Larissa has written about travel shoes for women but now it’s my turn to talk about the best mens travel shoes.
I have only two pairs of shoes with me, both by Ecco. I’ve worn Eccos exclusively for about 15 years. They are cut slightly wider in the toe box so they accommodate my size E foot (somewhere between wide and regular).
The pair that I wear almost daily is the Track 5 plain toe low. It’s a brown nubuck style that’s generic enough to go with anything. They were already several years old before the trip started so I thought about getting a new pair. But I figured they’d just get beat up anyway so I decided to wear them as long as they’d hold up. So far they’ve held up fine.
The Eccos were great for a steep hike up to the Tasman Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand.
They started their journey in August, 2011 at the top of the Rocky Steps in our hometown of Philadelphia. Some of their adventures so far have included: hiking along the Great Wall of China, climbing to the top of the ancient ruins at Angkor Wat, spending the night in a cave at a Bedouin camp and yet still looking stylish enough to wear on the streets of Paris. They even survived being left outside during a torrential downpour in Bali where the next morning they were as full as bathtubs. They dried out by evening and were ready to wear to dinner.
For warmer weather I wear their Cerro yak leather sandals. I bought them at The Walking Company store in Philadelphia. The salesman explained that yak leather is soft but highly durable. The Ecco web site sounds like it is describing the latest in fighter plane gizmos with these shoes: full length Receptor Technology and side stabilizer frames. I wondered where the ripcord was. Ecco does not recommend them for water use but they’ve gotten soaked and lived to talk about it.
If you’re looking for durable, comfortable shoes that aren’t so bulky they look like you forgot to take them out of the box, I highly recommend Ecco shoes.
Please note: These shoes were my own purchases and I am not paid to endorse Ecco. (Oh how I wish.)
You can click on the link below to buy Eccos at Zappos.com:
With Little Rocky's help, Larissa stops traffic in Saigon.
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I’ve got some eccos too and really like them. They’re really sturdy. Nice iceberg pic.
Thanks Carter. The glacier looked a bit different than we expected.
These shoes look pretty sturdy. Where are they made?
The sandals were made in Indonesia. I’ve had the other pair so long the sticker for where they were made wore away. I think it was in Eastern Europe.
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I’ve seen these in stores. They look nice but are a bit above my budget. WHat did you wear before the eccos?
I believe the regular shoes were about $180, they’re over 5 years old so the memory is hazy, and the sandals about $140. They aren’t the cheapest shoes but I used to buy cheaper ones that didn’t last as long. I get close to 10 years out of a pair of eccos so in the long run they’re a better value than other shoes. Hope that helps.