Comfy Puppies for Your Feet

The big travel gear issue for most people when packing is shoes. They take up a lot of room. Some of them are heavy. If you're working, sightseeing, going out at night, and visiting the gym too, how do you pack for that?

I've reviewed a few items that help now and then, like lightweight sandals and light multi-sneakers, but there's always some kind of trade-off you're going to have to deal with. The best method I've found is to do your best to find shoes that can work with multiple outfits and situations. These fashionable Hush Puppies I've tried out over the course of a few travel weeks have fit the bill.

The uppers on this Shift style are made from what the company calls Worry-Free Suede and for the most part it performs as advertised. Water did indeed bead up and roll away and though the dirt showed up pretty easily on my pair of tan ones, a quick brushing got most of it back off. The shoes also have an anti-bacterial lining to keep odors at bay (especially important if you're going to Japan or Korea--where nobody wears shoes inside a house.)

The ladies seemed to love them and they fit like a glove. The glove part can be a bit of a problem if you wear them too much though: they're better for lounging around and padding over to a club or restaurant than they are for pounding the pavement or the cobblestones. They feel more like slippers than a shoe with proper support.

But as a result they squash down to nothing in your pack and don't weigh much at all. Good traveling shoes.