I love, love, love sandals. They bring true foot freedom and that’s what we’re about in barefoot shoes, right? Despite their simplicity, sandals can be a bit complicated, with lacing, sole shapes, and materials either striking our fancy or turning us off. I am pretty much on a mission to try them all, but read on to see how this particular sandal from Luna Sandals has quickly won over my heart, and see if it might be a good fit for you too. Plus, I have tips and tricks learned from my experience, and even lacing videos, that can help you enjoy your Luna Sandals to the max.
Disclaimer: I bought my Luna Sandals pairs and extra laces myself, but I am an affiliate of Luna, so if you use links on this page you’ll be supporting the blog, and it won’t cost you anything extra. Save 10% with the code OWBS_LUNA10 or use this link to automatically apply it to your cart.
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Company Information
Luna Sandals is helmed by Barefoot Ted, who was featured in a book that started the resurgence of barefoot shoes, Born to Run. The concept of their sandals is deeply rooted in traditional huarache designs and I love this part right here especially:
On his journey he re-discovered that the human body is not broken by design. We, as humans, have an amazing capacity to move well solely with the equipment we were born with, our own bodies.
We aren’t broken by design in need of lifelong support! We are perfectly designed and built to do everything we need to do completely barefoot, and great barefoot shoes are tools that give us protection when we need it, but get in the way of our natural movement as little as possible. Mainstream shoes may have broken you down a bit, but barefoot shoes are a great tool that let your feet be feet, which can help you rebuild the strength and mobility you need.
Read all about them by going to the top of the Luna Sandals site under the New to Luna? drop-down, About Me section.
Technical Specifications
- Model: Roots Builder – both Slip-on and Multi-wrap tested with the Venado outsole
- Upper: Leather laces with plastic plug
- Midsole: Optional leather, 3 choices that depend on the outsole chosen
- Outsole: Vibram rubber, 4 options
- Sizes: Mens’ 4-13 and Women’s 6-13 in unisex combination sizing
- Available in 3 footbeds and a bunch of (sometimes changing) color options
- Cost starts at $65
Appearance
Overall, they are simple, understated, and attractive sandals, but your personal choices can have a big impact on the final appearance as they offer multiple treads, foot beds, lacing lengths, and lace colors.
I, as an experiential learner (have to see and touch) had to try multiple. I started out with the most classic look of a light footbed and black laces:
But then my color-loving nature kicked in from there and I placed a second order with a dark foot bed and long red laces, plus extra short pink and long purple laces. I ended up lacing the original foot bed with the pink and left red in the 2nd set. Sadly, the purple has never seen the light of day because I love the red too much, and I’m not sure black will get used again either. It’s a great look, but this is more me:
and, of course, I really, really love this set-up:
Fit
The footbed of these is nice and wide, fitting me very well with no overage. The laces are fully adjustable and come with plenty of length for higher-volume feet even in the short ‘slip-on’ arrangement. If you’re low-volume, that’s no worry either, as the leather is soft and takes just a second to snip with regular household scissors.
The longer laces only wrap 2 times around the ankle for me, but if you have very thin ankles you will easily get 3 wraps and maybe even 4. They look good no matter how many wraps you do. Lacing can be a big deal with these, so check out the Lacing section below for videos and tips.
Sizing
Right at the bottom of the Luna Sandals website is the Sizing section and you’d do best to go there first before going through the builder because at that point you’ll be ready to pick your options and go.
They have this tip right at the top:
MENS SIZING IS NEARLY ALWAYS 1/2 SIZE SMALLER THAN REGULAR SHOE SIZE AND WOMENS SIZING IS USUALLY TRUE TO SIZE.
Now I’m generally not a fan of true-to-size wording, but below that they have recommended foot lengths, the US sizes, men’s and women’s, and the EU sizes (which do not correspond, for me at least), and the actual width of the shoes. I like that! And if that wasn’t enough, you can print a template of the size you expect to be, and check that way. Usual rules apply: make sure you’re printing it actual size and not on a ‘fit to page’ type printing, or your scale will be off. If you’re unsure how to measure your feet, check this post.
US size 11.5 women’s and foot length of 26.8 cm puts me in the 9.5M/11.5W sizing, which fits great! I think this system guides you well.
How do they feel?
I opted for the leather for style and that makes them a mid-range thickness and firmness. They flex and bend easily, but not with the almost-floppy role of the super-minimalist shoes in the 5 mm and less range. The leather is a good thickness to mold to your feet but not quickly fall apart, and that puts it in the middle for ground feel as well. I get a C shape when folding and light twisting, but not heavy. Cannot do either one-handed and trying for more is likely to damage the connection between the leather and the base sole. You can probably get more roll with a version not topped by leather.
In pictures the laces look like they’d rub me, but they don’t at all. The leather is a nice thickness to feel secure, not dig, and stretch nicely around your feet. I haven’t done anything heavy like hike or run in them, but for casual wear I found them instantly comfortable. Lace and go.
Edited to add: Since publishing this review, I have had some community reports of the edges of the laces being uncomfortable between the toes. I did not experience this past the first couple of wears, and it was not even that noticeable then, however, if you do experience this, I’d highly recommend that you work the leather between your hands. It will soften up fast with bending, twisting, or knotting.
Lacing Advice
One thing that stops people from taking the plunge on sandals with laces like this is the potential for having to deal with the laces. It’s a valid fear for several reasons. For one thing, you’re wearing natural leather, which is stretchy and will break in, meaning it will loosen with wear until it reaches it’s final state. That mean’s having to fix and adjust.
Both of these sandals come with a ‘typical’ lacing arrangement, but I found that for me, in both cases, that led to slipping. So I set out to come with another way to lace each version. This doesn’t eliminate what happens with stretching because stretching affects all sections of the leather, not just the final part where you’re tying it (that mean’s the heel too) but it takes the need for frequent adjustments while walking around down to a much more manageable level where you may need to adjust them between wears or every few wears to account for the general stretching.
First, the short pair. In the embedded video you can get a visual explanation of how the shoe laces go through the shoe, what the standard lacing looks like, and how I lace them for a more secure fit.
Generally the only mid-wear adjustment I have here is if I have that back knot too far back from the cross-strap then it may slide a bit along the heel strap. A quick pull on the tail will reset it, no retying required at the time, but if you have to do that more than once while out and about, it probably means you should retie the back knot closer to the cross strap.
On the longer pair, it required a bit more rethinking and actually reversal, but the result is a completely secure tie that doesn’t move at all. The only adjustment required will be for stretch, and that can be done in between wears where you pull in whatever section has stretched too far (I notice it most in the heel strap, probably because that strap isn’t involved in this super-secure knotting. Video includes both standard lacing and 2 versions of the hack lacing. The only drawback is that using this lacing means that the ankle wrap part has the ‘back’ side out, rather than the smooth side, but they still look fabulous even with that slight style drop.
Here are some pictures for reference, including the ways the laces ‘pass’ around each other at the instep and outer edge of the sandals, and the knots up close.
Slip-On Version:
Multi-Wrap Version:
After even more wear and lace stretching, I came up with a 3rd lacing option for the long wraps. Details here.
Cleaning and Care
This is a soft leather than will weather up pretty quickly for a loved-in look. Embrace it. But also treat it well. Water can affect leather so if you’re planning to get soaked a lot, maybe go for the non-leather footbed, which is also the easiest to clean. The leather foot beds like this should be treated a bit more gently, with a damp cloth or even a leather cleaner. Never bleach, machine wash or dry, forget them in the hot car, or leave your sandals in the sun for an extended period.
Purchasing, Shipping, and Returns
Luna Sandals has a huuuuge range of sandals options, and tons of choices inside this Roots system, so your final price is going to heavily depend on the choices you make, which can end up with sandals ranging from $65-$105. To get to the Roots builder click Shop at the top and select Roots line, then click the builder icon. It may take a second to load (the videos do first for me) but it will appear at the top of the page. If you’re an impatient scroller like me, scroll back up 😉
Tips:
There are 3 leather options available for what your foot sits on, but the outsole you choose impacts which ones you see. Rooted Origin and Rooted Leadville Trail do not allow you to add leather. Rooted Venado gives you both Caffe Mocha (what’s on my pink) and Dark chocolate (what’s on my red) options. Rooted Leadville Trail gives you the option of adding the palest leather option, the Veggie-Tan Leadville on top of the sole.
There is a difference in cost between slip-on and multi-wrap, and with the slip-on you can also add a leather tech strap for extra security in more intense wear.
At the time of purchase you can get extra multi-wrap or slip-on laces at a discount and you can re-lace them yourself, but I find it somewhat difficult to deal with the plug, even with craft pliers. So it’s possible, but whether it’s in your wheelhouse or not is up to you.
Save 10% with my affiliate code OWBS_LUNA10 or use this link to automatically apply the discount to your purchase.
Final Thoughts
I understand people’s concerns about the leather laces being a PITA, but I love these sandals. They don’t hurt anywhere and they look amazing. They’re wearable on day 1 with no break-in other than accounting for the stretch. They’re easy to customize. They meet my color needs. I can dress them up, down, or around any way I like. The short version is easy to leave laced as a simple slip-on. Enjoy them!
Want more reviews?
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