Sandal helps stamp out over-pronation (and looks great)

For summertime travel — not to mention wading across streams and scrambling over boulders — I’m a big fan of Chaco sandals from a feisty Colorado company run by Mark Paigen, a former whitewater-rafting guide.

Amphibious, durable and bearing the seal of the American Podiatric Medical Assn., Chaco’s BioCentric footbed, with its sculpted heel cup and arch support, was designed to combat muscular stress caused when the feet roll too far inward (known as over-pronation). As a result, the sandal can be worn comfortably all day while tramping across the old stones of the Roman Forum or over slickrock in southern Utah.

I’m still wearing the original style, with its continuous pull-through strap and single buckle (which lasts longer than Velcro) and probably will until I turn 100 because these shoes carry a lifetime warranty. But since I discovered Chaco, sharp new styles have been introduced, enhancing their versatility for travel.

The little Colorado start-up was recently purchased by Rockford, Mich.-based Wolverine World Wide Outdoor Group, which also markets Merrell and Patagonia footwear. New styles will be launched at next summer’s big outdoor-retailers trade show in Salt Lake City, Utah.

– Susan Spano, Los Angles Times staff writer

[Photo: Chaco sandal with BioCentric footbed. Credit: Chaco]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 12:49 pm by Susan Spano and is filed under Healthy Traveler, Islands & Beaches, Los Angeles, National Parks, New Mexico, Outdoors & Adventure, Summer, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.