I tried on a lot of different pairs of sandals before finally choosing the New Balance 402’s. They have kind of a weird Velcro and buckle system that just didn’t fit my feet though. In larger sizes, the buckles might be fine, but in my size I just couldn’t tighten them down enough. After staring at the problem for a while I finally cut the buckles off the shoe and added some metal key ring loops. I threaded the Velcro straps through the new loops and now they fit like a charm.

Removing the buckles (along with several labels) also reduced the weight of the sandals a little bit. Even before modifications these were the lightest sandals I could find by far.

If weight wasn’t such an important issue I would have chosen Chaco sandals, but out of all the pairs of sandals I own, the Chaco’s are the heaviest. They actually weigh more than some trail running shoes! Other good sandals include those made by Teva and the Nike ACG sandals are worth a look as well.