KayakGearReviews.org

Chaco Paradox Sandal
Reviewed by Coy Starnes
Edited by Kathryn Doiron

Test is currently – Complete

REVIEW ITEM: Chaco Paradox Sandal

MANUFACTURER: Chaco
WEBSITE: http://www.chacousa.com
Materials: Polyester webbing uppers, EVA midsole, non-marking butyl rubber sole
Colors available: Gun metal or Chocolate
Sizes available: US Men’s 7 – 14, US Women’s 5 – 11
Size tested: US Men’s 12
weight: not listed
Weight from tester: 1 lb 8 oz (0.68 kg) for the pair
MSRP: $110 USD

Product Description
The Paradox is an interesting looking shoe/sandal. It gets its name from the fact that it is not really a shoe and not really a sandal, in other words, a paradox.  I would have a hard time saying which category it belongs in myself but it is airy like a sandal and offers support much like a shoe so in effect, the paradox offers the best of both.  The website has this to say. “It’s a shoe. It’s a sandal. It’s a Paradox. Polyester webbing surrounds your feet with quick-drying breathability, while the cushioned midsole and BioCentric™ footbed ensure a supported stride on water, land and everything in between.”

My Initial Observations

The Paradox is a good looking shoe, and while I plan to use it primarily as a water shoe, it could easily be worn with most anything from jeans to beach wear. This is my first pair of Chaco’s but I have always heard they have a unique feel about them and now I see why. When I first tried them on for fit I was immediately struck by just how comfortable they feel.  I think it is mostly from the way the BioCentric footbed wraps around my instep but they just feel right.

In looking at the shoe the most standout feature is the webbing used for the uppers.  They form a pretty solid pattern with just enough gaps for good ventilation.  There is just one adjustment strap which goes right over the instep.

The next most noticeable feature is the sole of the shoe. It has a lot of diamond like protrusions and looks fairly aggressive.    The photo below was taken after my first paddle in the shoes  and shows quite a bit of mud on the sole.  I’m not sure if this was because the mud I happened to be in was extra sticky, or if the shoes will tend to hold mud in the tread.

The removable insole of this shoe is different than any I have ever seen. It is really stiff from the arch area back to the heel and contoured to cradle the foot.  Chaco calls it the  BioCentric footbed. The website goes into quite some detail on how the footbed is designed but this quote sums it up nicely. “Nearly 80% of the population over pronates, which can lead to a variety of injuries throughout the body. Chaco BioCentric™ Fit controls pronation and may help prevent or correct the following injuries:”  I’m not going to list all the injuries but the list goes from head to toe…literally.  Here are a couple of photos of the footbed. In the first on it is laid out flat. The second one shows the heel area as viewed from the end.

Initial Ues
The day after getting the Paradox shoes I wore them on an 8 mile (13 km) paddle. We started at around 10 AM and it was already warm and humid at around 84 F (29 C).  I put sunscreen on my legs right down to the top of the shoes.  When I got home and took them off I saw I had a nice sunburn right on top of my foot where the two biggest grids in the webbing appear on the shoes.

But other than that the shoes performed great. I did get a few pieces of  gravel inside the shoes at one particular place we stopped.  I took them off at the landing spot long enough to rinse most of the gravel out. Then when getting back under way I got more  gravel in the shoes, but since I was using my Sit-On-Top, I just took the shoes off long enough to rinse them out once I was out on the water again. At the take out I didn’t have any problems with gravel getting in the shoes but when I got home I did see a lot of mud had stayed on the soles. But overall, the shoes performed very nicely on this paddle.

After getting home I took a few minutes to clean the shoes with my garden hose and left them out overnight to dry.  When cleaning them I took out the insoles to get the few remaining  gravel out from under them and left them out overnight. The next morning the insoles were dry and so were most of the shoes, but the part the insole rests on was still damp.  By noon the inside part was completely dry.  I then put them on for a short 2 mile (3 km) hike. I probably should have worn socks because I did develop a blister on my right foot, right at my heel.  Interestingly, the left foot was fine. I really didn’t feel the blister developing, but now that it has become tender it is quite painful.   When I put the shoes back on a few days later it was obvious that my right foot can move inside the right shoe more so than the left one does in the left shoe.  I know most folks feet are slightly different but I think it is fairly common for one to be slightly bigger than the other.  Apparently my left foot is my bigger foot.   That’s all for now but feel free to check back in a couple of months too see how the shoes are performing

Update: January 6, 2011

I have now had pretty much a full season of use in which to evaluate the Chaco Paradox sandals.  I have worn them kayaking well over 30 times and on several exercise hikes to a creek behind my house.  I also wore them as casual shoes to town etc, but I probably wore them more at work than anywhere else.  I work on concrete and tile floors, and while I don’t have to walk all that much at work, I am standing a lot, and the Paradox footbeds have got to be one of the most comfortable for standing on these type floors I have ever used.  Another thing I really appreciate about these shoes is that they are very cool in hot weather. This past summer was very hot and dry, with temperatures at or near 100 F (38 C) for a month and a half and the Paradox’s seemed in their element.

When I wore them kayaking I did not use socks. After getting the sunburn that matched the grid pattern of the shoe during my fist use of the shoes on a sunny spring day I never had this problem again.  Probably more due to the fact that during the hotter weather I paddled late in the afternoon and even after dark. In this photo I am wearing them on a local river which was shady most of the time.

I did find that the Paradox are best if used where the launch and landing areas were pretty sandy as apposed to places that were muddy or had lots of gravel, mainly because the open mesh weave of these shoes will allow a lot of debris inside the shoes. Fortunately, most of my paddles otiginated from a concrete boat ramp and I just stayed on the boat ramp to launch.  And since I was paddling in a familiar area of the lake most of the time, I was able to use several good sandy landings I am familiar with.  The one exception was when I paddled up a few of the local creeks.  They either had muddy landings, or worse, mud and gravel landing areas.  I spent a lot of time cleaning my shoes after such landings but fortunately, with my Sit-On-Top kayak it was pretty easy to do.  I would just get back on my kayak and hang my feet over the side and kick my feet back and forth and let the water take care of the cleaning. Sometimes I did have to take a shoe off when a gravel or shell was sturborn but usually just swishing my feet around did the trick.

However, I recently bought another kayak.  This kayak is SINK so hanging my feet over the edge to clean them was not really an option.  This kayak is also very tipsy compared to my Sit-On-Top.  However, this turned out to be a non issue because I found out that the Paradox were a little big to wear inside this kayak and I ended up using my Teva Cherry Bombs when paddling this kayak.

Even though the Paradox are considered a water shoe they are slow to dry. In fact, when I would get home after dark they remained just about as wet overnight as they were when I first took them off. I would remove the insoles and spread them and the shoes out on my deck bench and if it was hot and sunny the next day they would usually be dry by noon.  The deck is on the east side of my house so they got full sun.  I did go on a couple of early morning paddles and instead of placing them on the deck when I got home I placed them on my front porch which catches the evening sun.

As a hiking shoe, I have mixed feeling about the Paradox sandals.  I had issues when wearing them without socks if I hiked over 2 miles (3 km) in them. So after the first couple of trips I have just resolved myself to wearing them with socks when hiking.  I used some rather thick low top socks to avoid any heel blisters but on all but the cleanest trails, I found myself needing to stop a lot to get debris out of the shoes.  And the Paradox are not as easy to slip on and off as more traditional sandals so I usually had to hike a little ways to find a good place to sit down. I could usually tolerate small twigs etc but a small but sharp rock was another matter.  On a few occasions I remember getting a small rock inside the shoe that would not wait and had to sit down in the trail to clean the shoe out. But the biggest problems I had with them as a hiking shoe was the fact that since I needed to wear socks I was not as apt to go wading in the creek when on a hike.

The traction these shoes provide is excellent.  Since I wore them more during the hot dry summer I did not have to contend with a lot of muddy trails but I still managed to find places that were slick and muddy.

Back to kayaking. The last time I used the Paradox was on a rather chilly paddle with a temperature of 44 F (7 C).  I decided to see if the sandals would work with my Kokatat Tempest pants.  They are dry pants with built in socks.  I put on a pair of thin socks inside the pants and found that the Paradox fit over this very well. And since my feet were inside the waterproof sock built into the pants I did not get my feet wet.  I only paddled about 5 miles (8 km) total, partly on the lake and then up a small creek, but I was out for several hours. My feet stayed pretty warm but not as warm as when I wore my rubber boots in similar conditions.  I did however, see a couple of deer.  I was resting with my feet up on the sides of my kayak when I spotted the deer so I garbed my camera and took a quick photo.  In other words, this was not a staged gear shot but since my left shoes was in the photo I thought I’d share.  Click on the image to see full size and see if you can spot the deer.

Final Thoughts
The Paradox are not a true sandal or shoe but do a pretty good job in filling the requirements for both types of footwear.  However, I feel like they would serve my needs better if the tops were solid instead of the open weave, mainly because I got too much junk in the shoe when hiking. Then when I need a shoe for water use I would prefer a more traditional sandal. I do like that these shoes offer more toe protection than my sandals though.  Anyone considering these should also make sure that they will fit inside their kayak if planning to use them for this activity. And last, for standing long hours on hard surfaces the BioCentric™ footbed used in the Paradox is truly amazing.

Personal Information
Name: Coy Starnes
Gender: Male
Age: 47
Height: 6 ft (1.8 m)
Weight: 240 lb (109 kg)
Email: starnescr@yahoo.com
Location: Grant Alabama

Paddling Bio: I have been canoeing for around 27 years but just recently got the Kayaking bug. I purchased a used Perception Carolina 14.5 kayak in the summer of 2008 but found the cockpit was a little cramped for my taste. I bought an Ocean Kayak Prowler 15 which is a Sit-On-Top and found it much better suited for my needs. I kayak on local waters here in Northeast Alabama which includes Guntersville Lake as well as many rivers and creeks. So far I have not done any whitewater kayaking but have tackled a few class II streams. I consider myself a strong paddler but still need to work on my technique as I am slower than a few of the locals I paddle with.

Read more posts by coyboy.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 and is filed under Footwear Sandals.