running sandals for wide feet? luna mono gordo review

i just ordered a pair of luna mono gordo running sandals. they are about 15mm plus 4mm lugs…meaning the stack is about 19mm total. the stack is the distance from the bottom of the sandal to top of the sole. it is the distance your foot is off the ground…maybe i should go into some of these terms.

the notable things about this sandal are:
according to some people on reddit luna sandals are good for people with actually wide feet. i get close to punching the norweigans here who say they have wide feet and they turn out to be size 8 or 9 and never had to buy size wide shoes. my feet are about size 10 and i have had to buy up to size 13 in order to get the width to fit. lately i have been buying 11 or larger and still not getting adequate width. does anyone else have this problem?

2019 06 24 update: Follow the sizing guide online. You can print the size, check the scale with a ruler, and then overlay your foot. You can trust the sizing guide, much to my surprise. The beauty of the strap system is that it allows your foot to assume its natural shape. Your foot may be longer or wider in some parts, but because you only need to adjust a few straps, the size is adaptable. They are very thick. Despite being about the same thickness as my Topo RunVenture shoes, these Luna Mono Gordos feel much more thick. I would be fine bringing these canoe camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, or walking around town (assuming you could justify them fashionably). Given this first experience, I could see myself going with thinner sandals in the future. Adjusting the straps. Well, it took a little bit of time, but they no longer hurt and, actually, are quite comfortable. I use the athletic extra strap while running. Not having much to say in this section is an endorsement. Most shoes do not fit me, the sandals have been fantastic. Overall, I am very happy with the sandals. I bought them because I was tired of running shoes not fitting, wearing out, and wanted an extra pair I could keep at work when I run there during lunch or work out in the gym. They've been great for that. I have taken them running on pavement and grass, but not yet on a proper off road run. I'll post that in a future update as it comes up. I have not put in a ton of miles yet. Around 50 spread out on runs from 2-5 miles. There is some soreness after running around 5 miles. While using them, they feel great. This situation is expected and I need to graudally build up to them. Continuation:

they are zero drop
typical shoes actually are like mini heels. well most shoes are. the back or heel is higher than the front or forefoot. this vertical distance is called 'drop' and it is measured in mm. i first happened upon zero drop shoes by accident. when i was training for my first marathon, i went bought a pair of altra lone peak shoes for about $50. i purchased them because i did not want to spend more than $50 and someone had returned them so they were on sale. they seemed wide enough.

the stack is abut 19mm
this is fairly thick for minimal running shoes. it seems like people like to keep it around 10mm or less. more than that and the sole becomes more like a shoe, more rigid, more protective. less than that the sole becomes, well, closer to being barefoot, less protection, more ground feel. the thinnest ones i have seen are arond 4mm. typically it seems like around 9mm is where a lot of people end up.

ground feel i have no idea what these will be like.
it is basically how much you can feel the ground. the thinnest soles will have plenty of ground feel, which, is like imagine you are running on gravel or pebbles…a lot of ground feel would be almost like you are jumping around because you can feel each sharp little stone. on the plus side, you supposedly are getting all the biofeedback that helps you learn proper running form. i imagine it is like the argument that riding a fixed gear bike in the winter affords you additional data on rear wheel slip. both situations seem scary or dangerous or disagreeable, but people who do them cite some benefits.

the cost is shitty. they were $100. i thought they were on sale for $82.50 because that is the listed price, but it turns out that was only for selected sizes (womens 7 and smaller). i had put so much research into it at this point that i went ahead with it.

my use case:
well i like to have one pair of running shoes at work and one pair at home. at work, on every fucking day that i desire, i run during lunch. it is a waste of time if i do not. a few weeks ago, i ended up noticing my knees hurt. i think the shoes i have are finally worn out. for reference, i am running on the same pair of shoes that i used to train for and run a marathon and have been using for almost a year after that. what i really think it is is that the heel in the back is worn away and i am running by dropping onto the heel.

minimal thickness shoes are supposed to basically disincentivize you from dropping onto your heel because without the normal amount of padding, it hurts to drop onto your heel. i know i can run with a mid foot strike because that is how i used to train.

my feet are wide, as stated earlier, and it is tricky to find shoes that fit properly in all dimensions. my desire is that by wearing sandals with adjustable straps and no molded foot bed, that i can find something that will consistently fit. because it does not have to be built for average width.

the last thing that really attracted me to sandals in particular is that i can use them for travel. i think they will pack down flat compared to running shoes and be much lighter. with normal size 11 running shoes full of padding, they take up a good portion of my carry on bag. does anyone else have a good solution for running shoes while traveling? or shoes that fit?

i will write an update to this post as i explore my use of the sandals.

thanks for reading.