The 5000 mile sole guarantee

[gerardcarey]

Has anyone used these, or any model XERO sandals?
The size, flexibility, weight and sole durability has me thinking they should be contenders for the 2nd pair footwear position.
I'm not a footwear in the shower type guy.
https://xeroshoes.com/shop/gender/mens/ztrail-men/
Regards
Gerard

 

[t2andreo]

I bought a pair of these last year. As soon as I tried them on in the house, I sent them back.

In principle, they seem like a good idea. However, the soles are SO thin as to be nonexistent. Walking on a bare floor, I could feel every irregularity in my home’s floors. Walking on any outside surface would be plain uncomfortable.

Plus, being a large fellow, like 103 kg, I need more cushioning on ANY footwear.

I suggest you would be far better off with a pair of proper casual sandals. I have Ecco’s, but I have also used Decathlon branded (Queucha) sandals.

Many people also use Crocs.

Recently, I have even seen folks wearing super lightweight Sketchers slip-on shoes. I wear them daily here in Florida. They are very lightweight indeed, although I have not yet weighed them, to compare with sandals. They do make for a good “apres walking’ or rest day shoe.

Hope this helps.

 

[trecile]

Walking on a bare floor, I could feel every irregularity in my home’s floors. Walking on any outside surface would be plain uncomfortable.

They are designed to give a "barefoot" feel, so you are supposed to feel the irregularities of the ground below your feet.

 

[KinkyOne]

I don't want to raise any additional aspect of this question but still, try to watch this video clip to the end (or skip a bit especially at the beginning) and you can make your own 100k miles sandals for free:

Happy walking!

 

[Stroller]

I use Xero shoe Ztrail for the shower, for evening use, occasionally as a day shoe and as a short term spare shoe. They are different in that the sole is thin and there is no heel rise but I find the difference after a days walking refreshing. You will need to get used to them if you intend to walk long distances in them.

Carrying shoes solely, pun intended, as spares is a bit of a luxury and has the same weight penalty as any other "just in case" item. There are good shoe suppliers in all the major cities if you need them.

 

[Kiwi-family]

I don't want to raise any additional aspect of this question but still, try to watch this video clip to the end (or skip a bit especially at the beginning) and you can do your own 100k miles sandals for free:

Happy walking!

I have tried to source tires a few times to do this - here in NZ they all have metal running through them! I might have to take a trip and get some custom made!!

 

[gerardcarey]

I have tried to source tires a few times to do this - here in NZ they all have metal running through them! I might have to take a trip and get some custom made!!

Close inspection of the video leads me to the conclusion that the manufacturer does appear to have opposable big toes (as well as thumbs) which he deftly uses in the construction process.
The obvious conclusion is that he belongs to a species of human that has evolved to a much higher level than that to which I belong.
Here we see an example of the fact of evolution, and levels of craftsmanship to which my descendants can only aspire in the far distant future.
Regards
Gerard

 

[gerardcarey]

I bought a pair of these last year. As soon as I tried them on in the house, I sent them back.
In principle, they seem like a good idea. However, the soles are SO thin as to be nonexistent. Walking on a bare floor, I could feel every irregularity in my home’s floors. Walking on any outside surface would be plain uncomfortable.
Hope this helps.

Tks for you comments. I figured that also, but then noticed the new model with three layers of sole. The Z-Trail.
Was this the model you tried?
Regards
Gerard

 

[Dorpie]

Yeah....I'm skeptical. First of all how do you prove you've walked less than 5000 miles to qualify for the offer? And second, it's hardly a guarantee, just an offer to sell you another pair at slightly less above cost price than you might normally -

"If you wear your FeelTrue® outsoles (or FeelTrue® section of Z-Trail) down to less than 1mm thick at the ball or heel of the foot (not an edge), we’ll replace them with the same product for the following price:


60% off MSRP (full, non-sale, listed, retail price) for the product, plus shipping."

Including shipping fees you might end up paying more than you would in a store sale!

That sounds more like marketing than a guarantee to me.

 

[Colette Z]

Has anyone used these, or any model XERO sandals?
The size, flexibility, weight and sole durability has me thinking they should be contenders for the 2nd pair footwear position.
I'm not a footwear in the shower type guy.
https://xeroshoes.com/shop/gender/mens/ztrail-men/
Regards
Gerard

Wow for that price I’d get a pair of real trekking sandals plus dollar store shower flipflops (the latter can be bought in any “Chinese” store along antipyretic Camino.

 

[t2andreo]

Tks for you comments. I figured that also, but then noticed the new model with three layers of sole. The Z-Trail.
Was this the model you tried?
Regards
Gerard

Yes, the Z-Trail was the model / style IIRC. However, I allow that they might have changed something in the sole composition. I do not recall three layers. My best recollection is that there were two layers, the outer, with marginal tread, and the soft inner / upper.

They were so soft as to be foldable in half. To me, that was too thin and soft. I want / need something I can wear on a Camino senda, with gravel and small pebbles, or cobblestones...

With three layers, it seems logical that the middle strata would be a very stiff material, not foam. The upper and lower / outer layers logically would be more compliant to provide cushioning. But, the overall 'thickness' is still a problem.

If you DO try them, ensure they can be returned for full credit. To me at least, they seem more suited to a very petite person, male or female.

Once you get up around 90 kg or more in naked body weight, I doubt this minimal a sandal is going to work, except for shower wear. In that case, there are tons of alternatives that are both lighter and MUCH less expensive.

Hope this helps the dialog.

 

[david marquez]

Has anyone used these, or any model XERO sandals?
The size, flexibility, weight and sole durability has me thinking they should be contenders for the 2nd pair footwear position.
I'm not a footwear in the shower type guy.
https://xeroshoes.com/shop/gender/mens/ztrail-men/
Regards
Gerard

I had a very early production pair that I used this past April on the Camino del Norte. They were amazing everywhere except on long stretches of pavement. One of my Xeros had a manufacturing defect in the upper and unfortunately it did not last the Camino. However Xero was very cooperative and replaced the pair if shoes free of charge. I have been wearing the replacement pair several months now! Currently walking all over Colombia in them, sparing them nothing. Water, mud, and so far great. I don’t believe for a moment that any ultralight shoe will last 5000 miles or even 5000 Km. The uppers will be gone long before that.....think about it for a moment...5000 miles....that is the Pacific Crest Trail, the Pembrookeshire trail, and a couple miscellaneous Camino’s for good measure. Do you really believe that any shoe will last through that?
Should mention I am 185cm and 85Kg.

 

[david marquez]

I use Xero shoe Ztrail for the shower, for evening use, occasionally as a day shoe and as a short term spare shoe. They are different in that the sole is thin and there is no heel rise but I find the difference after a days walking refreshing. You will need to get used to them if you intend to walk long distances in them.

Carrying shoes solely, pun intended, as spares is a bit of a luxury and has the same weight penalty as any other "just in case" item. There are good shoe suppliers in all the major cities if you need them.

Caveat here about shoe suppliers in all major cities....I wear a 46/47 depending on the shoe.
See my post below...I had a defective upper and had to locally source a replacement pair of shoes to continue walking..i was at Playa la Poo when I started looking and I got to Decathlon in Santander before i found any 46 or 47 shoes. Large shoes are rare in Northern Spain!

 

[t2andreo]

It gets worse if you run into a shoe style that runs small... You have to 'upsize' but to ?what?

 

[jmcarp]

I don't want to raise any additional aspect of this question but still, try to watch this video clip to the end (or skip a bit especially at the beginning) and you can make your own 100k miles sandals for free:

Happy walking!

Back in the early 1970s, my wife and I took a trip across the remote mountains of northern Mexico on the Chihuahua-Pacifico Railroad. Sandals made from tire treads, called huarachas, were worn by the indigenous people in the villages along the railroad. The only difference was that they were made from the flat treads of standard auto and truck tires and did not offer the side protection of the motorcycle tires in the video; plus they used leather or woven fiber straps rather than strips of inner tube rubber. Technology advances.

Regarding alternate or evening footwear for the Camino, I just picked up a pair of the most inexpensive Tevas, similar to https://www.teva.com/men-sandals/or...1004006_color=POV#start=21&cgid=men-sandals-1 I could find, which were somewhere around USD30 at one of the discount shoe warehouse-type stores in my neighborhood.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Big price for next to no sandals.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Big price for next to no sandals.

Exactly my thoughts, too.

 

[AnaRosario]

Has anyone used these, or any model XERO sandals?
The size, flexibility, weight and sole durability has me thinking they should be contenders for the 2nd pair footwear position.
I'm not a footwear in the shower type guy.
https://xeroshoes.com/shop/gender/mens/ztrail-men/
Regards
Gerard

I don’t think those will last on the Camino... u need healthy sturdy boots or hikers, in the majority of the walk

 

[trecile]

I don’t think those will last on the Camino... u need healthy sturdy boots or hikers, in the majority of the walk

If you are used to walking in that type of sandals they should last, but the OP was thinking about using them as a second pair of shoes.
I walked most of the Norte this year in hiking sandals, and my feet felt so much better than the Caminos that I walked in shoes.

 

[AnaRosario]

If you are used to walking in that type of sandals they should last, but the OP was thinking about using them as a second pair of shoes.
I walked most of the Norte this year in hiking sandals, and my feet felt so much better than the Caminos that I walked in shoes.

I guess I just needed more support, did not want to slip trip or fall!

 

[gerardcarey]

Hi AnaRosario,
Tks for your comments. My request for a "2nd" pair was not to replace trailware, but as a substitute to 'air the feet' while at an albergue, going out for dinner or exploring towns.
Regards
Gerard