Ecco Yucatan Evaluation | CleverHiker

Backside Line

We worth the Ecco Yucatan Offroad Mountaineering Sandals for his or her sturdy building, gentle 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 simple, 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 slender ft 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 important choice for you. Whereas they are often costly when not on sale, they’re well worth the funding for the correct foot. Moreover being a wonderful match for slender ft, additionally they supply important help for hikers in want of additional ankle stability. The sidebar secures your ft, enabling consolation even when stepping at uncommon angles, and the contoured footbeds present a pleasing cradle in your foot ft. We’ve loads of different choices to contemplate in our mountaineering sandal gear information.

How We Examined

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

Consolation

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

That mentioned, we consider these mountaineering sandals are a boon for individuals with slender ft, 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 ft. Regardless that these didn’t match us nicely, we’ll give reward the place reward is due: the higher of those sandals is so strong it feels nearly like a sneaker, but permits your toes to wiggle and breathe. The within of the straps is so gentle 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 mountaineering sneakers will recognize the Yucatan’s midsole. It’s plusher than most (a tough, rubbery midsole is typical of mountaineering sandals), and these supply a bit extra give. Moreover, there’s an interesting contour within the footbed to forestall overpronation or over-supination and preserve your heels in place.

Stability

These sandals are definitely not meant for the minimalist hiker. Their chunky design gives substantial help, however it doesn’t supply 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 mountaineering sandals, the Yucatans cowl a lot of the ft, making a safer match than minimalist choices. Whereas some hikers could want an overlapping strap design for stability, we consider the outside sidebar gives a locked-in really feel. 

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

Traction

Of the handfuls of pairs of mountaineering sandals we’ve examined, these have carried out exceptionally nicely by way of 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 sorts of terrain, together with talus/boulder fields, slickrock, pine straw-covered trails, slippery silt, packed filth, and gravel. In no state of affairs has our tester felt unstable or anxious resulting from a scarcity of traction. 

The Yucatan is among the only a few mountaineering sandals about which we are able to in truth 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 seem like the strongest choice, they usually lack the coveted Vibram-branded outsoles present in another selections. Nevertheless, we consider the numerous tread sample and the safety of the straps, which stop our ft 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 quite a lot of thought went into the design of those mountaineering sandals. 

The parts are prime quality, and that’s apparent while you unbox the Yucatans and slip them in your ft. After a number of wears in varied situations, we haven’t seen any indicators of wear and tear and tear, apart from some scuffing that’s purely aesthetic. 

These additionally function a sturdy stitching sample on the straps, heel counter, and sidebar. For the reason that midsole is constructed from EVA foam, it can compress over time, very like trainers do. However, it’s best to be capable of get a strong 500 miles, no less than, out of those sandals.

Weight & Packability

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

Our tester couldn’t discover a appropriate house for them in her Osprey Skarab 30-liter day pack; not even the stuff pocket within the entrance when it was full of drugs, meals, and water for a 14-miler. The sandals would have needed to go within the backside of the primary compartment, which doesn’t make sense if the thought is to have them useful for water crossings. They’d make acceptable camp sneakers, however there are extra appropriate and light-weight choices out there. Nevertheless, when you want a single pair of sneakers for all the expertise, together with water crossings and tenting, then the Yucatans could possibly be a great choice. We advocate 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 simple to placed on and take off—in case your ft are on the slender aspect, in fact. With our tester’s impartial ft, she needed to wiggle round to get into them and discover a comfy match.

It wasn’t the worst expertise, however we don’t advocate these for hikers with vast ft. They are going to be tough (or unattainable) to placed on, they usually received’t be comfy even when you handle to wedge your ft into them.

Ought to You Purchase the Ecco Yucatan Mountaineering Sandals?

The Ecco Yucatans are an excellent match for hikers with slender ft who search sandals that present appreciable help. They’re not appropriate for these with impartial ft, undoubtedly not for vast ft, they usually aren’t a good selection for minimalist hikers.

Whereas they are often dear when not on sale, we consider the Yucatans deal with a selected market hole and cater to people who typically battle to seek out well-fitting, high quality mountaineering sneakers.

What Different Girls’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 number of the greatest mountaineering sandals total.

Teva Hurricane XLT2 Evaluation: Equally beefy, the Teva Hurricane XLT2s are higher suited to vast ft. So, when you love the idea of the Yucatans however know they received’t suit your ft, the XLT2s are a wonderful different. 

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

KEEN Newport H2 Evaluation: These are much like the Hopara 2s in that they supply full toe safety, wonderful traction, and ample help. Nevertheless, they’re narrower, making them a greater match for hikers with slender ft.