When you’re traveling, you’re on your feet a lot — even if you’re sitting in a place for a solid half day of air travel. And if you’re particular about their comfort and breathability, you might want to find a footwear solution that gives you both and is also lightweight enough to fit into your luggage without weighing you down. Finding the perfect travel shoe isn’t that easy when so many shoes are designed so specifically for various uses like running or everyday ruggedness. So we put together some suggestions to help find the best packable, breathable, comfortable, and all-around perfect travel shoes.
On a recent trip to New Mexico, I wore these the entire way and they nearly disappeared into my suitcase when I wanted to put them away. The Derbies are handcrafted in Mexico under Nisolo’s pointed ethical guidelines. A soft suede exterior is joined by Nisolo’s ultralight sole and results in each shoe weighing less than a pound. They’re also completely collapsible, letting you roll them up into any crevice of your luggage. These go equally well with a suit as they do with shorts, which means they’re perfect for any travel you have planned.
These shoes have really grown on me since Forsake sent me a pair to try. They package together a lot of capabilities and functions and yet their style works really well and stays versatile (plus, my partner really likes them and thinks I look great in them so that helps). A breathable knit upper complements a very comfortable shoe with a moisture-wicking mesh lining. The outsole, which Forsake proudly calls Peak-to-Pavement, is great for wet streets and likewise designed to handle rocky trails and uncharted paths.
It’s hard to keep from getting awestruck by this shoe. The mesh knit textile gives you massive breathability and is eco-friendly, made out of “responsibly grown and sustainably harvested” eucalyptus pulp. The laces are made entirely of recycled materials and padded merino wool pads the inside of the shoe, giving you a moisture-wicking, soft, and odor-reducing inside. It’s of course really lightweight and looks really cool. You can get it in solid colors or nearly a dozen colorways (the Charcoal and the Kauri Marine Blue are my favorites).
A fifth of these shoes is polyurethane and they come in whatever size you need and nearly a dozen different styles. More than 2,000 reviewers left the Vagabonds a 4.4-star average rating, which tells you a lot about the quality you should expect from the thousand of people who already have.
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