Ecco Yucatan Evaluate | CleverHiker

Backside Line

We worth the Ecco Yucatan Offroad Mountaineering Sandals for his or her sturdy development, mushy but safe straps, and three-point adjustability. They are perfect for hikers searching for ample help and stability, supplied they fit your foot form. Our tester skilled points with the sandals’ narrowness, limiting their use to straightforward, brief trails or round camp, the place she may change them out in the event that they grew to become too uncomfortable. 

When you’re a hiker with slim toes struggling to seek out sandals that aren’t heavy and awkward like picket moccasins (we all know you’re on the market), the Yucatans could also be an amazing choice for you. Whereas they are often costly when not on sale, they’re definitely worth the funding for the proper foot. Apart from being a wonderful match for slim toes, in addition they provide important help for hikers in want of additional ankle stability. The sidebar secures your toes, enabling consolation even when stepping at uncommon angles, and the contoured footbeds present a nice cradle on your foot toes. We now have loads of different choices to contemplate in our climbing sandal gear information.

How We Examined

We loved a month-long campaign with the Ecco Yucatan, sporting them on numerous brief hikes and round camps from Willamette Nationwide Forest, Oregon, to Los Padres Nationwide Forest, California. These sandals match fairly slim, so our tester was restricted in how lengthy she may put on them on her neutral-width toes. Nonetheless, we have been nonetheless in a position to assess their efficiency on several types of terrain and in numerous path conditions.

Consolation

The Ecco Yucatan is good for hikers with slim toes, excessive arches, and excessive insteps. Our tester has none of those traits, so she personally didn’t discover the Yucatans very snug. It’s not a mirrored image on the footwear; they merely aren’t appropriate for her toes or for anybody with wider toes (hers are medium/impartial). 

That stated, we consider these climbing sandals are a boon for individuals with slim toes, as we all know it may be robust to seek out sandals—or any kind of shoe for that matter—that present a safe match for slender toes. Although these didn’t match us properly, we’ll give reward the place reward is due: the higher of those sandals is so sturdy it feels virtually like a sneaker, but permits your toes to wiggle and breathe. The within of the straps is so mushy that, regardless of being tight on our tester, they didn’t trigger any abrasions, blisters, or scorching spots. 

They’re barely padded, which boosts consolation. Individuals who love cushioned climbing footwear will admire the Yucatan’s midsole. It’s plusher than most (a tough, rubbery midsole is typical of climbing sandals), and these provide a bit extra give. Moreover, there’s an interesting contour within the footbed to forestall overpronation or over-supination and hold your heels in place.

Stability

These sandals are actually not meant for the minimalist hiker. Their chunky design gives substantial help, but it surely doesn’t provide a lot flexibility. Hikers, specifically, will discover (and both love or hate) the near-full-coverage higher, which options three independently adjustable Velcro straps. 

In contrast to many different climbing sandals, the Yucatans cowl a lot of the toes, making a safer match than minimalist choices. Whereas some hikers could choose an overlapping strap design for stability, we consider the outside sidebar gives a locked-in really feel. 

Moreover, the padded, contoured footbeds hold your toes safe even when stepping at odd angles. Concerning the midsole, it’s plusher than many different choices however not so mushy that it compromises stability. We discover it strikes a pleasant stability between shock absorption and power return.

Traction

Of the handfuls of pairs of climbing sandals we’ve examined, these have carried out exceptionally properly when it comes to traction. Actually, it makes our tester want they match her higher as a result of the tread is simply that good. We’ve taken the Yucatans throughout a number of varieties of terrain, together with talus/boulder fields, slickrock, pine straw-covered trails, slippery silt, packed filth, and gravel. In no situation has our tester felt unstable or anxious as a result of a scarcity of traction. 

The Yucatan is likely one of the only a few climbing sandals about which we will honestly say that. We have been genuinely shocked about this as a result of, upon analyzing the outsole, the lugs aren’t as deep as they’re on another choices. 

So, visually, these don’t look like the strongest choice, and so they lack the coveted Vibram-branded outsoles present in another decisions. Nonetheless, we consider the numerous tread sample and the safety of the straps, which forestall our toes from sliding round, greater than compensate for any shortcomings in that space.

Sturdiness

The construct high quality of the Ecco Yucatan is spectacular. With neoprene-lined adjustable straps, a molded EVA footbed with a microfiber lining, and leather-based parts, it’s evident that numerous thought went into the design of those climbing sandals. 

The parts are top quality, and that’s apparent once you unbox the Yucatans and slip them in your toes. After a number of wears in numerous situations, we haven’t seen any indicators of damage and tear, apart from some scuffing that’s purely aesthetic. 

These additionally function a sturdy stitching sample on the straps, heel counter, and sidebar. Because the midsole is created from EVA foam, it’ll compress over time, very like trainers do. However, it’s best to be capable of get a stable 500 miles, a minimum of, out of those sandals.

Weight & Packability

The Ecco Yucatan sandals usually are not packable in any climbing sense of the phrase. The pair weighs practically 2 kilos, and the chunky design together with the thick midsole makes them practically not possible—or, on the very least, extremely inconvenient—to pack into any form of climbing pack, whether or not for a day or an in a single day journey. 

Our tester couldn’t discover a appropriate area for them in her Osprey Skarab 30-liter day pack; not even the stuff pocket within the entrance when it was full of substances, meals, and water for a 14-miler. The sandals would have needed to go within the backside of the principle compartment, which doesn’t make sense if the thought is to have them helpful for water crossings. They’d make acceptable camp footwear, however there are extra appropriate and light-weight choices out there. Nonetheless, in case you choose a single pair of footwear for the whole expertise, together with water crossings and tenting, then the Yucatans could possibly be choice. We suggest contemplating a sneaker-like hybrid, such because the HOKA Hopara 2 or KEEN Newport H2.

Ease of Use

The Yucatans function three independently adjustable Velcro straps, making them very straightforward to placed on and take off—in case your toes are on the slim aspect, after all. With our tester’s impartial toes, she needed to wiggle round to get into them and discover a snug match.

It wasn’t the worst expertise, however we don’t suggest these for hikers with vast toes. They are going to be tough (or not possible) to placed on, and so they received’t be snug even in case you handle to wedge your toes into them.

Ought to You Purchase the Ecco Yucatan Mountaineering Sandals?

The Ecco Yucatans are a perfect match for hikers with slim toes who search sandals that present appreciable help. They’re not appropriate for these with impartial toes, positively not for vast toes, and so they aren’t a sensible choice for minimalist hikers.

Whereas they are often expensive when not on sale, we consider the Yucatans tackle a selected market hole and cater to people who usually battle to seek out well-fitting, high quality climbing footwear.

What Different Ladies’s Mountaineering Sandals Ought to You Contemplate?

If the Ecco Yucatans don’t appear fairly best for you, think about these choices, which we expect are a few of the finest climbing sandals total.

Teva Hurricane XLT2 Evaluate: Equally beefy, the Teva Hurricane XLT2s are higher fitted to vast toes. So, in case you love the idea of the Yucatans however know they received’t suit your toes, the XLT2s are a wonderful different. 

HOKA Hopara 2 Evaluate: Arguably extra shoe than sandal, the HOKA Hopara 2s perform like sneakers whereas offering the identical water drainage and breathability as sandals. The perforated mesh higher retains your toes recent and dry, and the toe bumper protects them from path particles. 

KEEN Newport H2 Evaluate: These are just like the Hopara 2s in that they supply full toe safety, glorious traction, and ample help. Nonetheless, they’re narrower, making them a greater match for hikers with slender toes.