Huarache at a glance
- Origin
- Raramuri, Copper Canyon, Mexico
- Heel-to-toe drop
- Zero
- Flat by design, with no molded arch
- Typical sole
- Single-digit millimeters
Where does the huarache design come from?
The word is Spanish, from kuarache in the Purepecha language, and it has meant a woven leather Mexican sandal for centuries. Its modern trail meaning is narrower: the running sandal worn by the Raramuri people of the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, cut from salvaged tire tread and held on by a single lace.
Christopher McDougall's Born to Run put that design in front of a running audience in 2009, and two of the brands on our sandal guide come straight out of it. Luna Sandals is named for Manuel Luna, a Raramuri maker in Urique, and Xero Shoes started life selling a do-it-yourself huarache kit.
What does a huarache feel like to hike in?
Flat, thin and quiet. There is no arch shape molded into the footbed, no shank and no heel lift, so your foot sits level and works the way it does barefoot. Ground feel is the whole point: you read the surface through the sole instead of being insulated from it.
The toe post is the part people notice first. A lace or a soft strap runs between the big and second toes, and for the first few outings it rubs. Most of that settles as the strap softens, which is why makers tell you to walk in a new pair before hiking one.
Does a huarache have real tread?
The good ones do. The Raramuri original is literally tire tread, and today Luna puts a Vibram outsole under its Mono and Xero molds its own lugged rubber, so the sole is a proper trail sole rather than a flat slab of foam.
What it does not have is depth. A huarache sole is measured in single-digit millimeters rather than the twenty or thirty a hiking shoe stacks up, so a sharp rock arrives with very little between it and your foot. That is a comfort limit long before it is a grip limit.
What this means when you're choosing
- A named rubber outsole rather than plain foam, which is what separates a trail huarache from a beach sandal
- An adjustable lacing system, so you can set heel and forefoot tension separately
- A soft, rounded toe post, since a thin hard cord is what causes most of the early rubbing
- A published weight, because packability is the main reason to carry one
Huarache vs Strappy sport sandal
| Huarache | Strappy sport sandal | |
|---|---|---|
| How it stays on | A lace or strap through a toe post | Webbing over the instep and around the heel |
| Footbed | Flat, no molded arch, no shank | Usually contoured, often with a shank |
| Weight | Very light | Two to three times as much |
| Who it suits | People already walking or running in minimal shoes | Almost anyone, straight out of the box |
Which to pick: Buy a huarache because you want the ground feel and the low weight, not because it is a cheaper way into hiking sandals. If you need support, a contoured footbed is the thing you are shopping for and a huarache does not have one.
The common mistake
Treating it as an ordinary sandal you can buy and hike in tomorrow
A huarache asks your feet and calves to do work a supportive sandal does for you, and the toe post needs a break-in period of its own. Walk in a new pair for a couple of weeks before you take one on a long day, and do not make your first outing a loaded backpacking trip.
Common questions
Can you hike long distances in huaraches?
People do, including on long trails, but almost all of them arrived from minimal running or walking rather than from boots. The limits are sharp rock, cold, and carrying a heavy pack, all of which ask for more material underfoot than a huarache has. Build up slowly and treat the first season as training rather than a switch.
Do you wear socks with a huarache?
You can, but a normal sock fights the toe post. A toe sock, with a separate compartment for the big toe, is the usual answer when it is cold enough to want one. Most people go barefoot in them the rest of the time, since shedding water and grit is half of why the design exists.
Where this is defined
- Tarahumara Running Sandals, Xero Shoes
- Huarache (shoe), Wikipedia