The Best Flip-Flop Sandals Review

The Best Flip Flop
The runaway winner for our Editors' Choice award, is the OluKai Ohana Sandal. It is comfortable, supportive, durable, and doesn’t look too shabby at that. While it was the most expensive of the flips we tested, you truly get what you pay for and the Ohana will last you a good long time and can be worn in almost every situation. Upgrade to the Olukai Ohana Leather if you need a more formal flip flop.

Best Value in Flip Flops
The Best Buy award goes to the Reef Fanning Sandal that is every bit as capable as the Ohana but not quite as comfortable. It costs $48 but it is so popular we often find it on sale for half that.

Here are a few other honors we want to dole out to this stellar lineup of flip flops:

The Featherweight Champion Award goes to theSanuk Yogi 2 If squishy=comfort to you, then get these. Its like walking on a Yoga mat all day (because you are).

The Burly Flop Award goes to the Chaco Flip Sandal. After all the testing, they still looked new. Indestructible (but not the most comfy).

We evaluated the flip flops on support, durability, traction, and comfort. Also taken into consideration were cost, value, and style. Here is what we found…

Each of the flip-flops we tested excelled in at least one area of testing. It was a pleasant surprise to have no total disappointments and to be able to recommend a flip for almost any situation or desire you might have.

Comfort
It’s no surprise that flip flops are, on principle, comfortable, and two of the ones we tested scored 100 percent in this category: the Sanuk Yoga 2 and the Olukai Ohana. Both captured that “Ahhhh” factor perfectly. The Sanuk because you are walking on an actual squishy Yoga mat and the Ohana because you are, well, stepping on a slightly more supportive neoprene mat. Both surfaces adjust to your feet: memory foam meets sandal. On that principle, if we really had to only pick one, it would be the Sanuk Yogi 2. Incredibly soft and squishy, these were the flips we reached for on the lazy days. They are so squishy you can't really do much intense activity in them… which is exactly the point.

Support and Stability
Again, while support can contribute to comfort, it is its own category because we feel flips can be worn for everything from napping to tide pooling, and if you are going to be active, it is support that you’re looking for. The clear winner in this category is also our favorite flip overall, the OluKai Ohana. This sandal cradles the foot with a molded outsole while providing the best arch support we’ve seen in a flip flop. The straps are fitted securely over the foot without being tight and they never stretched out. While the Sanuk Yoga Mat wins for comfort, the OluKai Ohana provides support while coming in a close second to the Sanuk in pure comfort, making it a better choice for those who want a more versatile flip.

The runners up for support were the Chaco Flip and the Reef Fanning. The Chaco has the most burly footbed and sole in the review. The only thing holding it back is a relatively thin upper strap. By comparison, the Fanning has the biggest and burliest strap in the review. It truly hugs your foot, which means you don't have to worry about blisters and can hike for miles.

Durability
The Chaco wins here. We're not sure exactly what could cause the demise of these sandals. They are tough. No amount of wear and tear seemed to make them look any different than the day we took them out of the box. The footbeds remained firm and supportive rather than collapsing, as was the case with the Yogi and most other soft flips. In addition, the straps never stretched out, keeping our feet feeling secure during hikes, stream walks, cruiser rides, and kayaking.

The Ohana and Fanning came in tied for second. Both are as durable as you need. They are just not as burly as the Chaco.

Traction/Slippage
We made this category thinking of two things. First, how does the flip flop handle different surfaces such as lose dirt and slippery rocks? Second, how secure does your foot feel in the flip? We measured the traction and slippage for both the top and bottom of the footbed. One top performer is the Chaco EcoTread Flip. If you are a water sportsperson this is the flip for you. - I would be surprised to hear from anyone that their feet budged an inch in these serious, sporty sandals. The footbed has a crisscrossed grooved design that seems to funnel out water between your foot and the shoe. Those, combined with super secure, snug straps, keep your feet firmly in place. The sole of the EcoTread also performed flawlessly in both lose, dry, gravelly dirt and wet, mossy, rocky streams.

The second top performer is the OluKai Ohana. The Ohana also had near perfect traction and the combination of the suede-like foot bed and contoured sole meant my feet didn’t slip around. The only thing eking out a first place for the Chaco is its tighter straps. However, the OluKai provides almost as much stability and traction with far more comfort. The rubber is also softer and the traction pattern grips bike pedals way better than any other flip. The Chaco rubber is harder and can slip a little on hard metal.