Huarache Sandal Initial Review

I am a huge fan of Vibram Five Fingers, but they do have some issues.  They stink, are expensive, give you pruny feet after long damp days, and tend to collect sand during wading.  They also get slimy and seem to stretch when they're wet.

The Huarache Sandals made by Invisible Shoes seemed to address many of these issues, so I bought some.  I planned to use them for wading, going to school, and perhaps hiking and running in.

The package arrived reasonably quickly, and was just in time for an upcoming kayak adventure.  Hopefully I will enjoy wearing these in the boat.

Getting back on track, the package I received contained:
2 Black Nylon cordage Laces
2 6mm Rubber Soles
1 Bobby Pin
1 Hole Punch
1 Set of Instructions

I am not sure what the bobby pin was for.  Perhaps for helping push the laces through the holes?
It seems a little flimsy for that though.  As for the instructions, they are more about barefoot running in general than how to assemble the shoes.  I think this is perfectly acceptable as the instruction on the website are more than adequate.

Some assembly required!

The hole punch.

Check out the tan lines from the Vibrams!

To assemble a set of these sandals you have to punch a hole for the laces between your toes, then thread the laces through.  I didn't want to put the hole in the wrong spot, so I made some cardboard mock ups of the sandals to experiment with first.

Once I was happy with the hole placement I proceeded to make a hole in the rubber.  Punching through the rubber was harder than I expected.  It required multiple hard hits with the hammer to get through the 6mm rubber.  This says good things about puncture protection from glass and such.

After I had made the holes, I tied a figure eight knot in one end of the cord and started lacing up the sandals.  Getting the laces through the holes was a challenge, so I used needle nose pliers to help.

Once I had the sandals laces I spent bucket loads of time messing with the laces, finding out how best to tie them up.  I found the instructional video from the Invisible Shoes website a good place to start.  I opted to add an extra loop of string across the top of my foot, in the same spot where the strap on my Vibrams strap goes.  This seemed to help hold the shoe in place better.

Once I had messed with lacing for a while I went for a hike.  I went up and down steep hills, over rocks and roots, and through water.  The shoes performed reasonably well.  I will go through the things I liked first, then the things I didn't like/need to fix.

Things I liked:

• Traction was great.  It seemed better than with the Treksports that I usually wear for races.  
• My feet stayed cool because they weren't covered up.
• My feet and the shoes dried out almost instantly.  No more soggy feet!
• When rocks and stuff did get in the shoes, they fell right out.  This is because the cord laces don't keep them fenced in like normal sandal straps would.  
• The shoes felt very secure, and didn't ever feel like they would fall off.  
• When the knot under my toes eventually breaks down, it will be simple to fix.  These shoes are far lower maintenance than Five Fingers.  
• The rubber sole doesn't have a fabric over it like in the Vibrams, this seems to help keep my foot from sliding around as much.  

Things I didn't like/need to fix:

• The soles are slightly too long, I need to trim them down about 3/4 on an inch.  They caught on stuff a couple times and made floppy slapping noises.
• The laces rubbed slightly in some places.  I had them too tight though, so hopefully I won't need to tape around the laces in those areas.
• When going down hills the laces put pressure between my toes.  With Vibrams the pressure is distributed evenly across my foot because all my toes press against the end of each toe pouch.  
• The shoes were uncomfortable at first, because I had them laced way too tight.  I found that you need to lace them so that you can easily slip a finger or two under the laces. 
• The knot showed a bit of wear.  My walking form wasn't great today however, so it may have been ground on more than usual.
• These take longer to put on than Vibrams.  I might be able to change that with a different lacing method.
• I can't make footprints with toes any more!

The tread pattern on the soles

Some wear on the knot

You can see where my foot was, and how there is a lot of extra rubber past my toes.

3/4'' looks like the right amount to remove

Overall I am quite pleased with the sandals.  I think they will be excellent for wearing at school, and in the water.  I might do some running in them, but I will definitely stick to my Treksports for Adventure Races and such.  Having the tops of my feet protected from raspberry canes is important to me, as it makes wearing bike shoes a lot more comfortable.  Wearing the Vibrams also speeds up my transition times.  The jury is still out on whether these will come backpacking or not.  They would be nice during wet hikes, but its a lot of extra weight for something I don't really need.  If I was going to hiking along sandy beaches though, I suspect I would bring them.  Or I could just go barefoot.