www.flojos.com, 12 ounces
When some people dream of winter, images of snow-laden trees, deep powder, and glistening icicles dance in their heads. But for others, cold weather signals that it’s time to flee south to white-sand beaches, sun-filled skies, and Mai Thais.  For those days when your ski boots aren’t appropriate, we recommend Flojos Andre Slides. We love the slip-on styling that is more dignified than flip-flops, and dispenses with the inevitable rubbing of the thong strap between your toes. The egg crate-style footbed not only provides that aaahhhh comfort we love, but also delivers a massage-like feeling as you walk. We not only like the Andres for the beach, but for apres ski and snowboard wear as well. The vegan-friendly footstrap is wide, which helps keep the slides from sliding off, and it provides some additional support if you’re hiking across rough terrain to the hot tub. The sole is ribbed for traction, but because of the composition, it’s suggested you don’t leave these baking in the sun while you catch a few waves.

Gear obsession has its ugly side—as much as we always want a new jacket, bag, or an unscuffed pair of shoes, we often don’t really need them. That, of course, seldom stops us. But it does lead to clutter—and more than our fair share of recycled cardboard boxes.  But happily Patagonia is helping assuage our guilt.  Partnering with 1% for the Planet, Patagonia Shoes is hosting a variety of events this fall with both online and brick-and-mortar retailers (as well as at the online Patagonia store) in an effort to raise awareness and funds for conservation efforts.  All participating vendors will donate $10 to local initiatives for every pair of Patagonia shoes purchased. The first online event is currently live with Online Shoes, with proceeds benefiting The Conservation Alliance, and ends on October 22^nd, 2012 The second runs on Zappos.com from October 23 to November 24, with proceeds to the Friends of Nevada Wilderness. A state-by-state list of brick-and-mortar retailers who are also participating (along with the specific dates and the local conservation effort that’ll benefit) can be found at Patagonia’s Advocate Weeks website.

As for which pair of shoes to buy?  We’ve already expressed our enthusiasm for the Patagonia women’s Fore Runner and the Naked Maui Mock. But we also really like their aptly-named Advocate line. These minimalist shoes boast a 20-percent recycled EVA footbed, a 15-percent recycled insole, and a durable, 20-percent recycled rubber tread.  The microfiber uppers are durable, yet soft-to-the-touch. The minimalist shoes weigh around 5.5 ounces (depending on the model) and collapse down to next to nothing for simplistic, pack-and-go travels. Of the eight models (four for men, four for women), we’re particularly drawn to the sly styling of the Lace Plaid ($75, pictured above) as well as the new Advocate Chukka ($80), a winter-friendly version with a recycled fleece collar and lining to keep your feet toasty.

“I’ve been struggling with Morton’s neuroma (underfoot nerve pain), a chrome steel hip replacement, and deteriorating knees for years,” he reported.  ”For me, they’ve been a new lease on running. I can even train on pavement with no resulting joint tenderness or foot pain, and minimal soreness in quads and calves.”

For those same reasons, Hokas (available in trail, road, and combo models) have gained quick acceptance among ultra-marathoners and heavier, injury-prone runners. Some minimalist-shoe fans incorporate them into their footwear spectrum for recovery days and high-mileage training. When we first put them on, they felt a bit tall and tippy. Lateral dodging and nubbin edging are not their forte, but a polyurethane rearfoot cradle, and a wide sole platform avoid most ankle rolling, even on sidehills. The underfoot rocker and lack of a heel block make gravelly uphill sprints and muddy descents a bit insecure, but the cushion also meant we could heel strike aggressively on secure downhills.

The actual stride feels like running on stiff marshmallows. Stones disappear underfoot, and the rockered geometry, which incorporates a 4 mm drop between heel and forefoot, creates a natural mid-foot strike and easy forward momentum with no fold point between heel strike and toe push. This works well for devotees of Zen running technique. The shoes look massive, but they come in at a lightweight 11 ounces per shoe.

Hokas don’t work for everybody, but if you have stress injury issues with feet, knees, hips, or lower back, the Mafates are worth checking out. They cost a bit more, but ours still have plenty of cushion after 500 miles of running and hiking, so the value seems there. Mafate 2s run true to size in men’s and women’s, but other Hoka road models we’ve tried can run a half-size small.
-Steve Howe

We spotted Barry Bonds outside the Five Ten booth, picking up a pair of the Freerider Pro Green Zebra shoes (pictured below). For the record, he got size 13. Let us know if anyone sees him screaming on the downhill flow tracks this fall.

www.mychacos.com
If you enjoy the outdoors you have probably heard of Chaco sandals and even if you don’t necessarily call yourself a “Chaconian” MyChacos is still for you. Chaco has launched a one-of-a-kind “Made In America” custom sandal program and it is amazing.  Visit into www.mychacos.com and you will find four styles to choose from, and then it is a blank canvas where you can select everything from the sole pattern to the webbing designs, and even stitching color. Your selections immediately change on the sandal on your screen. Warning, you will lose hours playing with this.  I created probably at least ten different designs and finally narrowed it down to three that I liked best, and still could not decide (the winner is pictured above, the runners-up down below). So I solicited the opinions of family and finally ended up selecting the more conservative design because I thought I would probably wear it with more things (yes I like to match)… I started out with the double strap with toe loop sandal then I went through every webbing option (the two straps can be different!).  After that I selected the color of the heel leash, riser, buckle, buckle strap, footbed…they warn you there is more than tens of millions possibilities. There are two Vibram designs for the sole, one for wet terrain, and the other for loose terrain. Since I usually wear my Chacos at the beach and in water, I went with the wet option. MyChacos are made in Rockford, Michigan, by the ReChaco team and waiting on my creation to arrive in the mail was exciting too. When they arrived they looked just like I had seen online, and it is thrilling to know that no one else will have these! Chacos are great for anything from walking to the store to climbing on rocks through the rushing water of Dunn River Falls in Jamaica and their design and durable materials mean they’ll last a long time, too–but then if you can’t decide, you can always get more than one pair.
-Jennifer Seabolt

www.evolvsports.com,7.7 ounces
People outside of the climbing scene may not know what an approach shoe is, exactly. But, like that horrible cliché about art, almost everyone knows when they like a pair of shoes. Our testers got loads of compliments while wearing the Cruzer, from both the gear-obsessed and the casually outdoor-oriented.  Evolv rightly categorizes these kicks as approach shoes (read: shoes you wear up to the crag); they boast a nice cache of climbing-specific features like high-friction “TRAX” rubber for solid grip on slick surfaces, a barefoot-friendly dual overlap tongue, a minimal-drop EVA midsole, and a heel pull tab that lets you clip ‘em to your pack or harness.  The heel folds down for easy on/off (nice for when you wanna get out of our climbing shoes and migrate from one spot to the next).  But we also love the fashion-forward styling, including the small burst of color along the sole and the brave use of bright textiles in the toffee and red models. The textured, all-cotton exterior and moisture-wicking insole also makes them killer travel shoes in environments where you want to pound the pavement and stop to impress your friends by confidently scrambling up a convenient rock, tree, or lamp post.  As with most climbing and approach shoes, they fit a bit tight; you may want to order up a half-size.

The more we wore ‘em, the more we liked ‘em.  They shined on day hikes, and distributed pedal pressures when for mountain biking with standard toe clips. The modest but sufficient midsole padding was plenty for most uses, and testers soon noticed how sticky they were on slickrock slabs and wet, slot canyon boulders in Capitol Reef or granite boulder hopping in Colorado’s Elks Range.

Comfort was superior. The heel pockets didn’t cause blisters, and there was plenty of toe room for our most paddle-footed testers. Plastic midsole plates protected our feet from “baby-head” trail rocks, and offered enough torsional rigidity to let us edge on nubbins while climbing, yet they flexed longitudinally at the ball of the foot without pinching the tops of our toes. The Nubuck just keeps molding better the more they’re worn.

Plastic loops on the backstays are big enough to clip carabiners through, for those times when you need to hang them off a climbing harness. And, being cheapskates, we definitely like how durable they’ve proven. Despite crack-jamming and nasty talus plunges, they still look good enough to be respectable at weddings.
Available in men’s and women’s
-Steve Howe