When you’re going to the beach (or any other environment involved mostly with water) you want to count on beach footwear that allows water to exit. You’ll inevitably get some water in your shoes regardless of what you’re doing on the beach. Two things can happen: it stays in both of your shoes clogging them or it drains.

Long story short, shoes suck when they’re filled with water. You’ll lose every sense of the grip, the sensibility of the underfoot when walking, support, and internal traction. It’s just a mess. The best beach shoes are those that count with an effective draining system that removes most of the water once they’re not submerged anymore.

This can be done in a variety of ways. For instance, the Speedo Hydro Comfort 4.0 counts with a built-in drainage port within the midsole. This channel allows the water to flow freely in and out of the shoe. It’s important to note the height of any drainage ports in the shoe; if they’re too high, the accumulated water below the channel won’t be able to exit.

At the same time, openings and other perforations contribute to the drainage. Basically, the more openings there are, the easier the shoe will drain. A mesh upper build is a big contribution to easy drainage, whether it counts with mesh panels on the lower portion or just made entirely from the mesh.

For this guide, we evaluated the ability of a shoe to drain based on two criteria: efficiency and speed.

Efficiency

Normally, something is called efficient when all of its components work together in an optimal way. However, to differ it from speed, we’ll refer to efficiency as the ability of the shoe to drain out most of the water. A shoe that doesn’t manage to drain most of the water would be inefficient under this criterion, and the other way around.

What makes a drainage system efficient is the number of ports there are available for water flow. If there’s just one draining channel, water won’t exit as fluidly as you would need to partially dry the shoe. But it’s not all about the number of channels; their location is a key factor in determining the efficiency.

As mentioned before, you should avoid any beach footwear that focuses on the upper portion of the drainage. You want any ports to be located as low as possible to ensure that there won’t be any remaining coats of water within the shoe. At the same time, the best beach shoes count with other drainage methods located in different regions of the shoe.

If you were to put to drainage ports one next to the other, water still wouldn’t flow out as optimally as it could. Get two openings on each side of the shoe, however, and water will make its way out before you notice.

Draining speed

For normal users who are just going to the beach to relax or do recreational activities, the draining speed is not a paramount feature. However, sports that involve getting in the water and back out a call for a faster draining speed. This is because any water within the shoe will obstruct your feet in any sort of performance outside the water.

The sooner the water exits the shoe, the better. Once most of the water leaves the shoe, you’ll regain inner traction, stability, and all the other abilities you lose when your shoes are full of water. As the sport gets more competitive, you’ll want the water to leave even faster – as soon as possible.

To achieve this, you should opt for bigger drainage systems. However, every other aspect of drainage contributes to its speed really. Just like with the draining efficiency, increasing the number of openings will also translate into faster drainage. Drainage speed and efficiency go hand in hand; they’re determined by nearly the same factors.

Some users make the mistake of thinking their feet won't heat on the beach because they’re near water. Don’t get it wrong, heat will have an impact on your feet wherever you are if your shoes are not adequately equipped. Although water is a great refresher, you shouldn’t depend on it to help your feet cool.

Our body produces its own heat, and it increases the more we move. This includes our feet. When moving or playing on the beach, our feet will start to generate heat. If they’re trapped by closed shoes, heat will start to accumulate. At the same time, this will cause our feet to generate even more heat themselves, and so on until you get in the water.

Some may think that it’s unlikely to come across a shoe meant for the beach that isn’t breathable, but you’d be surprised by how many there are. Breathability and drainage also go hand in hand because of a very simple reason; water and air will mostly flow through the same channels and openings in the shoe.

A shoe that lacks a proper drainage system is likely to lack breathability too, but this is not always the case. Breathability and drainage have a lot of things in common, including the features required to optimize their flow. However, the air is easier to handle when it comes to footwear because it will flow through any opening regardless of its position or height.

Mesh upper builds guarantee the breathability of the shoe. The upper build plays a massive role in the breathability of a shoe – some would even argue it’s the most important role in it. This is simply because the upper is normally the biggest (or largest) portion of the shoe. If it’s closed, air will lose most of the space through which it can flow freely.

Targeted breathability

Air will flow through the shoe regardless of where it enters. However, this doesn’t mean that one flowing channel is enough to make a shoe breathable. Certain zones of our feet suffer more when exposed to concentrated heat. This is not necessarily because they’re more delicate, but because they undergo many other things at the same time.

For instance, our heel isn’t particularly delicate, it’s the hardest spot on the foot in fact. However, it has a role in many natural processes like shock absorption that put stress on it. If on top of the stress generated by other things, the heel starts to suffer from overheating, the bad news is certain.

The best beach shoes count with strategically located breathing panels (when they’re not breathable all around, that is). We advise going for shoes that count with targeted breathability around the Achilles tendon, the upper foot, and the sides of the shoe (for the arch). Irritation around any of these areas will result in your performance and comfort going downhill.

Who likes buying shoes that come apart way before they’re worth the money you put into them? Nobody. You already know this, of course. However, what most normal footwear users don’t know is how to approximately determine the durability of a shoe.

Do keep in mind that the durability of a shoe is unpredictable, as there are a huge amount of influencing factors. Something as simple as exposing your shoes to the sun while letting them dry may affect the properties of the materials and thus their durability. Not to mention that no matter how good a shoe is, you may simply have an accident and break them. The thing is how many accidents can the shoe sustain?

Most crappy shoes can be easily avoided by a thorough examination. You’d be surprised by the number of defects you’ll find in footwear by taking a close look. Before purchasing any shoe (or upon delivery), inspect it completely; touch everything you feel like touching and look all around it.

A lot of shoes come with issues on the stitching and the sole gluing. Make sure it’s not threaded irregularly and the sole is properly glued. The most common signs of a cheap shoe are low-quality, uneven stitching and glue marks around the midsole. The best beach shoes are put together with quality materials.

Don’t think that buying a shoe from a big brand makes you immune to defects. Adidas, Nike, Puma, and all other footwear titans make defective products every once in a while. If by luck you picked one of those defective items, examining it will save you from a pretty unfortunate experience.

When it comes to the functional aspects of the shoe, these are the features to keep in mind while evaluating the best beach shoes:

Material resistance

It’s a no-brainer; the materials from which the shoe is made have a direct impact on its durability. Buy crappy materials and you’ll get a crappy shoe. You’re obviously not going to pick materials that you know are bad. However, some users aren’t able to determine which materials are the right choice for beach shoes.

For instance, the mesh is an extremely popular option amongst beach shoes. No wonder why; it’s breathable, it allows water to drain and whatnot. However, mesh alone isn’t a good material for the construction of an upper build. Materials like air mesh are really thin and fragile, and thus very likely to rip or break upon the first few abrasions.

Air mesh certainly is cheaper, but it lasts way less alone. Try to get your hands on beach shoes that reinforce their mesh with another compound. The Vibram Signa, for example, makes use of a stretchy polyester compound as upper build mesh. The shoe breathes, drains, and more importantly, won’t break so easily.

Lastly, make sure you’re getting beach shoes when purchasing. Certain water shoes that are meant for the pool or fresh water are not suitable for the beach. This is because the sodium chloride and other compounds found in saline water may affect the properties of certain materials. Ask if the shoe materials are suitable for salt water.

User care

In an overall look, there are two main things that determine the durability of a shoe. The first one is the quality of the shoe itself and how it’s put together. The second one is the attention that the user gives their shoes, and how they use them. The cheapest of shoes can be durable in the right hands, just like top-notch shoes can break on the first use when used incorrectly.

The first step to proper usage is knowing what your shoe is capable of. If the upper build is entirely made from air mesh, then you know you’re not going anywhere near rough environments. You may get away with using a shoe for another activity different from the original purpose of the shoe, but know that your footwear is at risk depending on what you do.

Washing shoes is a big role in the durability of a shoe. Normally, washing them won’t really make them last longer, but it does help make the shoe look newer. Although looks aren’t related to performance, we all take them into consideration when buying shoes. Don’t wash them and you’ll have the opposite; new shoes that look old.

But, once again, the beach is a different environment. It’s important that you clean your shoes with fresh water once you’re done at the beach. Regardless of what the shoe is made of, it’s not ideal to leave all the salts and compounds from the beach sitting on your shoe. Wash away as much saline water as you can, and take advantage of the opportunity to clean the sand as well.

Two things can be understood by performance features; the basic qualities that are required for any shoe to function properly, and the features related to a specific sport or performance. In either case, performance features are things that should always be present in your shoe, no matter how vague their original purpose is.

When looking for the best beach shoes, you should keep in mind the things you’ll use it for. If you are likely to practice a beach sport, examine the shoe to see if its qualities meet the requirements of your sport. For example, if you’re planning to do some running on the beach, your shoe should count with a shock-absorbing, flexible midsole.

It’s important to remember that neutral beach shoes aren’t meant for any specific sport. Thus, you’ll get much more out of your performance by buying a pair of shoes specialized in such activity. But we understand that for most users it’s not practical (nor affordable) to have a bunch of shoes laying around for each action they perform.

Don’t get it wrong, though. Beach shoes are perfectly capable of delivering performance features. The Vibram five-finger by Signa is an ideal example of our previous statement. It’s not originally designed as a shoe for the beach, but neither are most shoes that are the best choice for the beach.

Like we mentioned before, some features should be present in every shoe. We’ll provide you with insight into each of the basic abilities that should be present in a beach shoe for it to function correctly and comfortably. Keep in mind that, for specific activities, these features may increase, decrease, or not be present in that type of shoe. For instance, all shoes should be flexible; but rock climbing shoes count with a stiff, non-bending sole.

Remember that there is a huge variety of shoes compatible with the beach. The Zhuanglin Aqua and the Easy USA Wave are both beach shoes, but one resembles a running shoe and the other a surfing one, respectively. In general, the best beach shoes count with the following performance aspects:

Keep in mind what kind of activity you want to use your shoes to determine which performance features to choose.

Unless the circumstances of a specific sport say otherwise, a shoe must always feature a certain amount of flexibility. Without a flexible sole, we won’t be able to perform some of the most basic human motions correctly, like walking. It’s not an option, and in the case of neutral footwear it’s just not up for debate – our feet are naturally meant to flex and bend as we walk.

A shoe that prevents our feet from moving naturally is no good. If the sole is not flexible, the foot will be confined to space within the inner build. This space is generally just big enough to fit our foot in there, but certainly not big enough to flex or arch.

Our arches can suffer a lot of tension from the lack of flexibility in a shoe; even worse if the shoe lacks support at the same time. Being one of the softest spots in the foot, it’d be unwise to expose your arches to the stress caused by an unnatural walking form. Realistically speaking, walking without bending your feet is just abnormal – even if it’s physically possible.