9 Best Backpacking Sandals of 2026

The UBFEN’s insole is soft in a way most trail sandals aren’t. Where a firmer footbed asks your foot to do the work, this one gives a little under the arch and heel and flexes as you roll through a step, which is why it suits long days on moderate ground far better than it suits scrambling over talus.

The toe box is the other half of the story, and the half we care about more. It’s genuinely roomy — wide enough that a foot which normally spills over the edge of a sandal sits inside this one — and the hook-and-loop straps take up the slack around it. We think it’s the best pick here for wide feet, and one of the better ones for anyone who wants cushioning without paying premium money.

Narrow feet will swim in that footbed. There’s enough strap travel to cinch everything down, but the footbed itself doesn’t narrow with it, so if your feet run slim you’ll spend every walk aware of the sandal moving under you. Fit it in the afternoon if you can, because a foot that swells by evening takes up some of that space.

A sandal can’t protect your toes, which is exactly why the Dannto wraps them. The closed front is a bumper against roots, talus, and the rock you kick when you’re tired, and it changes which trails you’re willing to wear sandals on at all.

Water is where they’re strongest. The upper drains, the outsole holds on wet gravel and cement, and the closed toe keeps grit from working forward with every step. The one behavior to know about is that a soaked foot slides a little inside the sandal; snug the heel strap before you step into the creek rather than after, and the problem doesn’t come back.

Comfort held up over long days without a blister, and the toe box is roomy without looking like a duck boot. The hook-and-loop heel strap adjusts length as well as width, which is genuinely useful when you’re between sizes. Where they give ground is width: the fit is wider than normal, so a narrow foot ends up with the straps pulled all the way across. For everyone else this is the most forgiving pair here on rough, wet ground.

Slim, light, and quick to dry: the Plaka Explore is the pair that disappears into a pack and comes out ready to walk. If your sandals spend the approach clipped to the outside of your bag and only see daylight at camp and at the creek, start here.

They hold up better than that role suggests. Durability is near the top of this group, the straps keep the foot in place without constant fiddling, and the arch is contoured enough that a five-mile day doesn’t leave you wanting a different shoe. We were also struck by how little they weigh on the foot — several of us forgot we had them on, which is not something we say about a sandal with this much strap.

What they aren’t is a big-mileage, loaded-pack sandal. This is the pair for the miles you walk without a pack on, plus the ones you walk after you’ve dropped it. As a second pair for camp and crossings, nothing here is easier to justify carrying.

The insole is the pitch: a foam footbed soft enough to feel like a yoga mat underfoot, and plusher than anything else in this group. If your feet complain on hard-packed trail and you want cushioning without spending much, this is the pair that delivers it.

Adjustment is the second strength. Straps at the toes, across the instep, and around the heel all move, so you can shape the fit around a bunion, a high instep, or feet that swell by afternoon. They run true for wide feet and we had no rubbing on the first long day, which is not something we can say for every pair here.

Day hikes, camp, the walk into town — that’s the job, and it’s one they do well. The value is hard to argue with if you treat them as a pair you wear out rather than hand down.

The Original Universal is the sandal you put on when the walking is done, and it’s worth being blunt about that in an article about backpacking. This is Teva’s simplest design — a thin sole and light straps — great for camp, the river, and the drive home, and not something we want under a loaded pack on rough ground.

For that job it’s excellent. At 6.1 ounces they weigh almost nothing in a pack, the straps adjust enough to fit most feet, and the whole thing rinses clean and dries fast. There’s a reason this silhouette has been copied so often — the WHITIN and the YOCCI here are both chasing it, and neither has the same finish.

What we appreciate most is how little there is to go wrong with the fit: two straps, no break-in, nothing to adjust once you’re standing. They’re also the least expensive Teva here, which matters if you want a second pair for camp rather than a replacement for your hiking sandals.

Three hook-and-loop straps, a contoured footbed, and a price below most of this group: the WHITIN C51 is what a first pair of hiking sandals should look like. It’s the one we suggest to someone who wants to try trail sandals without committing to the top pick’s money.

The fit is the good part. Straps at the toe, instep, and heel let you open them up for a swollen foot at the end of the day and cinch them back down in the morning, and the footbed is wide enough that a broad foot doesn’t hang over the edge. The arch is supportive without being aggressive, which is the version most people actually want, and we got no rubbing out of the box.

Where the price shows is in how much sandal you get. These do weekend trips and easy trails beautifully, and we wouldn’t plan a month-long carry around them. As a first pair, or a spare for a friend, they’re easy to recommend.

Almost everything else here is cut for women, so the visionreast earns its place as the men’s pair we’d take on a trail: open-toed, cushioned, and stitched rather than merely glued at the seams.

The sole is the interesting part. An air-cushion midsole takes the sting out of hard-packed trail, and the arch is high enough for feet that usually ache in flat sandals. Wide feet fit without hanging over the edge, and the straps run from the toes to the heel so you can take up volume where you need it. We noted the double stitching on almost every seam, which is more than we expect at this price.

Sizing is the thing to get right: these run a touch small, so if you’re a half size, go up and let the straps take up the difference. Otherwise there’s not much to negotiate — a straightforward, comfortable men’s trail sandal that doesn’t ask much of your budget.

Wet feet slide, and the YOCCI is the clearest illustration in this group. The outsole grips fine on a dry creekside trail, but soak the sandal and the footbed turns slick, so your foot travels inside it while the rubber underneath is still holding. On a wet rock slab that’s the difference between a confident step and a wobble.

Everything else about them is sensible for the money. Three hook-and-loop straps — toes, instep, heel — with padding on the heel strap let you shape the fit, the arch holds up over a long walk, and the footbed takes a wide foot without complaint. Tighten everything before you wade rather than after, and the slide stays manageable; if most of your walking is wet, spend the difference on the Dannto. As the least expensive pair in this guide, they’re the ones to buy when the sandals are a second set for camp rather than your main footwear.