Chaco Marshall Review

The Marshall offers good tread, a supportive footbed, and a classier look than many previous iterations from Chaco. Versatile and comfortable, it's an easy flip to love.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

The Marshall's soft leather footbed is nicely comfortable right out of the box. The wide leather strap is stiffer than a webbing strap, making them easy to slip into and have stay in place. A curious aspect of the Marshall's shape it how it “flips” upward at the end of the toe, gently pushing your toes up. Some of our testers thought the toe felt weird, but overall this didn't affect the comfort. This scoop can even help keep dirt out, depending on your stride.

Versatility

These flops can go anywhere that burlier versions of Chaco's can, but are most suited for summer weddings and dates, or times that you don't want to come across as a feral beast in your ratty old stink-laden flip flops. Sure, you could take these flops as your camp shoes on a backpacking trip, or your kicks to hang out in while you're resting between climbs at the crag. But we recommend keeping these looking and smelling nice for when it's time to make a good impression and grabbing something else for serious adventure time.

Durability

The ChacoGrip rubber outsole on these flips is super tough, and will have no issue lasting a long time. The leather footbed, on the other hand, is softer and not quite as burly. That being said, the Marshall trumps many other style-oriented flops with regards to durability. They have just enough stiffness to keep them from folding in half during excitable whirlwind packing scenarios, and the durable treads are appreciated when the terrain gets dicey.

Style

These flips are simple and elegant, flying under the radar of the strictest summertime dress codes. If they don't let you in wearing these babies, you're probably better off not going anyway. Paired with your nicest slacks or your grubbiest shorts, the Marshall seems perfectly at home. What they won't do is distract from fungus-infected gnarly rock climber toes, raft guide trench foot, or the dreaded Yosemite dirt feet. Clean your feet, cause not even this stylish flip-flop is going to get rid of the smell.

Traction

The ChacoGrip tread on the outsole of these flip-flops cruises up sand, rocky trails, and doesn't do too shabby on bare granite either. The tread between the lugs is deep enough to get a good purchase in the dirt but doesn't collect mud like the deep gaps on other models.

Value

The Marshall is one of the most expensive flops we reviewed. You can certainly get away with something cheaper and not quite as dressy in plenty of semi-upscale social gatherings, if you happen to be on a budget, but if you need something a bit fancier regularly, this are likely worht the extra dough.

Conclusion

Chaco's out-on-the-town entry into high-class flops doesn't disappoint. While the leather is a nice touch, these flops retain the features we've come to love from other Chaco flops and sandals: comfort and durability so you can roam foreign cities for hours or just lay around at the beach.