This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I bought these sandals with my own money.
It was about 3am and I was lying there in the middle of a heatwave thinking about my feet. Not my proudest moment. But I had spent twenty years buying walking sandals, getting blisters on my arches, and eventually binning the sandals because they smelt so bad I was embarrassed to take them off in company. I was convinced the problem was me. Too narrow a foot, too high an arch, whatever. Then I read about what Hoka had done with the Infini Hike TC, and I thought: fine, one more go.
Three weeks later I am wearing these sandals for everything. Walking, driving, work, a heatwave that has made shoes feel like a punishment. And no blisters. And no smell. So here is what I have found out.
Who are these aimed at?
If you already wear Hoka running or hiking shoes and you have been waiting for a sandal that does not feel like a compromise, this is it. But more broadly they are aimed at anyone who wants a proper summer walking sandal that actually works for distances rather than just pottering around a campsite. The TC stands for Trail and Camp, which tells you what Hoka had in mind. Priced at around £115 in the UK, they sit at the upper end of the sandal market. Not an impulse buy, but not unreasonable for what they are.
The fit: a note for narrow-footed people
I normally take a UK 10 in most shoes, but like a lot of people I need a half size up in Hoka, Brooks and Merrell. A 10.5 is my size in all three, and the same holds here.
One thing worth flagging. I have narrow feet and the Infini Hike TC runs wide. There are three adjustment points: a heel strap, a forefoot strap, and a side buckle on the instep. I had to take all three to the far end of their adjustment range to get my foot sitting where it needed to be. It works, but if you are also narrow-footed, know that you will be using every millimetre of that adjustment. If your feet are on the wider side, this sandal will feel like it was built for you from the first second.
The blister problem: solved
I have had blisters on my arches from every sandal I have owned. Teva, The North Face, Merrell. All of them, no matter how tight I did the straps. I always assumed it was the arch of my foot rubbing against the edge of the footbed.
The Infini Hike TC uses something called Ariaprene for the straps. It is a spongy, neoprene-adjacent material that is soft against the skin rather than the hard webbing you get on most sandals. The straps do not dig in. They sit against your foot and flex with it rather than fighting it. After three weeks and several 3 to 5 mile walks including canal paths and fields, I have not had a single blister or even a hint of rubbing. For context, I would have had a blister inside the first mile in any of my old sandals.
The smell problem: also solved, and in a rather good way
Every sandal I have owned has eventually started to smell. Badly enough that I was deodorising them regularly and still giving them a wide berth. It is just what happens when a sandal gets warm and sweaty and has nowhere to breathe.
Hoka has treated the Infini Hike TC with something called Life Natural anti-odour technology, which is infused with peppermint oil. Not synthetic fragrance. Actual peppermint oil working against the bacteria that cause the smell in the first place. Three weeks in, including wearing them through a heatwave every day, they still smell of absolutely nothing. I am genuinely amazed by this. It is the detail I did not know I needed.
The technology, in plain English
The midsole: Hoka cushioning in a sandal
Hoka built its reputation on putting a serious amount of cushioning in running shoes when everyone else was going minimal. The Infini Hike TC brings that same thinking to a sandal. There are two layers of compression-moulded EVA foam under your foot, which is the same material you find in Hoka’s Clifton and Bondi running shoes. The result is that standing in these sandals feels noticeably softer than standing in most walking shoes, let alone other sandals.
MetaRocker: the rocking sole
Hoka’s MetaRocker is a curved sole geometry that rolls your foot forward through each stride rather than letting it slap flat. In running shoes it makes you feel like you are being propelled forward slightly. In a sandal it means a surprisingly smooth, efficient stride on longer walks. You feel it most when you are covering a few miles and your legs would normally start to get tired.
The deep heel cup
There is a pronounced scoop in the heel of the footbed that holds the back of your foot in place. This is a big part of why the sandal does not let your foot slide around. Your heel is locked into position, which means the rest of the foot has a stable reference point. It sounds like a small detail. It is not.
J-Frame stability
Hoka includes what they call J-Frame technology along the inner edge of the midsole. It is designed to prevent your foot rolling inward as you walk, without overcorrecting. If you overpronate at all, this is the kind of low-key support that makes a long walk in sandals much less tiring than it would otherwise be.
Vibram Megagrip outsole
The sole is Vibram Megagrip, which is the rubber compound that serious trail running shoes use. It has 3.5mm lugs for grip on loose or wet ground. On my canal walks it has been completely sure-footed even on slippery muddy sections. The other thing worth knowing: this outsole can be resoled by a Vibram-authorised cobbler when it eventually wears out. That is genuinely unusual. Most sandals are disposable. These are designed to be repaired and kept going, which at £115 is the right way to think about them.
Three weeks in: where I have worn them
Canal towpaths, fields, streets, in the van, at work. This heatwave has made them my default footwear for everything short of a formal occasion. They are quick-drying too, which matters when you are walking near water or getting caught in a summer shower.
The real test is coming in August. We are taking the Giottivan to Anglesey for two weeks and the sandals are coming with us. Rocky coastal paths, beaches, whatever the Welsh weather decides to throw at them. I will update this post after that trip with the full verdict on longer and rougher ground.
Hoka Infini Hike TC review verdict
I had spent twenty years assuming sandals were not for me. Too narrow a foot, too prone to blisters, resigned to binning them when they smelt bad enough. The Hoka Infini Hike TC has fixed all three of those problems in three weeks of use.
The Ariaprene straps eliminate the arch rubbing that caused my blisters. The deep heel cup stops the foot sliding. The Life Natural peppermint oil treatment means they still smell of nothing after daily use through a heatwave. And the Hoka cushioning means they are more comfortable to walk in than most of my actual shoes.
At £115 they are not cheap. But I am already thinking of them as a long-term piece of kit, and the resolvable Vibram sole means they can be repaired rather than replaced. If you have struggled with sandals for the same reasons I have, these are worth serious consideration.
Hoka affiliate link coming once my programme is approved. For now, search Hoka Infini Hike TC and you will find them directly on the Hoka website.
Update: they’ve since done a proper five-mile test on mixed terrain, see the Chester riverside walk for how they held up.
About the author: I’m Pete Harrison. I’m 55, I run a business, and I have a mild case of insomnia that means I spend a lot of time at 3am reading about gadgets, gear and ways to make life work better. Things I Learnt at 3am is where I write honestly about the things I’ve actually bought, tested and lived with. No fluff, no rehashing the spec sheet. Just the real verdict from someone who uses this stuff every day.
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