There are some conflicts that go down in history as the most contentious, the most personal, the most brutal. Senators versus Maple Leafs. Rebel Alliance versus Galactic Empire. Brown Gargantua versus Green Gargantua. But some conflicts are notoriously one-sided, like men and sandals. Men have fought like rabid tigers against putting sandals on their feet, and it’s time to ask why.
Why do men hate men’s sandals? Sure, glossy fashion magazines may decry the sandal as inappropriate men’s footwear (along with the sandal’s more laid-back cousin, the flip-flop), but since when do men listen to what fashion magazines say? You most likely have more summer “don’ts” in your closet than “do’s,” so you may as well get wise to the facts. Let’s examine some of the reasons men should enter detente with sandals, with examples.
They’re high-tech. Vented sole to drain off water? Check. Contoured compression molded footbed? Check. Waterproof, lightweight and tough?Check.Even men’s sandals with arch support, check and check. These aren’t the primitive leather-and-hemp, footgear of the mountain hermit, they’re the tightly-engineered, stripped-down ATVs of the shoe world. From the sophisticated textiles and fabrication, to the quality engineering and construction, sandals have become technology. NASA wishes it had these materials when they went to the moon.
They’re versatile. While you can get sandals for doing nothing more strenuous than crossing a hot parking lot to get an ice-cream sandwich, there are sandals made for watersports, hiking, and other adventure activities. There’s no reason you can’t wear sandals for most outdoor activities, which brings us to the best thing about sandals for men.
They’re comfortable. Seriously, when you go to the beach, do you notice how you rarely select long wool pants and a toque? Not too often? Because that would be too warm for the beach, right? Well, there’s no reason to keep your feet wrapped up like sweaty mummies when they could be cool and relaxed, catching the offshore breeze, enjoying the mist from a nearby waterfall, or just splashing around in a kiddie pool at a backyard barbecue. Really, however you spend your summer it’s time for an end to hostilities. Men and sandals. Lets be friends.
