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Sole Searching is an ongoing series sharing the origin stories of past, present, and future icons of outdoor footwear, supported by Vibram. Past installments highlight designs by Arc'teryx, Bedrock, Danner & NNormal.
Float through any popular paddling destination and you’re almost guaranteed to spot at least one pair of feet wrapped in Chaco Z/Classic sandals, an icon of aquatic footwear with a reputation for comfort, durability, and performance. A top pick among rafting guides (and hikers) for decades, the sandal has long been available in dozens of solid, patterned, and customizable colorways. Now, for the first time since Chaco introduced its game changing sandal design in 1989, the Z sandal has been given a complete overhaul with new straps, buckles, and a new, water-specific Vibram outsole—assembled in the USA.
The result is the new Chaco Rapid Pro, developed through a design process driven by both professional river guide feedback and empirical lab testing.
Compared to a hardy mountain boot, Chaco’s Rapid Pro consists of just a few key components—straps, a buckle, heel riser, and sole—though all were given attention during this top-down redesign. At the foundation is the new Megagrip outsole unit developed in partnership with Vibram, an addition that’s earned the Rapid Pro the title of grippiest sandal in Chaco’s 35-year history.
Vibram Megagrip compound is the go-to formula you’ll find on the highest-performing hiking boots and mountain footwear capable of providing grip on various natural surfaces, wet and dry. “When Chaco came to us looking to develop the ultimate river sandal, we knew Megagrip would be the ideal choice—providing the traction, grip, and performance needed for intensive multi-day river excursions,” Lawrence Anastasi, Vibram Strategic Account Executive tells us.
To truly test the product, Chaco didn’t just send some sandals to their friends; they tapped 30 raft guides covering over a dozen different American rivers to put Rapid Pro protoypes through the paces and provide feedback. Speaking to the design’s most valued upgrade, rafting outfitter OARS Director of Operations Seth Davis emphasized just how real the grip on the Rapid Pro is compared to the Classic/Z Chaco sandal, “[It’s] the stickier rubber soles, hands down. I'm a unilateral amputee, so having confidence that my real foot is going to stick to whatever I'm standing on brings tremendous peace of mind.”
Compound alone isn’t the only key to making the Rapid Pro outsole so trustworthy—a carefully-mapped landscape of lugs, siping channels, and biting edges all work together to provide both grip and egress for water to escape from underfoot. (Easter egg: in the above diagram note the blue running down the middle of the outsole representing the river where these sandals belong, with the yellow Vibram logo imitating the shape of a raft floating down it.)
Behind the scenes, Chaco Senior Product Developer Michael Schumacher and his team employed more scientific testing with footwear development specialists Heeluxe to validate its designs with in-the-raft testing. “Heeluxe was more lab-based testing, whereas we could ask the guides what they wanted and what was working versus not working. The feedback helped our design and development teams specialize specific needs and wants—leading to truly consumer-driven innovations,” recounts Schumacher.
Beyond the new sole unit, additional under-the-radar innovations help make the Rapid Pro even more suitable to life behind the oars. These include quick-drying straps to ward off waterlogging, a reinforced heel riser adding stability to the retention system, and a slimmed-down buckle to minimize pressure when wedging one’s foot into the chamber of a raft when the river gets rowdy.
Though new to the scene, we’re expecting the new Chaco Rapid Pro to become the first choice of guides navigating rafts of adventurers down legendary runs of high-class rapids. Heck, if he didn’t already have webbed feet, we’re sure even Kevin Costner’s webbed-toe character in Waterworld would have been interested in the sandals to grip the deck of his catamaran sailboat (likely in the non-toe-loop style). Our paddling skills are hardly guide-worthy, but we’re excited to get some float time in the Rapid Pros this summer on the waters we find in our travels.
Published 06-27-2024
