I’ve had a streak of sandal malfunction lately (mostly blisters and loss of traction on wet mud) that I’ve been exploring other alternatives. Turns out my wife had bought me a pair of Teva Zilch Sandals from a couple of years ago that’ve been sitting around. I finally gave them a try this past weekend on a sweet 10-mile run – a mix of asphalt and trail along Los Gatos Creek Trail.

Teva Zilch Sandals – First Impressions

There was always the risk of blisters trying out a new pair of sandals on a 10-mile run, but sometimes well, yeah, sometimes, I dunno…Anyways, the Teva Zilch is definitely thin and super flexible to the point you can roll it up completely. With the Spider Original Rubber, it has amazing traction thought I didn’t try it out on wet surfaces. My gut feel told me that that the toe loop might feel a little funky, but I quickly got used to it. I was running at a comfortable 8:30 minute/mile pace and could feel the sandals mold to my feet incredibly well, while still maintaining the open toe feeling that I’ve come to love. With a 10mm sole, there was sufficient ground feel while still providing ample protection against roots and rocks.

I had the front strap a little too tight and right around 5 miles, started to get a hot spot right under it. Yup, as expected, a little blister caused by the chaffing (I could hear the told you so). The edges of the front strap are somewhat abrasive and I’m hoping that a little Leukotape at the top of the foot might fix this issue. I loosened up this strap and tightened the one around my ankle and started feeling better. Sprinted the last 100 or so yards and the sandals kept up. Overall I was pretty happy with the Teva Zilch and would definitely be using this to mix things up.

What do you think about the Teva Zilch?

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