My Hunt for the Ideal All-Terrain Clogs
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There’s a new category of clogs that are like the Subarus of footwear. These shoes combine a convenient slide-on upper with a rugged, grippy sole, yielding a city-friendly design that doesn’t mind getting dirty in the country. They’ve been steadily growing in popularity among the outdoorsy circles I run in, but this past spring I started seeing them on more city people as well. My trustyJungle Mocshad been filling the slide-on shoe gap in my wardrobe up to that point, but two years of stepping into them with reckless abandon had worn the heel tabs to nubs. Perhaps going backless would be the better way forward.
The minimalist option
As with many of my footwear-related quests these days, it all started with a pair of Merrells. I’ve beentraining my feet on minimalist shoesto build strength and resiliency, so when I learned about theWrapt Nubuck slides(currently discontinued), they shot to the top of my list. I loved the way they felt while walking — the wide toe box gave my feet plenty of room to flex, and the mesh-lined insole was comfortable with or without socks. But I quickly realized that a little arch support would make standing in line at the farmers’ market or while cooking pies in abackyard pizza ovena lot more pleasant. The checkerboard outsoles, while grippy on all kinds of terrain, had an annoying tendency to trap bits of mud and gravel that would scrape noisily against concrete before getting tracked into my mud room.
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A cushier approach
On the opposite side of the support spectrum, I briefly consideredKeen’s Hyperport clogs. But the foamy midsole felt more like a recovery slide than a trail-ready hiking shoe. The styling was also just a bit too hype for my personal tastes.
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Keen Hyperport Leather Clog
Birkenstocks, but more hiking-friendly
Next up was the newly releasedBirkenstock Boston Crosstown. LikeMya Gelber, I was initially skeptical because my feet had never agreed with any of my previous attempts to make Birkenstocks work. But this new, more flexible sole turned out to be the missing piece of the puzzle for me. The prominent arch support no longer felt overly constricting, the suede insoles molded quickly to my feet, and the rubber lugs felt confidently grippy on trails and uneven sidewalks alike. I had concerns about the lack of a heel strap, but the prominent arch support kept my feet firmly in place, even on steep slopes. I probably could have stopped my search here, but it wouldn’t have felt complete without trying the shoe that defined the category.
Read more:I Tried Birkenstock’s New All-Terrain Boston
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The original all-terrain clog
Long before introducing the original Mountain Clog in 2023, Bedrock was beloved among adventure cyclists and thru-hikers for its ultragrippy and durable minimalist sandals. This new style combined its zero-drop sandal sole and highly adjustable strap design with a clog-style suede upper, creating a “shoe for the sandal off-season.” It sold out instantly, and the resulting hype inspired intrepid thieves toabscond with the entire second shipment. They’ve since become a breakout hit with darling menswear boutiques, such as Oakland’s Understory, joining REI and smaller outdoor-gear shops as stockists. Friends who’d already snagged them spoke highly of their comfort and versatility, so I had high expectations.
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I initially ordered the plum suede Bedrocks in my regular size: a men’s 9. They looked proportionate, but no matter how I adjusted them, they still wouldn’t fit. Either my toes would be crammed against the front of the shoe, or my heels would be sliding off the back. Sizing up to a 10 (per their guidelines) fixed this issue but created a new one. The lack of arch support in their zero-drop design is fine in a sandal where the toe straps can be tightened to keep one’s feet in place. Without this strap, however, my feet slid with each step, even on flat sidewalks. Tightening the heel straps didn’t help — no matter how I adjusted them, they kept sliding off every few blocks. Wearing thick wool socks fixed the sliding but made my feet sweaty. When I asked people who’d owned them for some time about these issues, they confirmed I was not alone. That said, they were, in my opinion, the best-looking clogs among the pairs I tried. But they weren’t the most complimented. That title belongs to the last pair of clogs I tested.
The best all-terrain clogs
The newChaco Canyon Leather Clogsare based on thetime-tested Z1 sandals, and I was fortunate enough to learn about them from a targeted ad right before I was about to file this piece. I love these clogs, and everyone who’s seen me wearing them loves them too. They look like shoes that an Asheville-based river guide would wear during the off-season while throwing tasteful red clay pottery to sell on Instagram. They fit true to size and are comfortable with or without socks; there’s just enough arch support to keep my feet from sliding around; and the heel straps stay up no matter what — in fact, I don’t even need to pull them up in the first place because they rise onto my heels after taking a few steps. The lugged ChacoGrip outsole is as grippy as any Vibram-branded rubber I’ve tested. And the clogs are available in men’s and women’s versions to accommodate a wider variety of foot shapes.
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As a new shoe, it’s currently available in only a couple of shades of brown across a narrower size range (8 to 12 men’s, 6 to 12 women’s), but both should expand over time. There’s also awoven-webbing versionif you prefer a zanier style (thewomen’s versionis available in ten different patterns).
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