I’ve had Birkenstocks on my to-buy list for several years now. Every summer I want them, and every summer I pass on them, doubting whether I needed them, and doubting how fashionable I could make them.
This past year, I’ve been determined to only buy and keep shoes that I felt comfortable in. I was tired of stockpiling shoes that I thought would one day break in and never did. If I wasn’t 100% about their comfort, they were going right back in the box to be shipped back. For this reason, I was both eager and possibly slightly hesitant to try Birkenstocks.
At first, I saw raving reviews about how Birkenstock sandals are the ultimate comfort sandal – so comfortable they feel like part of your feet, some reviewers said. Then I saw reviews that still highly rated the sandals, but also told of the uncomfortable weeks-long break in period involving blistering, rubbing, and aching.
Ultimately, I decided I was going to try them. For my first pair of Birkenstocks, I purchased the style I’ve had my eye on for years: the Arizona.
I’m normally a small size 4 in women’s shoes, and between a 1.5-2 in kids’ shoes. I purchased the Arizona in kids’ size EU 33/2-2.5.
The length of the sandal fits perfectly on me. My heel sits flush against the back of the shoe, and my toes do not hit the top of the shoe, but just below it when I’m standing.
When I’m standing, my toes are a bit closer to the rim of the shoe than in this picture.
Birkenstocks come in a variety of materials and colors, as well as two different footbed options – the original footbed and the soft footbed. The Arizonas I purchased were made of the Birkibuc material, in the shade Mocha, and with the original footbed. (I would have loved to try the Arizona Soft footbed version, which has an extra layer of cushion added into the footbed, but appears to only be an option for adult sizes.)
As I mentioned before, reviews online mentioned that there would be a weeks-long break in period for Birkenstock sandals. A few points that stood out to me while sifting through reviews were:
1. The cork footbed needs time to mold to your feet.
2. If the sandals are uncomfortable, try tightening the straps of the sandal.
3. If your feet start to ache, take the shoes off and try again next time in small increments of time, rather than trying to tough it out.
4. Some had better luck breaking in the natural materials, others had better luck breaking in the synthetic materials.
As I wanted to wear these sandals for my vacation this upcoming week, I purchased these sandals 2-3 weeks ago to give myself time to break them in a bit. Since I spend 99% of my week at work, I’ve only had a chance to wear these sandals out a handful of times in the past few weeks, and each time for maybe 1-2 hours. That being said, I haven’t experienced the rough break in period that most reviewers have spoken of. I’ve had absolutely no rubbing from the straps, and only tightened the bottom strap once for a better fit, and not due to discomfort. The very first time I wore them out for an “extended” period of time shopping around Target, the arches of my feet did start to mildly ache a little bit, but probably within the hour I was home and took them off and tried again next time with no issues.
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