Best Shoe for Traveling: TOMS

Whether it's walking, climbing, flying, or dancing, TOMS are the perfect fit

When we are preparing for a trip, one of our biggest concerns is: how can we travel light? There are many different strategies to make the most use of a carry on bag and reduce weight, and one of the most important things to consider is which shoes you will be bringing along with you. 

Packing shoes is always a complicated proposition. There are just so many factors to consider: 

• What outfits am I going to wear? Do my shoes match the outfits I am taking? 
• What activities will I be doing?  Do I need running shoes? Dress shoes? Sandals? Boots?
• How many shoes do I need to bring? 
• How am I going to fit everything? 

The shoe issue only got more complicated as I began preparing to dance wherever I happened to travel to. In addition to the issues mentioned above, I now had to consider whether the shoes i was taking were light enough to dance in, had a good sole for a variety of dance floors, looked nice enough to get into fancier events, and matched with the outfits I was packing to possibly dance in. At first the obvious answer was a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors and this was a pretty good solution, but they were never as light as I would have liked and they were painful to my feet after a long day of exploring a city. Thankfully the solution to all my worries was soon to be found in a pair of shoes I never would have expected. 

TOMS? Who would have thought!

To be honest, I had always thought TOMS were kind of funny looking and had never really considered buying a pair. Everything changed when I was watching a video of one of my favorite professional dancers (check him out in the video below!) and I saw him dancing in a three piece suit and...TOMS! At first I didn't really even notice they were TOMS because he had one of the black pairs that almost looked like a regular dance shoe. After seeing him use these in a few more videos I went to the store to try them on and see if they could possibly be good dance shoes. 

The first thing I noticed when I tried on the shoes was their weight. They were so, so light! While at the store I practiced some Salsa footwork and they felt great so I decided to get a pair. I was so excited for the first dance event that I was able to wear them to and since then I have never looked back! 

So Why are These Good for Traveling?

After my surprise at how awesome the TOMS were for dancing I was so excited for our upcoming trip to Greece to see if they would also be good shoes to travel with. We spent eight days exploring Greece and the shoes were perfect not only for dancing, but for walking as well! During my previous trips I always had to pack bulky running shoes for exploring during the day and then the Chuck Taylors for nighttime events and dancing. Although I packed the running shoes with me once again,  I was able to pretty much leave them in my bag for the duration of the trip because I felt so comfortable walking around the city and islands in my TOMS. They handled every challenge I threw at them (including scaling a mountain on the island of Santorini) and I am confident that I can pack one less pair of shoes for future trips. 

Conclusions

I have written quite a bit about my love for TOMS. Since my trip to Greece, I have purchased two additional pairs of TOMS (one navy and one grey corduroy) and I have used them for many, many dance events, for a performance during my wedding (see the picture below to see how well they matched my suit!), and for our honeymoon trip to Saint Lucia and they are still going strong!

 

I'd like to conclude this post with a summary of the main benefits that I have found with traveling with TOMS and why I recommend that any travelers (dancers or not) give serious consideration to taking a pair with you on your trips. 

Reasons to travel with TOMS: 

• They are super light
• They come in so many colors and many of the colors match well with tons of different outfits
• They are super comfortable, even for walking hour and hours during the day
• They are pretty cheap and last a lot longer than I would expect based on the abuse I put them through
• They are great for airports, they slip right on and off making security checkpoints much more convenient
• You can pack a few pairs and they will take up almost no space
• They are perfect for dancing

And as promised, here is a picture of me wearing a pair of TOMS during my wedding;)