I never thought that shoes would compel me to you. But I'm writing to tell you about what has become my favorite new footwear. I've seen people call these the "Ultimate" sandal, which I thought was a bit overboard, but now that I've tried them, I agree.
They're the new Umara Z-Trail sandal from Xero Shoes and the easiest way for you to see what makes them so special is to go to xeroshoes and watch the short video there. The short version, though, is this: If you think about a normal sport sandal, it's big, thick, heavy and stiff.
They take up a lot of room in your bag and kind of weigh you down. The Z-Trail is super lightweight -- as in 75% less -- and only 10mm thick (that's about 3/8"). Frankly, they don't feel like much because they're so thin and light, but when you put them on and go for a walk there are two shocking things. First, the amount of protection is really surprising.
You can feel what's underneath you, but all the bumps and points get really smoothed out. Secondly, they're so flexible that your feet move like they're supposed to. I've run in them, walked in them, hiked in them. I put them in my pocket for after I get off my bike. I'm not sure what I couldn't do in them, really. After wearing the Z-Trail for a while I put on my regular sandals, just to see how they felt, and they felt like bricks. So, I highly encourage you to go to xeroshoes and grab the Z-Trail sandals. After you get them, make sure you post pictures or video of what you do in them!
