Are Seattle’s LUNA Sandals The Next Great Outdoor Adventure Footwear Company?

World, it’s time for you to familiarize yourself with a man named Barefoot Ted. Ted McDonald – aka Barefoot Ted – is the founder of LUNA Sandals, a Seattle footwear line that’s manufacturing activewear Jesus walkers just a few blocks from the Space Needle. He’s one of the OG barefoot running enthusiasts, as documented in Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run. 12 years ago or so, Barefoot Ted started tinkering around with traditional sandal designs to run in. He created tire “huarache” sandals for the task, eventually selling them on his endurance-running blog to other trail runners.

Barefoot Ted’s quest to create the perfect running sandal lead to LUNA Sandals, a footwear company manufacturing versatile open-toed footwear. Popular lines of LUNA Sandals like the OSO, MONO, and ORIGEN feature Vibram® Morflex footbeds and “Monkey Grip Technology” (you know, for tread) to glue you to the ground when you need to be. A distinguishing feature from TEVAs and Chacos, however, is their performance laces that give an optimum fit, like comfortably snug pair of sneakers:

The sandals are sold all over the world and just starting to explode in popularity thanks to their comfort and performance. Could it be America’s next great adventure footwear company a la KEEN, TEVA, and Chacos?

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Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com