Intro:
In the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall, Chris introduces us (the readers) to the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons. A whole culture of ultra marathon running people. The Tarahumara, in turn introduce us to there hand made sandals the "Huaracha". They make there sandals out of old tire tread and leather laces to protect their feet on long runs from sharp rocks and cacti.
When I read that book, I was absolutely inspired to make my own DIY Huaraches, and walk/run in them daily. Over four years and five hundred miles later, this review is ready!
I reviewed my favorite sandals on a five stare ranking system. each stare is a point on these shoes. It's a clunky system that gets the points across. Stay tuned!
Star 1. Barefoot.
a. Very zero drop
b. Unlimited toe box
c. No Cushion
The greatest part of these sandals are there extremely barefoot nature. On all our product reviews we look at how the shoe will affect your feet and walking. These sandals are very good for your feet. By their very nature being made from tire rubber (in this case from a lawn mower tire) they have the exact same thickness front to back, aka “Zero Drop.” by not having heel lift, your feet can stand perfectly parallel to the ground they are walking on which allows for healthy walking and running form.
The toe box on these Huaraches are non existent allowing for healthy toe splay and flexion. Literally an unlimited toe box. The other great perk of making a sandal out of recycled tire material is the lack of cushion provided by the sole of the shoe. My huaraches allow my feet to strengthen themselves and be their own natural cushion. From wearing these sandals my feet have built up cushy pads on their sols allowing me to walk great distances comfortably.
Star 2. Safety:
a. Heavy sole protects bottom of foot.
b. open toe, so no upper protection.
c. secure on foot
You may have seen this… in the barefoot communities, we tend to divide into two head-strong factions. On the one hand there are the more moderate normally-shodden barefooters (which sounds like an oxymoron to outsiders...). They still ware shoes and socks everywhere they go even after transitioning to barefoot. Moderate barefooters say that they get all the benefits of being truly barefoot without building calluses, or risking injury.
On the other hand are the hardcore barefootists. These crazes have sworn off all shoes for the maximum amount of time, and they make us more moderate barefootists jealous on the internet (Check out FB's group "Black Sole Tribe"). They clam that we were born without shoes, so we will continue to live without shoes, and some day... die without shoes.
Honestly there is balance to both perspectives, and most of us barefoot junkies fall somewhere in between that spectrum: sometimes shodden, sometimes not. Moderation in all things, I say!
Historically, we put on shoes to protect our feet from harm. Humans developed on the African plains 2,000,000 years ago running barefoot across the savannas, a relatively stable, sharp-rock free, and harmless environment to our feet. People there still often run around barefoot. As we moved out and conquered the world we ran into environments that our soft feet were never designed to endure such as high rocky slops, cactus filled valleys, and large fields of ice. For those, our ancestors put on shoes.
So today, as barefootists, there are times to put on shoes to protect our feet. Some of us spend our lives avoiding dangerous areas, others try and push their bodies to the limed to see how strong their feet can get, others yet go barefoot as much as is right, and put on shoes for extra protection.
My DIY heavy soled huaraches do a great job of protecting the soles of my feet. The thick tire rubber is near impenetrable from below and spreads out the sharp point of rocks to a manageable aria (in other words: won’t bruise the sole of my foot.) These sandals are obviously open toed which does allow for dangers from above to assault my precious feet. You can’t swing an axe in them, lest you miss and slice your foot open, and you shouldn’t run a chainsaw lest it buck and take your toes right of. Fortunately most people are not playing lumber jack in their running shoes.
Speaking of running shoes these sandals are superb running foot wear! They’re incredibly light weight, the sole protects from painful distractions on the run, and the lacing is very secure. By having the lacing connect to the sole up in front of the heel, your foot is well latterly supported. This insures a stable running serves on the foot bed, and a smother run in general. I never like it when a shoe seems to “flop around” on my foot while I run, and the great lacing on these huaraches helps to avoid this problem.
Star 3. Craftsmanship.
a. Hand made w/ love
b. Edges not perfect from lack of experience
The book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall showed us the incredible simplicity of huaraches as DIY running foot ware. It took me about 2 hours to make my pare and they have lasted years of hard use. You really can’t botch up making these sandals yourself. With that said, I know I can do better in the future making these sandals.
My edges are not as smooth as I like, and I think next time I will add a leather foot bed to the top of these sandals as that will wick sweat better. Call me biased here... DIY shoes have a certain pride to their imperfections and these are no exception. Full star for craftsmanship!
Star 4. Material Quality.
a. Very low cost (aka: "free") materials
b. Durable/sustainable materials
Not much to say here. Bit of paracord, bit of tire rubber and you have yourself a next to free shoe that can service years of hard use, and hundreds of miles of running.
In our modern age we have pushed consumerism so much that we forgo building things that actually last. With shoes we tend to buy a pair ware it for a year and then through it away to get a new pare. This puts so much waste in our landfills that cant decompose. We make our shoes so that they “look cool” but cant be resoled or repaired when they start to break down. I think we need to fix this. By focusing on footwear that is durable, and sustainable aka reparable, we can save this planet and ourselves. I think these huaraches embody that idea. Made from recycled materials, built to last.
Star 5. Design
a. Simple/ghetto design (third world maybe?)
b. Very casual (aka: Polar opposite of dressy)
c. Gets noticed... like, a lot.
This is where these sandals suffer... just a little. My huaraches are beautiful... I mean, I am very proud that I made and ware them, but (don’t get me wrong) they are u-u-ugly when compared to more professionally done shoes.
The first thing people ask when they walk up is: “did you make those yourself?”
Ralph… I'm found out!
“Yep!” I proudly tell them, “Do you like them?”
At this point people tend to try steering the conversation away, not wanting to answer my return question. Honestly, these sandals are very ghetto. They look straight out of some third world country, and in truth they are. Don’t go wearing these sandals when you want to fit in, ware them to stand out! DIY'ers pride aside, I just can't give these running sandals this point and still sleep at night. If you want to look good, and feel good go with a Wildlings "Nebula," or a Lems Bolder Boot... don't go making your own shoes ;).
Verdict:
These are fantastic shoes! 4 out of 5 stars! Share your thoughts in the comments below. We'd love to see pics of your DIY Huaraches!
Check out My video on YouTube reviewing These Huaraches:
https://youtu.be/DX4s5D3ZiRM