Timberland Radler Trail Camp Shoes – Awesome [ness] Included
Rarely have we seen shoes so squarely aimed at light-packing travelers as these Radler Trail Camping shoes from Timberland. They actually zip up smaller to go into a corner of your bag when it’s time to hit the road or trail.
- Fabric.
- Rubber sole.
- Compact upper for hiking and camping.
- Removable fleece footbed.
- Fabric upper for water resistance.
We’ve been happy to see this whole minimalist shoe trend take off, not because we think running barefoot is a great idea, but because it means lots more choices for easy-to-pack sneakers for traveling.
These camp shoes are different though because they fold into themselves and zip shut. So they can fit into smaller spaces in your bag or can even be hung off the side of a pack with a hook or carabiner.
I once stuffed them into the same daypack holding my laptop, book, and camera and they were easy to take along.
When you’re ready to wear them, you unzip them, slip them on, and tighten up the integrated laces—no tying. When it’s time to go loosen the clip and then, zip them back up again. On or off, they look pretty cool and are real attention-getters.
Naturally, there’s a trade-off. Any shoe that can be folded in half is not going to have much going for it in terms of support. The thin replaceable insole is like a drugstore cheapie one, with no arch.
This is a shoe for lounging around and padding from the room to the pool, not five-hour stints in a museum. The way Timberland pictures it, you’re taking these along on a hike and putting them on at the end of the day as you shed your boots.
As long as you don’t try to get them to over-perform, they’re quite comfortable. Like a good pair of slippers but with a better sole for finding a bathroom in the dark by flashlight.
The Timberland Radler Trail shoe comes in a variety of colors and I can’t get a handle on how many there actually are—every website I visit seems to have a different array and there’s only one left on the Timberland site.
There are at least 11 colors floating around, going by what’s on Amazon. They max out at $65, which seems a bit high, but no worries as they’re discounted all over the place to as little as half that amount if you’re not set on a certain color.
Besides Amazon, check prices at Sunny Sports, Planet Shoes, and Backcountry. See the outlet sections of those sites for discontinued colors.
See more travel shoes reviews here.
It looks like the sole is pretty hefty on them though. Do they have a good tread for walking in the woods when you’re camping? Or do they feel like slippers?
Yes, there’s a good rubber sole with some real tread on them. So they feel like slippers on your feet, but they are better for treading around the outdoors.