Ecco Yucatan - Women's Review
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
This Product
Ecco Yucatan - Women's | |||||
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Awards | Comfortable and Secure Yet Casual | Best Overall Women's Sandals | Minimalist Straps but Adventure-Ready | Best Barefoot Sandals for Women | Best Value for Women's Sandals |
Price | $140 List $139.95 at Amazon | $99.95 at Backcountry Compare at 4 sellers | $115 List $115.00 at REI | $79.95 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $39.95 at Backcountry Compare at 4 sellers |
Overall Score | |||||
Star Rating | |||||
Bottom Line | A very comfortable sandal for narrow-footed folks, with solid traction, great support, and adjustable velcro on all straps | These adventure sandals are ready for even the most intense warm weather expeditions and are long time favorites for a reason | Easily adjustable minimalistic straps and soles with great traction and flexibility make these sandals a great adventure-ready choice | For the true barefoot enthusiast that just needs a little help crossing sharp surfaces and entering establishments | An adventure ready, packable sandal for the casual traveler at a very nice price point |
Rating Categories | Ecco Yucatan - Women's | Chaco Z/Cloud 2 - W... | Bedrock Cairn Evo -... | Xero Z-Trail EV - W... | Teva Original Unive... |
Comfort (25%) | |||||
Traction (25%) | |||||
Stability (20%) | |||||
Adjustability (15%) | |||||
Versatility (15%) | |||||
Specs | Ecco Yucatan - Women's | Chaco Z/Cloud 2 - W... | Bedrock Cairn Evo -... | Xero Z-Trail EV - W... | Teva Original Unive... |
Measured Weight (per pair) | 19.8 oz | 18.2 oz | 14.1 oz | 8.0 oz | 11.1 oz |
Sole Material | Rubber | Non-marking ChacoGrip | Vibram XS Trek EVO rubber | FeelTrue rubber | Rubber |
Upper Material | Leather with neoprene lining | Polyester jacquard webbing | Polyester and nylon webbing | Nylon | REPREVE recycled polyester webbing |
Footbed Material | Microfiber | LUVSEAT PU | Minimalist EVA | BareFoam | EVA |
Midsole Material | Molded EVA | Women's specific LUVSEAT dual-density PU | (Not specified) | TrailFoam | Molded EVA |
Width Options | Medium | Medium, Wide | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Ecco Yucatan is a narrow sandal designed with comfort in mind. They have a microfiber footbed paired with molded EVA midsoles and rubber outsoles, topped by three velcro-adjusted leather, neoprene-lined straps. A pair of size 7-7.5 weighs 19.8 ounces. They come in just one width — that runs narrow — and dozens of color options.
Performance Comparison
Comfort
When it comes to support and soft materials, the Yucatan are some of the best sandals we've tested. Their microfiber-lined footbed covers a pleasantly squishy molded EVA midsole. Leather straps are lined on the inside with neoprene, providing a comfortable feeling directly on your skin — even when wet. They're exceptionally supportive for long days on your feet and offer comfort we tend to associate with plush walking shoes rather than sandals.
Their only downfall in this metric is that they run quite narrow and are clearly meant to be worn tightly. If you're the type of person who prefers a looser fit or has wider feet, these sandals will probably drive you crazy. Because of the attachment point locations for the straps, there's no flexibility when it comes to accommodating wider forefeet or toe spreads. And unfortunately, they're not available in wide sizes.
Traction
The rubber outsoles of the Yucatan provide solid traction on most surfaces. They're a little bit less flexible than some of the more adventure-focused sandals we tested, but they still performed well walking up steep hills and across wet docks and rocks.
The microfiber footbeds help to pull sweat away from your feet, adding more traction to your foot on the actual footbed of the sandal. Even when totally soaked after walking through a flooded, muddy trail, the Yucatan didn't seem to lose any footbed traction that we could notice, thanks to that soft footbed surface.
Stability
Though the Yucatan weigh well above the average for sandals we tested, they're securely attached to your feet, offering both balance and security no matter where you roam. The well-placed straps keep these sandals snug against your feet, making them more stable than most others.
We had no issues with the long velcro strips ever coming loose during our extended testing period. The straps have just the tiniest bit of stretch to them, adding a bit of flex while maintaining strong connections between the shoe and your foot. Even our side-to-side rock hopping felt stable and secure in the Yucatan.
Adjustability
All three straps of the Yucatan are fully adjustable with velcro strips, making it easy to get them on and off and simple to adjust to your preferred fit.
While this may seem like it would make this sandal highly adjustable, the rest of the Yucatan design cuts down on that quite a bit. The shape of the footbed and the cradle made by strap placement creates a very specific shape for feet to squeeze into. Some of our testing team felt like these squeezed their toes too much and couldn't adjust them to fit better.
Versatility
The Yucatan are solidly adventure-ready sandals. Their softer materials can be a detriment for people who want to partake in water sports and those battling foot odors, but their performance across a multitude of terrain is admirable. Their overall bulk and weight take them out of contention for most trips with limited space in your carry-on luggage.
Not all of our testing team digs the style of the Yucatan, but if you do, these sandals come in a wide array of dozens of possible colors. From subdued earth tones to bright, sporty hues, there are a plethora of options to choose from.
Should You Buy the Ecco Yucatan?
These aren't the cheapest pair around, but they are some of the most comfortable women's sandals we've had the pleasure of wearing. They're not for everyone though, and are likely to let you down if your feet are on the wide side, you prefer a loosely-fitting shoe, or you're searching for a sandal that's great for getting wet. But if you have narrower feet and like secure sandals that have shoe-like support, the Yucatan are a great investment.
What Other Sandals Should You Consider?
For ladies who like a secure and encompassing fit but need a little wider space or a sandal that doesn't hold onto water (and foot sweat) as much, the Keen Newport H2 is a better option. For those truly jumping into bodies of water, the Chaco sandals — both with and without toe loops — are some of our all-around favorites for stability while wet.