Men's Sandals That Fit Custom Orthotics (Even in Summer)

It's summer in Southern California, you've got custom orthotics that finally made your shoes comfortable, and you have no intention of wearing closed shoes until October. You want sandals. Maybe flip-flops. And you'd like the orthotics to come with you.

Fair enough. Here's the honest version: some sandals will absolutely carry a full custom orthotic and still look like a sandal, not a medical device. But the flat thong flip-flop — post between the toes, nothing at the heel — is the one style that usually can't. Here's why, and what to wear instead.

Why a Flat Thong Fights Your Orthotic

An orthotic needs two things from any shoe: a place to sit, and something to keep your foot on top of it. A true thong flip-flop gives it neither.

Most have no removable footbed at all. And on the ones that do, the toe post is the problem — that strap between your toes runs down through the footbed and anchors underneath it. Lift the footbed out to fit your device and you've just unhooked the strap that holds the sandal on your foot. That's the plain engineering reason a flat thong and a full custom orthotic almost never work together.

Movement is the other half. A study in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association (2010) found men and women in thong flip-flops took shorter steps and changed how the ankle carried the foot through its swing — the researchers tie it to the toes gripping to keep the loose sandal on. Drop in an orthotic that raises your foot and that grip just works overtime. The fuller story is in are flip-flops bad for your feet: fine at the pool, punishing as an all-day shoe.

What Actually Works: Removable Footbed Plus a Strap

The sandal that carries your orthotic has two features, and it needs both:

• A footbed that genuinely lifts out, leaving real depth for your device.
• A securing strap — an adjustable instep strap, a back strap, or the closed heel of a fisherman sandal — so your foot stays on the device once it raises you up.

Guys skip the second one and wonder why the sandal feels off. A raised orthotic pushes your foot forward; without a strap or a closed heel, it slides right off the front. The strap is the whole difference between a sandal that looks supportive and one that is.

Brands Worth Trying

Models rotate every season, so treat this as a starting map, confirm the footbed actually lifts out on the current version, and fit it with your orthotic in place.

Removable footbed — orthotic-ready. Built to let you swap in a custom device, with straps or a closed heel to hold you on it:

• Revere — the standout. The footbed lifts out and the brand builds specifically so custom orthotics, and even braces, can go in; look at the adjustable fisherman styles, which pair a removable footbed with a strap system and shipped strap extensions.
• Orthofeet — removable insole with extra depth, adjustable straps, and slip-resistant soles across thong, slide, and fisherman shapes; built around plantar-fascia pain and diabetes-conscious fit.
• Naot — cork-and-latex footbed lifts out for your device; the enclosed-heel fisherman styles secure an orthotic well.
• Drew — extra-depth fisherman and slide builds with a removable footbed and several adjustable straps.
• Wolky and Finn Comfort — removable contoured footbeds with a deep anatomical heel cup; sturdy walkers that happen to be open.
• Propet and Apis — double-depth, removable-footbed sandals with multiple adjustable straps; strong therapeutic and wide-fit options.

Excellent built-in support — wear these if a device won't fit. Great molded footbeds that don't come out. That's a design choice, not a downside — they're a complete shoe on their own. If your custom device won't fit an open sandal, this is the row to shop:

• Chaco — a contoured footbed with fully adjustable straps and a secure closed heel; the toe-loop model adds even more foot control, and it's a genuine all-day walking sandal. The footbed is molded in, so wear it instead of a device.
• Keen — closed-toe protection with real arch support and adjustable straps; a tough pick for an active warm-climate day.
• Teva — multi-strap adjustability with a back strap for security.
• OluKai — anatomically molded footbed with arch support and a clean, non-orthopedic look; slides and thongs both.
• Vionic and Birkenstock — podiatrist-designed or classic cork support in flip-flop, slide, and fisherman shapes; supportive on their own, but plan to wear them without a device since the sandal footbeds don't come out.

Watch out for: flat, structureless thong flip-flops as your everyday shoe; backless slides with no strap, since a raised device slides your foot right off; and beach sandals with a molded-looking footbed that's really flat foam with a shape pressed in. The twist test exposes those fast.

Four Tests You Can Do in the Store Aisle

Do all four with your orthotic in hand.

• The lift. Peel the footbed up at the heel. Does it come out cleanly, with real depth beneath it? If it's glued down, this is a built-in-support sandal, not an orthotic carrier — fine, as long as you know which you're buying.
• The twist. Grip heel and toe and wring it. Structure resists; a cheap one wrings like a towel and supports nothing.
• The bend. Fold it toe toward heel. It should flex at the ball of the foot and refuse to fold at the arch.
• The heel check. Device in, straps done up — does your heel stay put over a few steps on hard floor? Slip means you need a back strap or a closed heel, which is exactly what a fisherman sandal gives you.

If You Truly Only Want a Thong

Some men want a toe-post sandal or nothing. Two honest routes:

• A sandal-specific device. An orthotic lab can make a slimmer, low-profile device notched to clear the toe post and built to fit one particular sandal you send in. It won't look or fit like your everyday device, but it's real. Bring the sandal to your visit and we'll tell you straight whether it's worth doing.
• Stick-on arch pads. Adhesive arch supports made for open shoes add a bit of lift and cushion. They're a comfort aid, not a prescription orthotic — they can shift and they won't fix a diagnosed mechanical problem — but for a casual day they beat bare flat foam.

A Quick Word on Fit

A review in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research (2018) pooled eighteen studies and found that between 63 and 72 percent of people were wearing shoes that didn't match the length or width of their feet, with width the usual miss. Sandals included — buy for your wider foot, shop late in the day when your feet are largest, and use the adjustable straps rather than forcing a fixed size. If structure is what you're after, some of the better open soles borrow a gently curved rocker profile; older pressure work (Foot & Ankle, 1990) measured roughly 30 percent lower peak forefoot pressures under rocker-profile soles than under flat ones, with the caveats that pressure moved to other regions and results vary from person to person.

The Southern California Reality

In Fallbrook and Temecula, sandal weather runs most of the year, so an open shoe isn't a once-in-a-while thing — it's doing the job of a primary shoe for months. That's the argument for two solid pairs: an orthotic-ready fisherman or adjustable sandal for full days on your feet, and a supportive built-in sandal for casual and water days. Save the flat flip-flops for the pool. When the weather finally turns, we did the same honest sort for closed shoes in men's dress shoes that fit custom orthotics.

A Word About the Orthotics Themselves

Orthotics help a lot of people, they're not magic, and they only work inside footwear that lets them. If you're deciding between a custom device and what's on the pharmacy shelf, we compared custom orthotics against store-bought insoles — including what they cost, and the basics of custom orthotics at our office are here.

When to See a Podiatrist Instead of the Sandal Rack

This is the part that matters most — and it's not the same for everyone. Open-toe and thong footwear is genuinely risky if you have diabetes or neuropathy. Once the feet lose protective sensation, a rubbing strap, a stray pebble, or a hot surface can cause real damage before you feel anything. Research in Diabetes Care (2023) describes loss of protective sensation in at least half of people with diabetes over the course of the disease, and a much higher risk of foot ulcers once nerve damage sets in. If that's you, or you've had a foot ulcer, a foot deformity, or poor circulation, don't buy sandals off a shelf — come in and let us fit you. Some feet belong in closed, protective shoes, and that's an honest answer.

For everyone else: book a visit rather than another sandal purchase if you have heel pain with the first steps of the morning — some heel pain won't leave on its own — burning or numbness in the front of the foot, or a big-toe joint that's getting stiff or sore. And if your orthotics are a few years old or a new pair hurts, bring them in; devices need re-checks as feet, weight, and activity change.

Last thing: bring the sandals you actually want to wear to your visit, along with your orthotics. It's much easier to build a plan around your real summer footwear than to hand you one you'll never take out of the box. The companion piece is women's sandals that fit custom orthotics.