Sanuk Sidewalk Surfers

I love my Sanuk Mako Chill Maroon Sidewalk Surfers! These shoe/sandal like creations are the most comfortable footwear I’ve ever owned. I’m the type of person that wears slide sandals nearly year round. The Sanuks give me the same light weight easy to put on and remove comforts of my sandals in a stylish and warmer package. The “beer coozie” footbed adds some cushion while the fuzzy liner is soooooo soft on your feet. The Sanuk are also great for travel as they pack up super small and weight nearly nothing. I also love that I can hang around the climbing gym or kayak take-out and go out for a night on the town in the same kicks.

While these Sanuks are super comfy and easy to wear they do have some faults. The main one being the foot stink that the fuzzy footbed tends to hold. I don’t have particularly smelly feet, but these Sanuks got really stank after only a short time. I have tried hand washing, machine washing and leaving them out in the sun, all to no avail as the stink just won’t go away. There is also little to no arch support in the Sanuk, while not an issue for me could cause issues for others. If you wear these in the snow or rain, the uppers will quickly soak through, but this probably isn’t really an issue as they are not really designed for use in the snow. The traction is also a bit lacking on extremely smooth or wet surfaces.

Overall the Sanuk have held up really well over about a year of hard use living the van life. For such minimal footwear, the durability is surprisingly really good. The comfort and steezy style are what really set them apart from other footwear. I have to say that when I received them, I wasn’t sold on the color or style, but after wearing them, they quickly became my go to footwear most of the year. While the stink is a real problem, they have remained in my footwear quiver, much to my girlfriend‘s chagrin and the detriment of the Sportsmobile‘s air quality.

HOT TIPS:

-Either wear your Sanuks with socks or without, don’t go back and forth. The upper tends to stretch out a bit when worn with socks, which then makes them a bit sloppy when wearing them barefoot.

-Wash your Sanuks often in order to keep the stink to a minimum. Once your nose, or girlfriend, truly objects toss them and get another pair:)

-Sanuk styles and colors change often, so while it might be hard to find the Mako model their will always be something similar out there.

MSRP: $70.00

Pros:

SUPER comfortable!

Mad style

Great for travel (light & easy to pack)

Cons:

STINKY!

Can stretch out

(Disclaimer: I received these Sanuk shoes as review samples at the Summer 2012 Outdoor Retailer trade show. I have no affiliation with and receive no monetary compensation from Sanuk.)