Chaco Classic Flips review: versatile and comfortable water shoes

Chaco Classic Flips are the most supportive made-to-be-submersed flips you can buy

By Berne Broudy
last updated
Chaco Classic Flips
(Image: © Chaco)

Advnture Verdict

A versatile, comfortable, useful and capable pair of flips for everyday wear and aquatic adventures.

Pros

  • +

    Supportive (for flips)

  • +

    Vegan-friendly

  • +

    Quick drying

Cons

  • -

    Not available in custom colors

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Chaco Classic Flips: design

Described – pretty accurately – as the flips that don’t flop, the newly released Chaco Classic Flips are an updated version of a Chaco heritage product that rate amongst our best water shoes.

Specifications

RRP: $65 (US)
Gender specificity: Men’s & women’s versions available
Weight (women’s US size 10): 187g / 6.6oz
Materials: Polyester jacquard webbing upper; Luvseat PU midsole; non-marking ChacoGrip rubber compound outsole, with wave fin traction design
Sizes (US): Women’s 5-12 Men’s 7-15
Colors: Oculi Navy / Serpent Gray / Notch Tan / Ripple Salmon / Notch Navy / Hamplin Tan / Solid Black
Compatibility: Various water escapades, and as a recovery shoe

The new Classic Flips feature Chaco’s signature ultra-durable and super-comfortable polyurethane construction with an arch-supportive footbed, jacquard straps and a reinforced toe post. 

Chaco Classic Flips: in the field

I live in these shoes in the summer, whether I’m playing fetch with my pups in the river behind my house, heading to the beach for an endurance swim, splashing around in a kayak in the local reservoir, or just hanging out. Just chuck them in a dry bag and make sure you take them everywhere.

It’s always good when a brand doesn’t fix something that isn’t broken, and the new Classic Flips feature all the good elements of the old version, with some useful additions. 

The wave fin is the big upgrade on the new flips. Its rubber ridges bite into slippery surfaces, providing enhanced grip and traction in tricky wet conditions. And, even though the sole is black, it’s non-marking and also long-lasting.

The Classic Flips have the support to make them all-day comfortable – something that not many flips can truly manage – and I didn’t experience any rubbing, even when I wore them for a mellow hike (though for anything more consider our best hiking shoes).

A diamond pattern in the footbed surface keeps them from slipping off when things get wet. And when they get stinky, I just throw them in the wash with my clothes. 

Despite their minimalist look, in many ways they are as supportive as a good shoe, but they let my feet breathe so much better. As a result, I bring them with me everywhere in warm weather. 

They are also a stellar recovery shoe, fully vented with superb arch support. And, after they’ve been in the water, they dry in a flash.

Berne Broudy
Berne Broudy

Vermont-based writer, photographer and adventurer, Berne reports on hiking, biking, skiing, overlanding, travel, climbing and kayaking for category-leading publications in the U.S., Europe and beyond. In the field, she’s been asked to deliver a herd of llamas to a Bolivian mountaintop corral, had first fat-biking descents in Alaska, helped establish East Greenland’s first sport climbing and biked the length of Jordan. She’s worked to help brands clean up their materials and manufacturing, and has had guns pulled on her in at least three continents.