Tested my homemade sandals on a hike today

I tested my recent homemade hiking sandals, the brown ones with the lug sole.

I really like the lug sole. It has great traction.

I like the wide width of the sandals. With the thin sole, I really did feel almost barefoot.

I didn't like the leather top sole. It's too slippery.

The uppers have stretched out as I've worn them and now feel loose. With the slippery top sole, my foot slides around too much. I can't wear socks with them. I may try to glue on a thin layer of suede.

I think future shoes should have a little padding. These sandals don't have any. I could feel a lot of the rocks through the soles. While it's not really a problem, if I want to hike really fast with others, the lack of padding could slow me down. On the otherhand, for running I think the lack of padding feels ideal.

I think future shoes should be tighter around my arch. I don't need an arch support, but having the upper hug the arch would hold the shoe on better.

I'm getting there. I just wish I had the skills to deliberately carry out the features I want. I kind of feel like every pair I just get lucky if they work or not.