8 Best Sandals of 2026

There is no graceful way to put the Newport H2 on. You sit, you haul the back strap over your heel with one hand while the other holds the lacing, and only then does the whole thing clamp down around your foot. That is the trade for a sandal that stays precisely where you put it, and after a few days we stopped resenting it.

What the fuss buys is protection. The toe is closed, so rocks, roots, and the odd submerged log bounce off instead of finding your toes, and the bungee lacing runs through a slider that holds the fit where you set it rather than creeping loose halfway down a trail. Water goes straight through, and the whole sandal is dry again in the time it takes to eat lunch.

This is the pair we trust on wet rock and rough ground, and the only closed-toe design here that doesn’t feel like a compromise. It is also the priciest sandal in this guide by a wide margin, and if your summer is patios and pool decks, that money is wasted. Buy it for the days when your feet are the thing you’d otherwise be worrying about.

The fit runs tight across the instep, and a wide forefoot will feel it — size up or look elsewhere. Once it’s on, the arch support is real and the footbed soaks up enough shock for a full day of walking.

Under a very ordinary-looking strap sits a contoured footbed with a raised arch and a heel cup that actually holds. That is the whole argument for the Phantoms: nothing on the top half announces anything, and the part your foot touches is more shaped than anything else in this group.

We wore these through full afternoons on pavement and the shaping did the work — no hot spot under the instep, no sliding forward until your toes grip the front edge to stay put. The strap is snug without cutting, and the sandal feels more solidly built than its place in the price list suggests. It’s the pick for a man who wants one pair for the summer and doesn’t want to think about the decision again.

Order carefully. Sizing runs small and narrow, so if you’re between sizes or have a wide forefoot, take the larger one. The strap settles in a day or two, and that’s the only break-in these need.

The Newpage does most of what the Keen does for far less money. It’s an open sport sandal rather than a closed-toe one, so you give up toe protection, but you get adjustable straps across the forefoot and instep, a memory foam footbed, and a shape that works with shorts on a beach or jeans on a plane.

The straps are the useful part. Two hook-and-loop closures let you snug the front of the sandal over a high instep or a narrow foot, which is more fit range than most sport sandals offer at this level. Underfoot, the padding is generous and there’s enough arch to keep a long walk from turning into a shuffle.

Sizing is the thing to get right. It runs large for some feet, and a high instep can take a day or two to get used to the strap sitting where it does. Measure your foot rather than trusting the size you wear in sneakers, and try both sandals on before you leave for a trip.

For travel this is the pair we’d pack: forgiving on a swollen foot after a flight, padded enough for a long walking day, and tidy enough for dinner. It won’t protect your toes on a rocky shore and it isn’t a hiking sandal, but that’s the only ground it gives up.

The Lane is a cork footbed slide with one wide strap and a buckle, and it makes no secret of what it’s copying. What matters is that it does the impersonation well: the cork is padded, the strap adjusts over a wide foot, and the whole thing sits with the midrange picks rather than the premium ones.

Sizing runs small, so half sizes should go up, and anyone at the very top of a size should consider the next one along. Wide feet do well here because the buckle takes up the slack on the other side; narrow feet will find the strap long rather than tight.

This is an around-town slide, not a walking shoe. It’s the pair for errands, the farmers market, and a casual Friday, and it looks considerably more expensive than its price suggests. If you want one sandal that handles the market and the patio and nothing more strenuous, we think it’s the best value in this group.

Some trips need one pair that isn’t a flip-flop. The Topic is a flatform espadrille wedge — a uniform platform rather than a thin heel, so you get height without balancing on a point — finished in colors that photograph the way they look on screen. On a cruise or at a summer wedding it’s the pair that stops you from packing heels.

Fit is the caveat. The ankle strap runs wide on some feet and the front strap runs tight on others, so walk around the house in them for an afternoon before you commit them to an event. The footbed is flat, which is fine for a few hours and less fine for a full day of sightseeing.

Treat them as occasion shoes. A handful of pairs have separated after only a few wears, and ours have had an easy life of dinners and photographs rather than daily miles. Buy them for the outfit you already have in mind, not for the everyday slot in your closet.

The Adilette is the least expensive way to solve one specific problem: what goes on your feet between the locker room and the shower, or between the car and the pool. It’s a simple molded slide with a wide band across the top, and it does that narrow job without fuss.

For that job we have no complaints at all. It slips on without hands, drains and dries instead of staying soggy, and the band doesn’t chafe when it’s wet. Ours live by the door in summer and get worn to the beach, the pool, and the corner store — more use than the price would suggest.

It isn’t a walking shoe, and it isn’t trying to be. Size up if you’re between sizes or wide across the foot, then keep them for the locker room, the pool deck, and the back door.

Here’s the surprise in this group: the least expensive sandal is also one of the roomiest. The FITORY runs wide across the forefoot without the strap biting, which is not what we expected from a flip-flop in this bracket, and it’s the pair we’d suggest first to someone whose feet have never fit a slim thong.

It’s light, too. The listed weight is 9.91 ounces a shoe, which is little enough to forget in a bag, and they pack flat — useful for a beach trip, a hostel, or a hotel room floor you’d rather not walk on barefoot. The look is plain in the best sense: nothing about it draws attention.

Sizing is imperfect. Some feet come up short at the top of a size, so if you sit at a 10.5, take the 11; the strap is generous enough that a little extra length doesn’t hurt. Width is the reason to buy these, so start there rather than with the chart.

What these are is a spare pair that punches above its price: the beach bag, the yard, the back door, the guest room. Buy two colors and don’t ask them to be the only sandal you own.