Best Flip Flops
Everybody has heard how important ski boots are, and how you would be wise to spend roughly three times your mortgage payment on your ski boots.
But while I ski a lot, I wear flip flops a lot more: every single day, often all day.
Some might counter, however, that ski boots are crazy expensive, and flip flops are cheap. So who cares?
Flip flops are cheap by comparison. But this is exactly why it makes no sense to buy a lousy pair of flip flops. Actually, it makes no sense not to buy a great pair of flip flops.
The problem is that most everybody claims that whatever flip flop they happen to be wearing is the best flip of all time….
So we’ve set out to find the best flip flops in the world, and for the sake of transparency, here are the criteria we’ve used:
• Must be a true flip: single strap across the top of the foot that anchors between the 1st and 2nd toe, no heel strap.
• Needs to be able to handle 2–3-mile walks or hikes, whether on pavement, sand, dirt, sand and rock, a little bit of loose rock, stream crossings, etc. (Think hikes to the crag.)
• Needs to dry quickly and maintain good traction when wet, as well as in the conditions listed above.
• No leather. We want these to be quick drying, and, in our experience, nylon straps and rubber footbeds tend to do this more quickly.
• Flip flops should not look like they were designed by this guy:
If your flip flops look like something out of a video game or a sci-fi convention, then you need to realize that:
(1) your significant other could be doing significantly better
(2) you’re not in 7th grade anymore
A Few Rules and Qualifications
We narrowed our choices down to a top 5 that was determined by polling BLISTER readers, our friends, and by nominating flips we’ve used. But we will update this list if and when any new flip looks like it could challenge for the title of Best Flip in the World. So this will be an ongoing, King-Of-The-Mountain-style of review, and we’ll see if anything comes along that knocks off our current top selections.
Feel free to make recommendations, just be sure to name specific models from a particular brand. (We know we need to get in some Rainbow flips—still need to determine which model makes the most sense—and Corbian is also on our radar.)
Also, if you wear flip flops only when standing around at BBQs, then any of these ought to do just fine.
Sizing
If you’re between sizes on flip flops, size down. Flips that are too big cause you to “grip” with your toes to keep the sandal from slipping off. That causes you to flex / tension the arch of your foot and tighten your plantar fascia. This may not be a big deal if you aren’t in your flips a lot and aren’t doing a lot of walking, but if you are, it’s something that could lead to foot and Achilles tendon problems.
“Wait, Dr. Oz told me that that flip flops might not be great for my feet?”
We have some advice: if flip flops hurt your feet…don’t wear them.
But this is also why we don’t recommend spending 5 bucks for flip flops, or wearing ones that have super narrow straps.
This Reviewer’s Feet
Street shoe size: 10.5. Left foot is 27.0cm long, right foot is 27.5cm long. Typical ski boot size: 26 / 305mm. High arch, high instep (on a scale of 1-10, I’m an 8 or 9). C-width. Narrow heel. Fairly stable, solid platform. A bit of a pronator.
The Current Contenders
Reef Fanning; Reef Playa Negra; OluKai Kia’i; OluKai ‘Ohana; Chaco Flip
First Up: REEF FANNING
Where to Buy:
Comments:
Questions? Comments? Tell us what you think.
October 6, 2012 at 3:40 am
I highly recommend the Teva Halyard if they are still making them. Super grippy, stable and non-marking, I’ve been wearing various pairs for about the last 10 years daily. Lots of coastal Maine scrambling, hiking, running around Boston, whitewater kayaking, on and off boats, hiking up and running down Katahdin. The weird looking ridge around the perimeter seems to be key in keeping from punting rocks and tearing up toes. The ridiculous thing is that they seem to beat both by booties and creeking shoes in grip, including on ice.
October 6, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Looks like Teva has discontinued the Halyard, Alex. I wonder if their Katavi is sort of an updated Halyard?
October 6, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Somewhat similar wide strap, but the sole is no where near similar. The halyard’s sole looks kinda like a Sperry with very large siped blocks.
October 6, 2012 at 4:30 am
A good flip flop is like a fine wine, it gets better with age. Once the flip flop molds to your foot (which can’t be rushed, it takes years to convince them to take your foots shape…), there is no going back. You don’t choose the flip flop, the flip flop chooses you.
October 6, 2012 at 11:09 am
Maybe the world’s first zen koan about flip flops. We salute you.
October 6, 2012 at 10:03 am
Are you planning on reviewing any Oakleys?
I´m so impressed by mine (don´t know the exact model name,sorry). They handled hours of walking (even hiking across some really rocky trails. To be honest, it was nearly rock climbing at times.) so well, i forgot i was wearing flip flops, which lead to some pretty hairy situations, as i felt as if i was wearing my hiking boots (thats because the Oakleys have a very thick sole, which is premolded to the shape of your foot). I was simply not thinking about slipping any rock, that i forgot theres still the possibility to break your ankle…
Luckily no major injuries happened.
They don´t flip and flop as much as others flip flops and stay more “on” your foot, which is something i have never experienced before.
October 6, 2012 at 10:57 am
Only thing is, Oakley seems to fall pretty squarely in the designed-by-Tron realm.
But if they’re as good as you say…
October 8, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Best Slippers (can’t call em flip-flops) are the locals and surfahs from hawaii less than $5 i’ve climbed all over the place with em, used them as hand planes for bodysurfing and if they break i can fix em with my t shirt. my boss at a marina in oregon used to call them hawaiian work boots. when ever i get home i have to get like 3 pairs to bring back with me cause they dont sell em on the mainland
October 10, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Interesting, Lance. I need to check these out (though it looks like the price has skyrocketed up to…$15!) I admit I’m a little skeptical, but I like the sound of “Hawaiian work boots.”
October 10, 2012 at 1:31 pm
I like my Chaco Flips more than I like most of my family.
October 10, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Hmmm, wondering whether this is a glowing endorsement of the Flip, or a devastating indictment of your relatives…..I’m gonna go with the former, since I’m sure your kin are a lovely bunch.
October 27, 2012 at 8:26 pm
I purchased a pair of Reef Playa’s this summer after wearing exclusively Fannings for the last half dozen years or so. I could not be any happier with the Playas after a full season of use. They have held up very well with almost zero sole wear. I gave them a little bath a couple weeks ago after noticing a little funk while sitting cross legged and they are good as new.
Notes on the Fannings: I popped an air pocket somehow within the first month of owning a pair – pissed. I still have a pair of “shower-shoe” style Fannings for winter use while wearing socks. They have a surprising amount of snow traction due to the bottle opener.
Love the review. I may have to give some OluKai’s a try when I’m in need of another pair, although I foresee these Reefs lasting a good while.
January 6, 2013 at 11:43 pm
Thanks for the feedback, Mark. I’m still liking the Playas – and they certainly are still going strong – though the OluKai Kia’i have continued to be my go to pair, mostly because of their more precise fit (for my feet, at least).
January 6, 2013 at 6:08 pm
no love for rainbows?
they truly do age like fine wine, and last
April 16, 2013 at 12:11 pm
Just bought my first pair of Chaco. I am size 9 for my running shoes (Salomon, North Face) and 9 for my ski boots (Lange), but Chaco size 9 seems like a very tight call for me. Although the size of the sole seems appropriate, when I slip in the heel sits a bit over the edge, and I can’t push the toes far enough in the front. I have tried some OluKai Malolo and it seems like 10 is the appropriate size for me. But I still want to give Chaco one more chance trying a size 10… tough I am just recovering from a skiing accident with nasty consequences for my knee ligaments. So reading this, I guess OluKai would be the way to go. But I am a bit confused regarding the “sizing down” advice.
Anyway, this is the best review I found online so far, so I hope I will hear back an opinion I can really trust. Thanks!
April 16, 2013 at 7:53 pm
Hi, Alin – the recommendation to size down was ONLY if you found yourself between sizes, where you could wear a 9 or a 10, for example. In that case, I’d go with the 9 rather than a 10. But if you found the size 10 OluKai to be the better length, then I think you’ll find that a size 10 Chaco is the correct length, too.
I still love both, by the way, my Chaco Flips and my OluKais. They are quite different, but both are excellent. I’ll be curious to hear which you end up with.
April 17, 2013 at 11:44 am
Hi Jonathan, thanks for getting back to me so quick.
So I went yesterday and tried the OluKai again with this article in mind. 10 indeed fits more comfortable, but it is a bit on the big side. So I see what you are saying about sizing up the flip flops and the problems I could have with size 10 once they break in. So right now I am going to give one more try to my Chacos as I think I should just be more patient about breaking them in. I was always size 9 plain (even 8.5 on my 5-10 climbing shoes), so Chaco size 9 has to be a good size for me.
BTW: great website, glad that I found it browsing reviews for something as lame as flip flops.