Ode to Chaco

In the business world it is always refreshing to find a company not only supremely confident in the quality and craftsmanship of their product but that backs it up by boldly going where few others dare to: offering a lifetime warranty.

I purchased my first pair of Chaco´s for hiking in Alaska and in anticipation of travels in the Middle East. Although I loved the highly adjustable single-strap design and uniquely designed sole what really sold me on the $100 sandal was its lifetime warranty, but not for obvious reasons. I was fairly certain they would last a long time so the idea of replacing them wasn´t on my mind; I was looking for a versatile and well-made product and in Chaco I trusted because they offered more than words and promises: they backed their confidence up.

 "would you like your check, sir?"

After three years of traveling through twenty countries on five continents I still thought my Chaco´s would last forever and I became (like so many before me) a passionate advocate for a Chaco-led life (more on this later); life without which isn´t really "living" after all.

Tragedy struck in country number twenty when my invincible sandals were put to their toughest test: Panama. More specifically, the Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle in Panama. My Chaco´s failed this test. Conditions in the Comarca, I´ve now learned, are perhaps the most ideal for destroying a pair of Chaco´s. Incessant tropical rain creates muddy conditions which turn pathways into an ATVers paradise. While this is splendid in a place that has never heard of ATV´s, this mud is also kryptonite to Chaco´s when combined with immense amounts of hiking (thus, on a Peace Corps Volunteer).

My first pair of Chaco´s broke within my first three months in Panama. Chaco´s policy is to send a new pair for a broken sole (they informed me they could not do anything about my broken Chaco "soul" though) and replace a broken strap for $20. Send them the broken pair and they send you a new pair: very smooth. I was worried I would have to pay $50 to send my sandals internationally but again, Chaco saved the day. As a PCV I only had to email a photo of the break to get a new pair. Phew! It was just as easy to replace my second pair five months later when they, too, broke.

Of the nine PCV´s in the Comarca from group 66 seven of us own and practically live in a pair of Chaco´s. Most of us have had to replace them at some point. In an extreme example my friend Jake just broke his third pair here and is walking barefoot everywhere, refusing to put his feet in anything else while he waits for his fourth pair to arrive. (Not really).

Kayla's Chaco's after I attempted to fix them...

The irony is that we continue to use a product that continues to fail us. Why the stubbornness? Because Chaco´s are by far the best foot wear here. Other options:

• Boots keep the mud down and are good for crossing rivers but are so hot. Although is rains in sheets here it does not make sense to wear rain gear at eighty degrees; you will just get soaked with sweat. It´s better to remove the gear and embrace the rain bath. And without raingear boots fill with water. Verdict: obsolete.
• Hiking boots are good during the dry season but are worse than boots in the wet season. They are harder to clean, fill with water because I refuse to wear rain gear (you would too - trust me), and my laces have broken four times. Verdict: obsolete.
• Teva´s or Keen´s. Teva´s lose their velcro after a short period of time and are harder to clean than Chaco´s. My only friend here with Teva´s were given to him used by his dad and if he wasn´t so cheap he´d have Chaco´s. Keen´s are nice sandals with better toe protection than chaco´s but are a nightmare in the mud. My only friend here with Keen´s just told me she was buying a pair of Chaco´s for precisely this reason. Verdict: obsolete.

While writing this blog post I was trying to decide which is more impressive: how tough Chaco´s are and how good their customer service is or how rugged the Comarca is. Just before my head exploded from being unable to answer this great quandery it dawned on my that I can be equally impressed by both of them and thankful for how they enhance my life. (This is the kind of perspective you develop when living a Chaco-led life). Happy Hiking!