Hiking footwear on sand

I'm planning a two-day hike, camping on the sand on the beach in South Florida, trying out some new stuff. I'm thinking this FLAT, non-technical walk might not require my Columbia hiking boots. Anyone (such as desert hikers) have recommendations on good hiking footwear for sand?

There might be a little surf-wading so the shoes might get wet a few times. I plan on having a 15-18 pound pack. I've always worn high-top hiking boots; this might be a good time to try a low, lightweight hiking shoe (in this case, two of them.) Any suggestions?

I haven't tried them, but these look interesting:

https://www.otbboots.com/main.html

and they get a good review on a site called military morons.

I have used Keen Newport H2's and Teva Dozers for dayhikes with a 25+lbs pack in a variety of terrain, but never constant sand. Not sure why, but both shoes provided a surprising amount of stability.

“Anyone (such as desert hikers) have recommendations on good hiking footwear for sand?”

We have a state park in IL, Sand Ridge State Park, that has 44 miles of pure sand trails. It’s mostly flat, but it’s an incredible workout. One step forward is one half step back. I backpack there a lot as they have some nice pine tree backcountry camp sites and cactus (yes cactus and Pine trees in IL).

No matter what you do, you will get sand in the shoe and you’ll need to dump it ever so often.

And you know my answer :): open toe sandals. They can’t be closed toe because those are a pain with sand. The tricks that help me keep the sand out from underneath my feet are:
1. need a slight ridge around the sandal (I use terra fi2 teva).
2. thick cushy sock; preferably coolmax for fast drying (not wool or cotton).
3. cinch the straps tight. This prevents sand from enveloping your foot; but not so tight as to cut off blood supply .
4. 3/8” to 1/2” extra in the front (I buy one size big)
5. This is critical: The less material, the better--- for collecting and holding sand. It sounds counter intuitive doesn’t it?

All this minimizes sand entrance. I, very seldom, had to dump the sand out of my sandals--- around 10x less than the shoe guys. Also the sandal loves getting wet--- perfect for the beach. Hiking in wet slushy sand is hard on sandal straps. Cheap ones will fail (rip out). The sandal allows the foot to be very airy and minimizes if not eliminates prune feet from wet sand hiking.

Some hardened beach walkers can do sandals w/o socks, but I can’t (I’m talking hiking 10 miles).

Good luck with your foot zen.

-Barry

I've spent quite a bit of time walking in the sand on the Lake Michigan shore around Holland and Grand Haven. It's next to impossible to keep it out of your shoes. The best footwear to use, from my experience, is a sandal. Like Barry, I have a pair of Teva Terra Fi2's. They're perfect for that terrain.

I don't use socks when it's warm, which is the only time I tend to be walking on the Lake Michigan shore (it's probably under about 10 feet of ice right now).

Some of the local trails here are in the river bottom areas and get quite sandy. I'm not a fan of sandals all the time, so if I wear my trail shoes, I generally wear short gaiters with them. My thinking is that you cannot stop sand, but you can help reduce it.

Another idea... enjoy the sand and the surf and just go barefooted. Carry a light sandal/flip flop in case you need to run into town. Otherwise... enjoy the sand between your toes! How's that for lightweight?!?!

How far ya hiking, Kevon?
I've hiked in all kinds of sand but the worst was beach sand. Sandals were fine for short distances but with a long hike, more than a couple miles, I'd rather keep the sand and water away from my skin. Wet sand and sandals gave me some serious hot spots. Trail runners with a gusseted tongue worked OK in packed wet sand but not loose sand. Boots, again with a gusseted tongue, worked best in all sand. Boots with gaters work best if you are hiking dunes.
I've tried going barefoot too, but after a while the balls of my feet started catching heck.

I've used trailrunners with mini-gaiters on them - they work pretty good for keeping it out if it's the elastic type
mini-gaiter with a nice close fit. Alternatively boots and gaiters.

The other problem is there is sand and then there is sand. some beaches have nice sand that packs wonderfully and you can just cruise along. similarly once the gravel size gets big enough you can just cruise along, however there is definately a wide range of sand sizes that turns into the "evil sand" that
nothing packs it down and it's almost as bad as postholing in snow.

Kevon,

I won't recommend a shoe or sandal, I think those have all been covered, but I will recommend a sole. From my military days, we would have our boots resoles with sand soles.
Hopefully my picture shows. Sometimes these soles are called ripple soles. You don't have to buy shoes with them, just take the shoes you want and have them re-soled on. Most cobblers I have seen have them in stock. I will finish with this, they make a BIG difference when walking in loose sand.

I like trailrunners in the dry desert sands but as you figure on getting wet in the surf, my choice might be good sandals you can walk far in with no problems. I like both Chaco and Keen sandals bur you have to be used to them before the hike of course. The thing there is, they do rub sand on certain points and will give you some skin damage after the miles add up. In a few weeks your feet do get tough in those spots but that won't help for the first few days. When we do our 30 mile+ hikes in southern Utah, in and out of shallow streams constantly, we put on some kind of liquid skin on the points we know will rub. Girlfriend keeps the stuff and I forget the brand name.

The one thing that really helps a lot over sand is trekking poles. They make life a lot easier and movement much more flowing.

I've done quite a bit of hiking on sandy Costa Rican, Mexican, and Chinese beaches in my Chacos (Z1). Have you considered those?