank and the outsole instead. Buy it for what it does under a loaded pack, and accept that the crowd hasn't weighed in yet.

Quick verdict: The Zcloud is the Z/1's platform with the edge taken off: same ChacoGrip outsole and published 3.5 mm lugs, same continuous strap through a ladder-lock buckle, but a softer cushioned topsole over the LUVSEAT shape underneath.

That makes it the sandal to buy if you've tried Chacos before and found them punishing, or if you're coming to them from a cushioned trail shoe. Switchback Travel, which spells the name Z/Cloud, rates it Best Overall, above the Classic.

It sits below the Z/1 here for one reason: softer foam packs down sooner, and a sandal you keep for years is the better argument for a Chaco. The rating pool is also about a third the size of the Classic's. If comfort out of the box matters more to you than the long haul, swap the two.

Quick verdict: The Yucatan costs the most here and behaves the least like a sandal. ECCO direct-injects a polyurethane midsole with full-length Receptor Technology, wraps it in nubuck, and closes it with three separate hook-and-loop straps over a multi-directional rubber outsole.

Three independent straps give you more adjustment than a continuous strap or a bungee lace can. That makes it the pick for an awkward instep or a foot that wants different tension in different places, and it carries the highest star average on the page too.

It's heavy, it's leather, and it dries slower than any webbing sandal here. Think of it as a walking sandal for warm trail and long days on your feet. If your route is mostly in the water, one of the Tevas or the KEEN is the better buy.

Quick verdict: The Hurricane XLT2 is Teva's classic sport-sandal silhouette, and it carries the second-deepest rating pool on this page. Teva gives it a nylon shank, a Durabrasion Rubber outsole and an EVA foam footbed, with Unifi recycled polyester straps.

It costs well under the Terra Fi 5 above it, and the trade is underfoot. EVA foam packs down faster than the molded polyurethane in the sandals ranked above it, and a nylon shank is less stiff than a TPU one.

As the sandal you clip to a pack for camp and crossings, it's hard to argue with. Make it the only footwear on a loaded multi-day trip and you'll wish you'd spent more. Teva pitches it at all-day wear and day hikes, and that's a fair description.

Quick verdict: The Mono Winged Edition is a huarache: a footbed, a toe post and a strap, built to a shape running sandals have had for a very long time. What keeps it from being a novelty is the Vibram outsole, the only one on this page.

Switchback Travel names it their minimalist pick. LUNA lists 5.9 oz for a single shoe and Switchback weighs the pair at 11.8 oz, so only the Xero publishes a lower number. It packs down to nothing.

It asks more of your feet than anything else here. You get no arch shape, no shank and very little between your sole and the rock, and the toe post takes a few outings to stop noticing. Come to it from minimal shoes, not from boots.

Quick verdict: The Z-Trail EV is the cheapest sandal here, and the lightest weight any of these makers publishes. Xero gives 5.4 oz for one men's size 9, on an 11 mm zero-drop FeelLite sole with a TrailFoam middle layer and a dual chevron lug pattern. It backs that sole for 5,000 miles.

Treeline Review makes it their barefoot pick, and the hook-and-loop straps are tubular quick-dry webbing spun from recycled water bottles. Rolled up, a pair disappears into a lid pocket, and that's the whole appeal.

It also carries the lowest star average on the page. Minimal footwear splits people hard, and a flat 11 mm sole under a loaded pack is a bigger adjustment than most people expect. It finishes last here on support, not on build.